Posted on June 23, 2012 by Bubblegirl

On the last Friday of each month, San Francisco cyclists congregate at the Ferry Building for Critical Mass. sfcriticalmass.org Typically, it leaves around 6:30. The route varies and the number of riders vary. There are always new faces and many familiar ones too. It began in SF in 1992 and now exists in over 300 cities around the world. I believe Critical Mass originally began in response to the overwhelming lack of infrastructure for cyclists. Drivers had little awareness around sharing the road and gave little to no credence to cyclists. Unfortunately, many of these issues still exist.

I’ve been doing CM for about 6 years. It’s a San Francisco institution and I wanted to learn more about it. When I first started, it was definitely intimidating. I wasn’t the most experienced biker but I wanted to at least try it once. I had heard it was a protest of sorts and borderline anarchy but the few times I had randomly caught a glimpse of it around the City, the cyclists seemed to be having a blast. When I started riding in Mass in 2006, I saw a lot more aggression than I do today. I witnessed multiple arguments between cars and cyclists but I never saw anyone throw a punch or a cyclist hit or vandalize a car or a car hit a bike, although I know there have been many instances of confrontations throughout the years. To me, it seemed like there was an equal amount of antagonism from both sides. Today, SF Critical Mass seems to be a kinder, gentler shade of its volatile past. I don’t perceive the same degree of hostility from the cyclists or drivers anymore. It seems CM has been somewhat accepted by SF as one of those wacky SF traditions. Maybe because of its broader acceptance attitudes about CM have softened a bit or maybe CM is a bit tamer because SF is finally implementing some infrastructure to accommodate cyclists. OR—I like to think that the bubbles from a certain someone on a pink bubble bike have had a happy, calming, giggle-inducing, anger-diffusing effect.

Politics and social causes aside, I’ve always thought of CM as more of a bike parade than anything else. To me, it’s a celebration of bikes, of movement, of being outdoors, of sharing a common interest, of seeing SF in a new and exciting way. When I first began attending the ride, I lacked confidence in my biking ability, my endurance and my knowledge of how to navigate around SF. I’ll admit, I’m pretty much directionally dyslexic. I’ve always said, it’s a good thing I live in SF. If I get lost and go too far, I’ll get wet. Get it? Because it’s surrounded by water on 3 sides.  ;P CM gave me confidence. Not only is there safety in numbers but I’ve biked places in SF with CM I never knew existed or at least, didn’t know how to get there. Because of Mass, I know I can bike 40 miles around SF, from downtown, through the Mission, Castro, Marina, clear out to Ocean Beach and back downtown. I can take care of myself. I trust my abilities, my strength, my endurance and my knowledge of how to get around SF. And I’ve made a lot of friends over the past 6 years. I’ve become more outgoing socially. More aware of the interests and issues people connect with. Critical Mass is liberating and has empowered me to discover my own path through SF and through life. For all of these reasons, I am grateful that it exists and remains a tradition the last Friday of every month in SF.

It might sound silly to some but on my birthday which just happened to land exactly on the last Friday of April, more than anything else, I wanted to ride Critical Mass. No fancy dinners. No need for wasting a ton of money on an expensive outing. No need for presents. Instead, I got the best gift of all. My brother came for a visit from New York to help me celebrate. He’s been aware of my biking and bubbling habit for some time. So he wasn’t at all surprised when I told him what I really wanted to do for my birthday was have him join me on Critical Mass and share with him something I enjoy so much. I wanted Mass to know that he was on the ride and to make him feel welcome. My brother was definitely a tad uncertain about the whole thing just as I was on my first Mass ride. So to break the ice, I put a sign on his bike that said, “I’m Bubblegirl’s brother!” He got quite a kick out of all the people saying, “Hello bubble brother!” ;P And on my Pinkie, I attached a sign that said, “Wish me happy birthday!” It turned out to be a great idea because I got more happy birthday wishes that night than all of my birthdays combined. In fact, even months later, I am still getting random happy birthday wishes from people when they see me ride by.

