My Electoral Bike Ride
Nov. 5th, 2008 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aI was hoping to draw a nice map of my election day bike ride, but apparently Google has a limit on how many individual nodes you can enter.
In any case, the plan was a day off work and an all-day bike ride, to avoid obsessive election-day poll watching. I went from Berkeley, through Oakland, around Lake Merritt, out to Alameda, then on to Bay Farm Island, which I circled, then back to Alameda, which I circled, then back to Oakland, and finally home. It looks like the total was somewhere in the 30-35 mile range, and I was indeed tired afterward. It's surely the most biking I've ever done at once.
Lake Merritt. I haven't been out to Lake Merritt much, and I was surprised by how large it is. Also, that there's a garden, a kid's science place, and some other stuff near the center of the area. Quite nice. I had lunch out there, watching ducks and geese in a little wildlife preserve.
Looking at Wikipedia, I see that Merritt is indeed a real lake, or at least the remnant of a tidal estuary, which I'd wondered when I was out there. It apparently was the city's sewer in ye olden days. It also seems to have been the nation's first wildlife refuge, back in 1870.
The Bay Trail. The biggest goal of the day was to extend my Bay Trail ride southward, which I did. Theoretically, a lot of what I rode along the Oakland coast and all around both islands was Bay Trail, but there were only two parts which were of particular note.
Out on Bay Farm Island, there's a great section of Bay Trail which runs from its northeast corner (which looks inward at Oakland) out to somewhere along its western edge (which looks outward at the San Francisco peninsula). The northeastern portion is the coolest, because it's just a bike trail running through hilly wilderness. The western edge runs behind fancy-dancy affluent housing part of the whole time and along a seaside park (which is really just a place to fish) part of the time. They're both nice, but not as quiet and wild as the eastern part.
On Alameda, good Bay Trail runs along about two-thirds of the southwestern side of the island. Most of it runs alongside Crown Memorial Beach and/or Carlsbad State Beach. One of the signs in the area claims that Crown was the most popular beach in the Bay Area until WW2, which I find stunning if true; why would people go to a beach on the Bay rather than a beach on the ocean?
There was one teeny stretch of Bay Trail along the southwest side of the island which sucked. It was just dirt, and not even a good dirt trail. At places it there was just a foot or less of cleared space and you had to bump up and down some hills. Signage revealed that most or all of the good trail was thanks to regional park agencies. The sucky trail was thanks to the City of Alameda. Good going Alameda!
However, there is a great bike bridge in the area (near the sucky trail), which connects up the good bits of Bay Trail on both islands; more on that in a bit.
I've now ridden the Bay Trail from Richmond to Bay Farm Island, with the only notably missing area being a bit of Trail in Oakland proper, east of Alameda (on which, more momentarily).
Bay Farm Island. If you don't know what Bay Farm Island is, despite knowing the Bay Area, you're not alone. It's hidden behind Oakland Airport, and is apparently a part of Alameda. It's got piles of fancy houses and a golf course right in the middle. Yep, definitely a place for the little people. It's not actually an island.
Again, I turn to Wikipedia. Apparently it did used to be an island, but was connected to Oakland by landfill (which I find ironic given that the rest of Alameda used to be a part of Oakland before it was separated by digging a canal). Wikipedia doesn't say when the landfilling occurred. If I had to guess, I'd say in the 1920s, when the Oakland Airport was built.
Alameda. I've only been out to Alameda a few times, and this was the only time I've ever been out there alone, and thus had the opportunity to explore the island.
First, it's probably the most conservative place I've been in the East Bay. Though there's some middle class housing, it's of the upper middle class suburban type. There's also quite a bit of clear affluence, mainly on the Bay-facing side of the island. I saw the only McCain-Palin yard signs that I've ever seen while on Alameda; there was three that I passed, though they were great outnumbered by the (victorious!) Obama signs. I also saw one disgusting Yes On 8 sign, showing that bigots aren't afraid to show their faces in Alameda.
