Car or Motorcycle?

Welcome skyler.

I live just east of NOPA ("north of panhandle area") and I love the neighborhood / would highly recommend it. For my surfer friends and I who live around that area or really anywhere east of the outer richmond/sunset, we all use cars for surfing. I find the car makes sense for me for two main reasons:
1) I typically do a bit of driving to find the surfable spot, and I want the flexibility to check out OB as well as drive south on the 1 and check out spots along the way. Then on weekends Santa Cruz is only an hour+ drive.
2) Unlike FL, the water requires year-round gear (your 4/3 and sometimes hood / booties). This means I need to carry not only that stuff, but have a place to store my dry clothes while I'm surfing. It's not to say a bike won't work or that people wouldn't steal your clothes - it just requires special planning.

Besides all that, people around here like to say San Francisco is a great city because it's easy to leave it. I agree with that - typically I use my car only for surfing and getting out (tahoe or elsewhere).

Other thoughts? Curious to hear if people have made it work with a motorcycle or bike.

[posted twice, admingods, please delete this comment]

FYI, little known feature, if you turn your comment into a '.' it will automagically disappear in the next 20 mins or so.

When I first moved to San Francisco, I used to walk to the N-JMuni stop near the Market St Safeway from 18th and Guerrero, get on the Muni, ride to the shore, change in dunes, stash my stuff, surf, then return home.

Boy, was I ever glad when I made some friends with cars many, many months later.

Welcome to the club skylar ,
Get a old beater truck/car for surfing and a mountain bike for the golden gate park
I grew up in clearwater Florida by the way

moto + citycarshare

Some of this is repeat but...

You would need a locking gear box for the bike, it's not safe to leave your stuff laying out anywhere. The other downside would be cold days, I can't imagine not being able to get in the car and crank the heater. Finally, not sure how those racks perform on the freeway, if you want to surf a different break.

I ride a motorcycle around town though, two wheels are the best way to get around SF. Since there are two of you, it might be worth sharing one beater car. Car ownership is a hassle in SF, but it's nice to be able to leave town on the weekends.

I second the advice that car>motorcycle. I find the car helpful so I can bring a couple of boards, a roughneck for my wetsuit, etc...the conditions are never quite the way they appear on the cam.

Get a bicycle with a surf rack for the weekends.

Welcome to SF :D

I've been here about 5 months now, and I have a car mostly because I had one when I lived in Seattle and didn't want to deal with selling it. I can second the "I only use my car to surf and get out of town" comment though, and if I wasn't a surfer it's very likely that I would have gone through the trouble of selling it by now, it's stupid expensive and a huge pain to have a car in this city.

All that said, it is super nice to have a heated place to return to when it's foggy, 50something degrees and windy, which it seems to be a lot of the time on the coast no matter how sunny and warm it may be downtown, and the sheer amount of gear required to surf up makes it hard to imagine doing it without a car.

You're leaving out a really really important 3rd option: metermaid car...

I've been driving them since 1999, they're awesome, can park anywhere, you keep dry and warm in the rain, and they fit a surf rack beautifully.

Here's some pics and story of me and my girlfriend buying my last one near Mt. Shasta and driving it back to SF:

http://sillylittlecars.com/?p=4

And I run the email list and blog at sillylittlecars.com, get on the email list if you want one, they come up for sale every few days lately.

Here's my friend doing donuts with a surfboard on top of his ridiculously awesome Cushman van:

http://sillylittlecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/raz.jpg

Another surf buggy:

http://sillylittlecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DSC00938.jpg

And another:

http://sillylittlecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DSC02712.jpg

Plus having a car is nice in those rare times you forget a towel to deck change in. Deck changing with a board sock/bag doesn't work too well with the tapered ends...

@wry, two people in a cushman from Shasta to SF, all done on back roads?! You, sir, and your gal too, are MANIACS.

Oh, and Skyler. car!!