But besides the happy birthdays, it was a thrill of a ride. I’ve led Mass only briefly before but because everyone knew it was my birthday, the hundreds of bikers encouraged me to lead the ride the entire night! Since I was in charge and ride a heavy bike, I opted for a relatively flat route without a lot of hills. I also got to share many of my favorite spots with Mass like North Beach and the Palace of Fine Arts and had more than a few people after the ride tell me that it was their all-time favorite Mass ride.

Beginnings of my CM birthday ride.

CM birthday ride along the Embarcadero.

The timing of Mass’s arrival at the Palace couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. When we biked into the enormous iconic rotunda, we unintentionally crashed a wedding proposal. They were less than thrilled at first but the music, bubbles, hoorays and celebratory nature of Critical Mass ended up giving them the best proposal they could have never planned.

My brother got a kick out of listening to all of the comments and compliments directed at me from the other cyclists, pedestrians and drivers about the route, my bike, bubbles and birthday celebration. He confessed later how he thought it was exceptionally hilarious that not only did I lead Mass all night but that at one point when I briefly paused to refill my bubble machines with juice, the entire Mass of several hundred people stopped to wait for me.

After about 3 hours of riding, Mass was beginning to dwindle a bit and I wanted to introduce my brother to another type of ride with my skater friends who do the Friday Night Skate every, yes every Friday night. So I redirected CM and started heading back towards the Ferry Building at which point 1 of the bike police rode up next to me and asked me where Mass was heading? I joked with him that I wasn’t in charge of Mass but I that I was heading towards the Ferry Building and didn’t know where all of the cyclists following behind me were going. As I winked, I told him I had been trying to lose them all night.  ;P Since Mass is still somewhat of a rogue event, I didn’t really want to admit I was “in charge.”

The Friday Night Skate (FNS), led by David Miles, the Godfather of Skating, also starts at the Ferry Building but leaves at 9. The Godfather pushes a modified baby stroller equipped with a sound system and skates along with a group of 30-100+ people. They take the same 12 mile route around SF and have been for the past 26 years! There are several breaks along the route which leads you past Pier 39, Fort Mason, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Marina, through the Broadway and Stockton Tunnels and down to Union Square where the perform the Thriller Dance and a couple other line dances on skates which delights the lucky tourists who happen to be there at the perfect time. Much to my surprise, I was able to talk my brother into doing a line dance. My sides ached from laughing so hard.

Bubble brother attempts a line dance. ;P

After that, the skaters head down to the nearby escalator at the end of the Powell Street cable car turn-around and perform some thrilling tricks backwards down the escalator that have to be seen to be believed. Next we headed towards what the long-time skaters have named, the concrete jungle which is south of Market Street. By then, I think my brother was appreciating each rest break more and more. Eventually the route ends up on the Embarcadero and we finished around midnight back at the Ferry Building.

My brother summarized the evening by saying, “That was the craziest, most fun thing I’ve done in probably 10 years.” ;P He was a real trooper. My GPS tallied 35 miles and 7+ hours of biking.

It was a great birthday, probably the best I’ve ever had because I got to share what I love to do with my brother and several hundred other people. 

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Bubblegirl

On September 18, 2011, I had already enjoyed a fun day thanks to the vibrant neighborhood designated for the Sunday Streets Chinatown route. Later that same day, I had nearly been busted for bubbling on the GGBridge but was gratefully sent on my way with a warning from a friendly officer. (Bubbles: a threat to National Security.) What happened next… was the bubble on top.

On my way home after descending the Bridge on the SF side, I paused to hydrate. While fueling up near the Palace of Fine Arts, I made a couple of new friends with very obvious French accents who recognized me…

 

They approached and asked, “Do you know you’re in a French guidebook?” My response, “What?” Their response “A French guidebook.” My response, “What?” Their response, “French. Guide. Book.” My response, “Oooooh! Really? No way. You’re kidding!” Their response, “No. Really. French. Guide. Book.” (I’m sure what they wanted to say was: “Stupid American! I’m speaking English!”) But, they showed me their guidebook anyway and no kidding! I am in a French guidebook! How cool!!!