Beyond that, I'm surprised by how much of the island is still abandoned and/or in an otherwise in-between state. The closed Naval Base is up in the northwest, and the closer you get in that direction, the more the island turns into confusing, turned-around streets and roads that go nowhere. I even wandered around what must have been troop houses at one time, and they were eerie. Totally abandoned, yet not scary like abandoned houses would be in Oakland.
(They run a tight ship in Alameda.)
Bridges & Tunnels. If I count right, there are four bridges and one tunnel connecting Alameda to the mainland; I went through four of those yesterday.
Park Street was my first bridge, and not the one I intended to use, but I'd gotten confused by my maps (and my lack of an iPhone, since I left it at home yesterday). It's not labeled as being part of the Bay Trail. There is a pedestrian walkway on either side of the bridge, but you're asked to walk your bike, which I did. At least half the times I've been on Alameda, this draw bridge has gone up, stalling traffic for five to ten minutes. Such was the case yesterday, though fortunately only after I made it across. It's neat to watch from up close. Strangely, no boat ever went through.
I skipped the Fruitvale Bridge.
The High Street Bridge is pretty much identical to the Park Street Bridge, except you are allowed to ride your bike and they don't seem to be constantly raising it. It leads to a particularly nasty, industrial part of Oakland. There was Bay Trail that I wanted to get to there (the missing part that I mentioned earlier), but the area was filled with detours, barbed-wire fences, huge trucks, and road construction. I was able to see the Trail at one point, but I couldn't get there. A jogger ran happily along the trail, unknowingly taunting me. When I tried to circle around, road construction threatened to push me onto the highway. I eventually gave up.
The Bay Farm Bridge is great, because there's a pedestrian/bicycle bridge running to its side, showing what they should do on the Bay Bridge. It's been constructed quite well, with easy paths to get there from every direction. There's even an underpass that goes beneath the main bridge so that you can get to the pedestrian bridge from either side of the (very busy) road that crosses beween Alameda and Bay Farm Island. This is the nicest example of a bicycling friendly bridge that I've seen. As I said, it also connects up the best parts of the Bay Trail in the area.
And that brings us to Posey Tube. The northernmost entrance to Alameda isn't a bridge, but rather an underground tube. My maps clearly marked it as good Bay Trail, so I planned to take it back to the mainland. My problems started when I discovered it was very hard to find. Bicycling signage is crap in Alameda, and the tube is surprisingly several blocks back from the shore, and thus not intuitive to find. I thought for a while that I was going to be stuck on Alameda forever.
And the tube ... it was the most terrifying bicycling that I've ever done. The "trail" is a raised walkway that's right next to (and about two or three feet above) the main roadway. It's also about as wide as my handlebars. So there you are, riding underground, cars blaring as they scream past you. Your right elbow is brushing across the tile wall while you constantly try and keep your left handlebar off the railing. Just coasting down to the middle of the tunnel was exhausting, and I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to peddle when I got to the other side. When I saw a bicyclist coming at me from the other direction, I figured there was no way to get past each other, but somehow we managed, each dismounting and carefully lifting out bicycles around each other.
I don't exactly regret the trip through the Tube, but it was truly scary, and I don't expect to do that again.
Politics. I can't finish a discussion of a bike ride on election day without a brief mention of politics. I already talked about the conservative signage that I saw on Alameda. Over the course of the day I also passed either 6 or 7 polling stations: 2 in Berkeley, 1 in Oakland, and either 3 or 4 in Alameda. Only one had a line coming out the door, the second one in Berkeley (though maybe it was in Oakland now that I think of it; definitely on the border in any case). The first four all had No on 8 people demonstrating. I also saw a couple of other No on 8 people out throughout the day; sadly, we now know they failed, which was my expectation. They might have been able to put down 8 if the No on 8 opposition hadn't been so scattered, late, and, frankly, arrogant through a lot of the election. But, I'm not convinced. California is right now on the tipping point of bigotry toward homosexuals. In another couple of years, I think the balance will have shifted, but in 2008 it clearly still has not.
But now we have a White House and a Congress which might just start moving toward equal protections in this new Civil Rights arena.
Next Up. Not sure where my next major bike ride is going to be, but it's surely not going to be this coming weekend; I'm biked out.
In any case, the plan was a day off work and an all-day bike ride, to avoid obsessive election-day poll watching. I went from Berkeley, through Oakland, around Lake Merritt, out to Alameda, then on to Bay Farm Island, which I circled, then back to Alameda, which I circled, then back to Oakland, and finally home. It looks like the total was somewhere in the 30-35 mile range, and I was indeed tired afterward. It's surely the most biking I've ever done at once.
Lake Merritt. I haven't been out to Lake Merritt much, and I was surprised by how large it is. Also, that there's a garden, a kid's science place, and some other stuff near the center of the area. Quite nice. I had lunch out there, watching ducks and geese in a little wildlife preserve.
Looking at Wikipedia, I see that Merritt is indeed a real lake, or at least the remnant of a tidal estuary, which I'd wondered when I was out there. It apparently was the city's sewer in ye olden days. It also seems to have been the nation's first wildlife refuge, back in 1870.
The Bay Trail. The biggest goal of the day was to extend my Bay Trail ride southward, which I did. Theoretically, a lot of what I rode along the Oakland coast and all around both islands was Bay Trail, but there were only two parts which were of particular note.
Out on Bay Farm Island, there's a great section of Bay Trail which runs from its northeast corner (which looks inward at Oakland) out to somewhere along its western edge (which looks outward at the San Francisco peninsula). The northeastern portion is the coolest, because it's just a bike trail running through hilly wilderness. The western edge runs behind fancy-dancy affluent housing part of the whole time and along a seaside park (which is really just a place to fish) part of the time. They're both nice, but not as quiet and wild as the eastern part.
On Alameda, good Bay Trail runs along about two-thirds of the southwestern side of the island. Most of it runs alongside Crown Memorial Beach and/or Carlsbad State Beach. One of the signs in the area claims that Crown was the most popular beach in the Bay Area until WW2, which I find stunning if true; why would people go to a beach on the Bay rather than a beach on the ocean?
There was one teeny stretch of Bay Trail along the southwest side of the island which sucked. It was just dirt, and not even a good dirt trail. At places it there was just a foot or less of cleared space and you had to bump up and down some hills. Signage revealed that most or all of the good trail was thanks to regional park agencies. The sucky trail was thanks to the City of Alameda. Good going Alameda!
However, there is a great bike bridge in the area (near the sucky trail), which connects up the good bits of Bay Trail on both islands; more on that in a bit.
I've now ridden the Bay Trail from Richmond to Bay Farm Island, with the only notably missing area being a bit of Trail in Oakland proper, east of Alameda (on which, more momentarily).
Bay Farm Island. If you don't know what Bay Farm Island is, despite knowing the Bay Area, you're not alone. It's hidden behind Oakland Airport, and is apparently a part of Alameda. It's got piles of fancy houses and a golf course right in the middle. Yep, definitely a place for the little people. It's not actually an island.
Again, I turn to Wikipedia. Apparently it did used to be an island, but was connected to Oakland by landfill (which I find ironic given that the rest of Alameda used to be a part of Oakland before it was separated by digging a canal). Wikipedia doesn't say when the landfilling occurred. If I had to guess, I'd say in the 1920s, when the Oakland Airport was built.
Alameda. I've only been out to Alameda a few times, and this was the only time I've ever been out there alone, and thus had the opportunity to explore the island.
First, it's probably the most conservative place I've been in the East Bay. Though there's some middle class housing, it's of the upper middle class suburban type. There's also quite a bit of clear affluence, mainly on the Bay-facing side of the island. I saw the only McCain-Palin yard signs that I've ever seen while on Alameda; there was three that I passed, though they were great outnumbered by the (victorious!) Obama signs. I also saw one disgusting Yes On 8 sign, showing that bigots aren't afraid to show their faces in Alameda.
Beyond that, I'm surprised by how much of the island is still abandoned and/or in an otherwise in-between state. The closed Naval Base is up in the northwest, and the closer you get in that direction, the more the island turns into confusing, turned-around streets and roads that go nowhere. I even wandered around what must have been troop houses at one time, and they were eerie. Totally abandoned, yet not scary like abandoned houses would be in Oakland.
(They run a tight ship in Alameda.)
Bridges & Tunnels. If I count right, there are four bridges and one tunnel connecting Alameda to the mainland; I went through four of those yesterday.
Park Street was my first bridge, and not the one I intended to use, but I'd gotten confused by my maps (and my lack of an iPhone, since I left it at home yesterday). It's not labeled as being part of the Bay Trail. There is a pedestrian walkway on either side of the bridge, but you're asked to walk your bike, which I did. At least half the times I've been on Alameda, this draw bridge has gone up, stalling traffic for five to ten minutes. Such was the case yesterday, though fortunately only after I made it across. It's neat to watch from up close. Strangely, no boat ever went through.
I skipped the Fruitvale Bridge.
The High Street Bridge is pretty much identical to the Park Street Bridge, except you are allowed to ride your bike and they don't seem to be constantly raising it. It leads to a particularly nasty, industrial part of Oakland. There was Bay Trail that I wanted to get to there (the missing part that I mentioned earlier), but the area was filled with detours, barbed-wire fences, huge trucks, and road construction. I was able to see the Trail at one point, but I couldn't get there. A jogger ran happily along the trail, unknowingly taunting me. When I tried to circle around, road construction threatened to push me onto the highway. I eventually gave up.
The Bay Farm Bridge is great, because there's a pedestrian/bicycle bridge running to its side, showing what they should do on the Bay Bridge. It's been constructed quite well, with easy paths to get there from every direction. There's even an underpass that goes beneath the main bridge so that you can get to the pedestrian bridge from either side of the (very busy) road that crosses beween Alameda and Bay Farm Island. This is the nicest example of a bicycling friendly bridge that I've seen. As I said, it also connects up the best parts of the Bay Trail in the area.
And that brings us to Posey Tube. The northernmost entrance to Alameda isn't a bridge, but rather an underground tube. My maps clearly marked it as good Bay Trail, so I planned to take it back to the mainland. My problems started when I discovered it was very hard to find. Bicycling signage is crap in Alameda, and the tube is surprisingly several blocks back from the shore, and thus not intuitive to find. I thought for a while that I was going to be stuck on Alameda forever.
And the tube ... it was the most terrifying bicycling that I've ever done. The "trail" is a raised walkway that's right next to (and about two or three feet above) the main roadway. It's also about as wide as my handlebars. So there you are, riding underground, cars blaring as they scream past you. Your right elbow is brushing across the tile wall while you constantly try and keep your left handlebar off the railing. Just coasting down to the middle of the tunnel was exhausting, and I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to peddle when I got to the other side. When I saw a bicyclist coming at me from the other direction, I figured there was no way to get past each other, but somehow we managed, each dismounting and carefully lifting out bicycles around each other.
I don't exactly regret the trip through the Tube, but it was truly scary, and I don't expect to do that again.
Politics. I can't finish a discussion of a bike ride on election day without a brief mention of politics. I already talked about the conservative signage that I saw on Alameda. Over the course of the day I also passed either 6 or 7 polling stations: 2 in Berkeley, 1 in Oakland, and either 3 or 4 in Alameda. Only one had a line coming out the door, the second one in Berkeley (though maybe it was in Oakland now that I think of it; definitely on the border in any case). The first four all had No on 8 people demonstrating. I also saw a couple of other No on 8 people out throughout the day; sadly, we now know they failed, which was my expectation. They might have been able to put down 8 if the No on 8 opposition hadn't been so scattered, late, and, frankly, arrogant through a lot of the election. But, I'm not convinced. California is right now on the tipping point of bigotry toward homosexuals. In another couple of years, I think the balance will have shifted, but in 2008 it clearly still has not.
But now we have a White House and a Congress which might just start moving toward equal protections in this new Civil Rights arena.
Next Up. Not sure where my next major bike ride is going to be, but it's surely not going to be this coming weekend; I'm biked out.