The older ones are super beautiful, but personally I'm not the biggest fan of the old style air cooled engines. For one you don't get very much heat. Cushmans became water cooled half way through 1989, by the way.

But lots of people love the old ones. And they sure are gorgeous.

Wrybread for Secretary of Transportation 2013 and for Ambassador to Adventure Department!!!!

Just in case you need more convincing, and since this video always makes me chuckle:

Forgive the quality, I filmed it using a Palm Treo of all things.

those cushmans are rad! but practical, maybe not much moreso than a moto. i have a carver rack on my 2002 FZ1, and it works great. solid at extra-legal speeds, and still narrow enough to lane split through traffic to get to the beach - easy to find parking too. i have a GIVI case on the back, which is large enough to hold my gear and wetsuit, and then stash my riding gear in while i surf. however, i don't have lockable side-cases, so I often just stuff my boots and non-valuables into the saddlebags and keep my fingers crossed that nobody steals it. practicality wise, a beater car is a safer bet, but if you're a motorcycle junkie + surfer, it's worth serious consideration. still fun to ride through the twisties and zip through traffic despite having a board hanging off the side of the bike.

One other vehicle-related addendum: Whatever you choose, the DMV will soon be in your future. Not fun, obviously, but the pain can be minimized. Either make a reservation online or go to the SF DMV by the panhandle before it opens - 30 min or more should do it. If you choose the reservation path, make sure you choose the option that allows you to kill 2 birds (car registration and cali license) with one stone.

Moved here for the in-n-out, stayed for the surfing.

@Citystoke:

Oh man that's sweet. I've always wanted to get a light-ish offroad-ish bike and do a surf trip in Baja in that area where the highway goes inland south of El Rosario. Does the board catch the wind much?

Personally I feel like metermaid buggies are safer, but that's probably mostly psychological. But they sure are dryer and warmer, and have more storage. And being able to install a booming stereo doesn't hurt.

@wrybread- epic road trip, man. super cool. very inspiring. makes me want to hit the back roads!

I recommend a new BMW SUV. Then head to the northern lot at Ocean Beach. Ask the Boyz there for tips on surfing the area. They'll take care of you

Mom's Audi didn't make the trip huh. That's an old meme here on the site, sorry, but I couldn't resist. Ask around about Mom's Audi :)

Anyway, I have two motos with the carver surf rack. I suggest the moto. Cars are a PITA if you ain't got no place to park them. The only requisite with the carver surf rack is that the moto have a rack on it. It's got this clamp plate and bolts, and the rack. The rack and the clamp plate sandwich the motorcycle rack, thus making it snug and safe :) Some asshole on the Internet not obeying copyright law made some stupid video.

So many happy memories of the squeak of mom's leather seats on the butt of my wetsuit: http://stokereport.com/report/9370

Hmmm. That sounded a bit wrong.

@Oh man Piss, that looks like a mean Baja cruiser. I know lots of people would prefer something beefier, but I love those 250's. Super sweet ride.

@Unfocused, super highly recommended. I'm to the point where I never take interstates unless I'm driving at night, and even then I need a little arm twisting.

And I just had to try and change the #thumbnail

Just gave up my thumbnail. But seriously bro'...ask around for Chris Wilson. Chair of the KCLB welcome wagon.

@KOK: Ha. Don't get me wrong, that other thumb rocked too. And how'd you edit your post? Mine only have the "edit" button for like the first 5 minutes.

Can't believe the Interceptor is $24,960 brand new sans diamond plating. Damn. I want one for $3400. Good score. Cool story wrybread.

@ stokereport...thanks for sharing that "fyi" "." secret. wouldve been nice to know, because i probably could have saved myself threads of embarrassing drunken foolishness.