Here’s the translation from a friend: ‎”It looks really fair on Sunday in Golden Gate Park when the street ways are closed, the American couriers showcase on rollerblades, disc golf and freestyle disc, drum circles. We saw a young woman and her bike with pink sequins blowing bubbles of happiness.”

 

I love it! Bubbles of happiness!!! 

I was recently fortunate enough to bump into some French tourists who had the 2012 version. I was excited to find out that I’m still mentioned in this year’s California edition in the section about San Francisco and GGPark. I’d like to point out to all of my x-boyfriends that, according to the French, I’m a point of interest in the U.S. State of California. And in conclusion, I feel the French are an incredibly refined and selectively sophisticated group of discerning people . 

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Bubblegirl

There isn’t a Sunday Streets I’ve participated in that I haven’t loved. There’s something special, interesting, unique and wonderful about each one. It might be the people of that neighborhood, the murals, the graffiti, the parks, the architecture, the restaurants, the music, the vistas or the combination of all of the above. As for SS GGPark/GreatHwy, I love the incredible park we’ve been gifted, the open space, the scenic park and ocean vistas, the fresh air and the variety of people——from inline and quad skaters, lindy hop dancers, low riders, kids on scooters, skateboarders and believe it or not, the endangered Peregrine Falcon I saw. 

This was my 3rd endangered Peregrine falcon sighting in 2 years! They are drawn to me or me to them like bubbles to my bubble bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, even with all of that wonderfulness, that day, I got the unfortunate news that my friend Wilma had been put into an induced coma due to smoke inhalation from a fire in her apartment building. There wasn’t anything I could do since she was in the ICU (and has been since). I tried to make the best of it but she was definitely on my mind and I appreciated my day of SS even more thinking of the fragility of life and how very blessed we are for every bubbly moment. I decided to dedicate this SS to her, so I blew a wish for her speedy recovery into the 2 gallons of bubble juice I was carrying. Throughout the day, I multiplied that wish into millions of bubble wishes spread all over SS and SF. I ended up doing 41 miles that day so I might have produced billions of bubble wishes! Here’s a pic of my friend Wilma.  Keep fighting darlin.

It was a pretty fabulous day. The skaters attempted a world record breaker of the most quads in a continuous line for a certain distance and the most number of both quads and inlines in a serpentine formation. They made the record the previous year but missed taking the lead this year by just a few wheels. 2013 skaters!!!

Watch the video below for a taste of the skating and record-attempting fun.

 

And this little puppy was having a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so was this little girl and her twin sisters. 

And watch the video below to see how much fun they had chasing and catching up with me!

And this was a fun musical group called “Please Do Not Fight.” Unfortunately from the news posted on their site, they seem to be parting ways. For what it’s worth, you guys were amazing that day and a pretty significant contribution to my smiling face. pleasedonotfight.com

I headed back through the park and visited some friends like Kim Skipper who is the queen bee of the Skipping Movement iskip.com and The Skipping Movement on Facebook.

And super-duper dance-skater extraordinaire, Colleen at 6th Avenue, aka Skatin’ Place.

I think you can tell from my smile, it was an exceptional day.

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Bubblegirl

Easter Sunday April 8, 2012 was definitely a hOppy day! It was the Union Street Easter Parade. I’ve been doing this parade for about 5 years and it seems to be the perfect place for me to dress like a pink bunny, ride my bubble bike and collect hundreds of smiles from my biggest little fans! I joined the parade behind the skating Cow Hollow skaters, a big fan favorite, led by David Miles – the Godfather of Skating. Cow Hollow used to be a pasture for cows. So appropriately, the skaters dress like cows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a lot of little friends. This little darlin’ was exceptionally enthralled with my bubbles and bunny self. I’m pretty sure I got a cavity from all of her sweetness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of other friends to be meet that day including the hoola hoop bunny lady who could do amazing hooping tricks with her furry little friend sitting on her shoulder and giving her bunny kisses.

And these silly wild animals!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there were some big friends who joined in the Easter Parade celebrations, like Ray who I was very happy to see after a long illness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was confused that I received more than a few questions or comments from my biggest little fans asking if I was Lady Gaga and one other character I can’t remember the name of… Gaga? Really? I guess that’s a good thing? I guess I am fanciful in her way. Maybe it was the wig? I guess for this event I was even more of a caricature of my Bubblegirl alter ego. I never intended to become a character. I’m just doing what I love to do. Dress up, ride Pinkie and blow bubbles! What’s not to love?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fantastic day and I slept very well that night with my Easter basket full of smiles.

 

 

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Bubblegirl

September 18, 2011, was a beautiful day. It’s not often that it’s short-sleeved weather well after the sun sets in San Francisco but this was one of those extraordinary days. I started my adventure at Sunday Streets (SS) in Chinatown which due to the narrow streets was a no-bike SS. I decided to walk my bike through the Chinatown SS blowing bubbles to show my support and appreciation for the event but still have my bike and bubbles along for a ride after the event ended. I got a late start that day but once I arrived, I got a lot of love and even some “where have you been” from attendees and a police officer helping with traffic. It sure was nice to see Chinatown without any cars. It was peaceful. Everyone was smiling and I’ve never seen the area so calm and colorful. Any other day, the parked cars block the storefronts and even slow moving traffic through the area diminishes its personality.

Afterwards, I decided to go out on a random bubbling around the neighborhood, down to AT&T Park, back along the Embarcadero, around Pier 39, through Fort Mason and out to Fort Point. From there, I gazed up at the Golden Gate Bridge and considered that the timing was just about right for crossing it exactly at sunset. But—I hesitated. First there’s a very long and steep incline to get up to the GGBridge and quite frankly, I’m scared of bridges. Maybe I’ve seen too many movies showing bridges collapsing or maybe it’s the collapse of the Bay Bridge not so long ago but it’s also the way the GGBridge is designed. The railings just don’t seem high enough. I’m 5’7″ and they’re just a bit taller than my waist. When you’re on a bike, you obviously sit up higher than you would standing and even though I’m an experienced biker, I start imagining the worst. But once I decided to face my fears, I made my way up the steep incline blowing bubbles the entire way and began my journey across the GGBridge. On the way over, I let the bubbles fly and got a really wonderful response since most of the people in the southbound lanes were stuck in traffic. I got yay’s and woo-hoo’s and thumbs up and honks. All that amazing positive reinforcement helped me forget my fears and enjoy my trip across.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, once I made it to the other side, I was immediately approached by a police officer. Uh-oh, this is usually NOT a good thing. But oddly, this officer was grinning from ear to ear. He introduced himself as one of the officers on duty for the Department of Homeland Security for the GGBridge, double uh-oh. Yet, as he approached, he just shook his head and laughed as he spoke, “I’ll have to ask you not to blow bubbles on the way back. We’ve had several panicked calls into 911 from people saying there’s something hitting their windshields on the Golden Gate Bridge.” He continued, “It was pretty funny. I got a lot of heckling because I had to call into headquarters to call off the SWAT team and explain that the cause of all the calls was a girl on a pink bike blowing bubbles.” He was extremely nice about it and thought it was pretty hilarious. We had quite a laugh and a very interesting long talk about the GGBridge, his responsibilities there and GGBridge biking accidents (which, as it turns out, I should be nervous about that railing). Since that evening, we’ve been in touch several times by email. Thanks for making my day, Officer Rocha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, without my bubbles and the healing enthusiastic response from my GGBridge fans, I set out back across towards SF and instead focused on the glistening golden City and spectacular setting sun to calm my nerves. 

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Bubblegirl

I may be biased but I think Sunday Streets is about the best thing to ever happen to SF. This past Sunday was the kick-off for Sunday Streets in SF. The Embarcadero route is my favorite. I love the other routes too but I really like that the Embarcadero has wide and nicely paved streets. There are fewer stops. There’s plenty of street space for non-profit organizations or musicians. It’s close to the water. The view is amazing. There are palm trees and cool Bay breezes. It’s flat and there are tons of tourists. I think this last element is especially important. It seems critical to me that SF proves to visitors that we are focused on health while having fun as well as alternative modes of transportation.

The “Sunday Streets” movement is growing and has been for 30 years. Although it’