2013 SF 49 Mile Ride

Another one completed, lucky 13…

The 49 Mile Ride was last weekend, with the typical merriment and mischief on the Streets of San Francisco. Much like the previous dozen rides ( stories here ), it was a meeting of old and new friends for a few hours of touring along the Embarcadero, up and down Lombard Street, along Ocean Beach and up Twin Peaks.

I’m always excited to see the variety of machines that come out for the ride, and this year featured multiple Nimbuses again, and Zell’s Norvin, a wicker sidecar fitted to a Sunbeam, some of the 4Q specials , dirty knuckleheads, tricked out panheads, both a Whizzer and a Simplex, the Vorhees Triumph and some cool kid mopeds, more than a few Velocettes, J. Goldman’s Mondial, Red Fred on an Indian of course, wheelie-ing two strokes from the 1970s, Guzzis, Rick’s genuine Rocket Gold Star, Hondas in stock and café form, and a Zundapp to finish the alphabet soup of motomachines. That was a good list, but I left out Charlie’s Matchless V twin, Ricky’s golden bobber HD, Rick’s WWII Indian, Craig’s 650 Panther single (the big pussy), Matt’s custom BSA, several little Italian bikes that I didn’t have time to investigate, a couple of AJS’s and more Norton Commandos than I could count and much, much more.

Big thanks are due to Vince Spadaro for his help organizing the food and accommodations, and to Larry and the Bayview Boat Club for hosting us, Simon Robinson for designing the shirt, George and Mike at Hi Voltage PA for printing the shirts and Jeff Beam for selling the shirts. I really want to thank the 25 volunteers who rode ahead of the crowd to mark the corners so that nobody had to get out their maps while riding, that is a great help to us all. And I want to thank everybody who donated money to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children . They do great work, and are funded through donations. In this world of expensive and indifferent healthcare, the Shriners are a completely different story. Check it out.

I’m forgetting a few people, but I cannot forget to thank Kim and the kids. They do their part to make sure that the day goes well. And thanks to all the riders who make the event what it is.

Here are my brief pics. I’ve put a long list of better photos at the bottom of the page.

Pic by Diana Nankin.

Craig Howell’s photos are here .

Blaise’s photos .

Paul’s Vintagent article .

SF Vintage Cycle photos .

Akiko’s pics .