@ skyler- welcome to SF. i hope you have the time of your life......btw, get a car. if you surf in the winter, it makes that much more sense. motos are great, but they are cold and wet in the winter...and we also surf in the rain around here. Bali, bike. SF, car

cheers

Unfocused could also give you a ride in his ford focus, he's a nice guy:)

Thanks T :)

Tenderlione® for President 2013...life term________

btw, how's the kiddo?

Little mans fine! Still in quarantine , in other news my 6 month old guinea pig gave birth to 2 little pigs today!!

Two thumbs up! good to hear. post pics....and what about that old dude and his young piece at Chron's?

Here's something I saw in Beijing a couple of years ago. There were a bunch of contraptions like this, some nice and shiny and tight and others that looked like they were barely hanging together.

drive a big
van. slowly
it gets filled with sand.

mind blown

Welcome Skyler! I'd go with a car as well. It's COLD here. Parking is a pain in the behind so when you look for a place to live I'd consider the sunset or richmond districts-a lot of the apartments there have garages or at least a driveway. Cuts down on the parking tickets. See you in the water!

Welcome.
I'd imagine a motorcyle would be COLD. Get a car (or a completely rad Cushman OMG) if you can pull it off. If you lived close enough to a Zipcar lot, that might be an option.

P.S. I'm from St. Augustine. OB is Second Light if it were very cold, very angry and on very high-test steroids.

KCLB will be at sl00t this winter visiting our sand.

yup. we sure will. stomping out fake locals one at a time. by the way whats up with Ocean beach Surf? they have a big network. its almost like a gang.

I heard that sand was originally from the Valley...washed down with all the other kook sand from Sacto/Joaquin. Just the same, we'll need to see that birth certificate before you can visit our new Toke Blvd. sand:)

Yes, I agree. One thing motorcycle or car man needs to know, is how to deal with the Coalition of the 4venues, along with KCLB. Combined, it's a deadly reckoning force. So before he paddles out, he best know who runs this: CotA KCLB do! You drop in on the wrong guy, you stuff one dude when it's mackin out there, you'll get the hammer. Plain and simple. We better post those paddle rules again.
You're not a local born and raised skylar, so have a read.
http://stokereport.com/rant/ten-rules-surfing-waves-non-local-surf-spots

Cazart your from st. Augustine! My cousin grew up there, Fran lanserzeria know him??,he owned a record/skate shop called "fuse" many happy times there for me. my cuz broke his arm at the surf station then we fed him a cold one, I use to surf at anastasia beach in my younger days,then on to Spanish house and Patrick's air force base in the teens

WTF is the Coalition of the ###### and who is part of that? I have never even heard of it.

Coalition of Florida shredders,taking over your beach CW

http://stokereport.com/rant/and-dont-come-back

hands and knees skylar, hands and knees

Man,skyler is never gonna be able to make up his mind for transport!

ive taken bus plenty of times. just ask the driver if you can bring the board on. they usually let you

CotA clubhouse?

also don't forget abou the OTHER locals...

Take a look at 10 rules for surfing with sharks:

1. Put on the wetsuit near the sharks: Do not show fear and do not show ultra-respect. Stay cool and do your things calmly.

2. Head to shore and warm-up by the water: sharks will have the chance to look at you and lower their temper. Do your physical exercises slowly and without aggressive movements.

3. Paddle out slowly: you want to show everybody that you're not crazy about sharks and that you're enjoying the atmosphere.

4. Say hello with your eyes and face: try to greet each shark individually. Look straight into their eyes and be gentle without being too subservient.

6. Show interest and express appreciation for the sharks: show you're watching in the end, throw thumbs up for the best sharks.

7. Hand them your first priority nibbles: if they show they're going bite you, gently offer them a limb.

8. Paddle for the right shark with all your commitment: once you've gained their respect, it's important to show that you have absolutely no fear.

9. Paddle out and praise the quality of their area: say something like "congratulations, you guys have an incredible quality hunting ground here".

10. Invite a couple of local sharks for a round of beers: thank them for the hospitality and glamorize the entire experience.

CotA clubhouse: