Wrenching on bikes together at Member Repair Party

At our last Member Repair Party, one member learned how to use a crank shifter for the first time. Another didn’t have many repairs to make on their bike, and just wanted to help out and meet new people. Seeing moments like this at just our first event, we knew this had potential to be a great ongoing series for members.

We’re excited to launch our Member Repair Party as a new monthly series for SFBike members to work on their bikes and learn basic mechanic skills in a fun and welcoming space. No experience is needed, and we welcome all riders who want to try out new tools with the support from our staff and other participants.

One of the best parts of the repair Parties has been seeing the lightbulb go off when someone finally works through a tricky problem on their bike with the support from others in the space. It’s not just about bikes, though, but bringing our members together in community and creating a space for building relationships within our coalition.

No matter what you’re hoping to work on or learn, we’d love to see you at the next Member Repair Party. They take place on the last Thursday of every month, from 5-7pm at the SFBike office on 1720 Market Street. If you’re not a member and want to join, you can sign up here or as you reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

The next Member Repair Party is on June 26, we hope to see you there!

REGISTER HERE

Funding approved for bike projects on northern Embarcadero & Jefferson St

On Tuesday May 13, 2025 the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) approved Prop L funding for the Northern Embarcadero and Jefferson Quick-Build.

This quick-build will upgrade the northbound bike lane on The Embarcadero between Bay St and Chestnut St to a protected bike lane with a completion date of September 2027. It will also add bike connections and pedestrian improvements to Jefferson St between Hyde St and Powell St with the goal of completing it by March 2026. 

San Francisco’s waterfront is extremely popular for biking and rolling – upgrading the bike lane to be protected will be a boon for both tourists visiting our city and locals who use The Embarcadero to commute or recreate. The project area is part of the High Injury Network (where the majority of severe and fatal collisions occur in SF) and these changes will improve safety on our streets for everyone.

As transportation habits in San Francisco continue to shift post-pandemic, we need to give people sustainable transportation options that are safe and accessible. Currently, biking in the proposed project area is scary and intimidating for the average person and discourages biking and rolling.

Creating protected bike infrastructure and pedestrian improvements to this area will improve the safety, enjoyability and accessibility of our waterfront. To get updates on this project and learn how you can get involved, sign up for our campaign below.

Sign Up Here

Angel Island and Back with Rafiki and Operation Genesis

A journey of growth with Rafiki, Operation Genesis, and Bike It Forward

This spring, our Bike It Forward program teamed up with Rafiki Coalition and Operation Genesis for a ten-week journey into skill-building, self-discovery, and joy. The plan was to have a structured maintenance course paired with local outdoor space exploration. What began with short loops around the neighborhood evolved into long-haul rides, hands-on bike repair, and real conversations about how—and where—young people move through this city.

When this cohort first came together outside the Rafiki Wellness Center in the Bayview neighborhood of SF, most had never heard of  Angel Island (an island in the San Francisco Bay that served as an immigration station and now offers scenic hiking and history). By the end of the program, they weren’t just asking where it was—they were riding around it, and back again.

From swapping out “Maxxi” tires (for perfect wheelies) to adjusting their own derailleurs, these young people took ownership of every turn of the wrench. Each week, their confidence grew — not just in how far they could ride, but in what they could handle.

And there was plenty for them to learn as they went. Early on, a group ride through Bayview led to some real-world lessons in traffic navigation and what it means to be seen on the street. Despite time dedicated to learning how to ride safely on Bayview streets, they learned how drivers react with impatience and bias. One chaperone left the ride shaken, not just by the near-misses, but by the deeper question: How are young people supposed to move safely through a city that wasn’t designed for their freedom?

Still, they kept riding, and their efforts paid off in an unforgettable trip — a nearly 23-mile ride from Bayview along the Bay Trail to “The Pier” (Pier 39), up the Crissy Field hill, back to the ferry, around Angel Island, and back! The journey gave them a chance to explore, be free, and connect the dots of their city. They had built the strength and confidence, and a growing desire to explore the world outside their own neighborhood. Beyond just the physical experience of riding that long distance, the ride was also  a quiet challenge to a system that too often keeps young people, especially Black and brown youth, boxed in.

Destiny Williams, the Rafiki Coalition Program Manager noted about our Angel Island trip: “It stays with me—how many young people who’ve grown up in San Francisco have never even heard of Angel Island. As part of the Rafiki team, I think a lot about why that is. On our ride, I noticed moments when our kids were being watched a bit too closely, or treated like they didn’t quite belong. These are public spaces, meant for everyone, but too often they don’t feel welcoming to Black and brown youth.” She continued, “I’m grateful we were there—to hold space, to create a sense of safety—so they could just enjoy the day. I feel like it shouldn’t take that kind of support for them to feel free outside. That’s why this work matters so much to us. It’s about more than bikes—it’s about joy, visibility, and giving our youth the chance to feel at home in nature.”

Operation Genesis brought deep ties and trust, showing young people that this was their space to shape. A Career Day featured leaders like Drew VanTassell and Levi Luna of Mike’s Bikes, and Saul Leiken of the newly-formed micromobility company ALSO, who shared what it means to build a life in the bike world—and why it matters who gets to ride. As hosts, the Rafiki Coalition rooted the program in wellness, making each gathering a space to exhale and feel safe.

As we look to the next cohort—this time inviting families into the experience—we’re thinking about the bigger question: What does mobility mean when you’re young? How do we foster independence when your neighborhood has historically been deprioritized by transit funding, or when your city is  built around the needs of people in cars? How do young people gain comfort and confidence riding, when their  freedom depends not just on having a bike, but on where they’re “allowed” to ride it?

We don’t have all the answers. But we do know this: with the right tools, the right partners, and a little room to move, these kids can go anywhere.

We are committed to continuing to ride with them – and you can help.  Support youth mobility and mentorship by making a donation to our Bike It Forward program.

MAKE A DONATION

Meet Green Apple Books, our Small Business Bike Champion of the Year

This year we extended our Bike Champion of the Year awards to recognize others in our community who embody what it means to be a champion for biking in our city. For the first time this year, we asked our members to nominate small businesses that model bike friendliness with ample bike parking and perks for using the bike to get around SF. To be eligible, businesses must: be locally owned and operated, have 50 employees or less, and support people who ride bikes in some shape or form.

Our Small Business Bike Champion of the Year is Green Apple Books. Books and bikes go so well together!

They were nominated for supporting bike infrastructure and piloting bike corrals right in front of their shops, and for supporting the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition with member discounts, in-kind donations of gift cards, and hosting bike-friendly book events. When we told them they were our winner, co-owner Kevin Ryan wrote: “This is like winning an Oscar! It’s an honor just to be nominated!!”

Why is it important to your organization to welcome patrons coming by bike?
Despite the many beautiful hills, San Francisco is an ideal biking city. And located right in between Golden Gate Park and The Presidio, Green Apple is ideally located as a stop for any San Francisco bicycle tour. The mild climate and the beautiful vistas make for great biking. Many of our employees bike to work, and we negotiated for one of the first bike corrals in the city, many years ago.

What advice do you have for other small businesses who wish to welcome bicyclists?
Once a business gets a reputation as a bike friendly destination, the bikers will come. We’ve been a stop on Bicycle Bookshop tours of the city and many other bike friendly events.

Are you hosting any sales or events coming up you’d like to make sure SFBike members know about?
There’s nothing on our calendar at the moment, but check back on our events calendar, we tend to do 3 or 4 bike-centric events a year.

Meet Maureen Persico, our SFBike Volunteer Bike Champion of the Year

This year we extended our Bike Champion of the Year awards to recognize others in our community who embody what it means to be a champion for biking in our city. Our SFBike Volunteer Bike Champion of 2025 is Maureen Persico.

For those who have volunteered with our Bike it Forward program, Maureen is a very familiar face. Maureen serves as a volunteer shop assistant; orienting volunteers, coordinating bike donations, repairing bikes, and many things in between and beyond. Donating hundreds of hours of her time over the past year, Maureen Persico has made a huge contribution to SFBike and has exemplified commitment to our mission of promoting the bike for everyday transportation.

What do you do as a volunteer with SFBike?

I primarily volunteer with Bike it Forward to repair bikes and distribute them – I’ve helped out at our volunteer repair nights, making toolkits and explaining BIF’s mission to new volunteers, paired volunteers and answered repair questions. I’ve also helped with bike pickups from folks who are donating to BIF, and attended weekend events distributing bikes. 

What made you want to volunteer with SFBike, and what keeps you coming back?

I love volunteering to support Bike It Forward – it helps me gain as much I real world, hands-on experience as I can while volunteering with BIF so I can get hired as a bicycle mechanic. I also really appreciate working with Alex, who is the kindest and most knowledgeable mentor I could ask for.  

Is there a project or aspect of your volunteer work that you’re especially proud of?

I love the feeling of seeing someone start riding a bike that I’ve fixed and sail off into the sunset – it brings me a lot of joy and fulfillment.  

What advice do you have for someone interested in getting involved with the coalition? 

There are lots of different ways to connect with the Coalition – my recommendation is to talk to the Membership and Volunteer team about your love and they’ll help you find something you especially enjoy doing that also helps support the mission!  

Where is your favorite place to bike?

I love riding down Valencia because I can see where my prior advocacy has finally borne fruit.  Activism gets results!

Meet Supervisor Melgar, our 2025 District Supervisor Bike Champion of the Year

This year we extended our Bike Champion of the Year awards to recognize others in our community who embody what it means to be a champion for biking in our city. Our District Supervisor Bike Champion of the Year is Supervisor Myrna Melgar. 

Myrna Melgar has a long history of public service in San Francisco. She has served as Executive Director of Jamestown Community Center, Deputy Director of MEDA, and also as the President of the San Francisco Planning Commission and Vice President of the Building Inspection Commission before becoming the District 7 Supervisor in 2020 – she was also easily re-elected to her seat by the constituents of her district in a tough campaign in 2024. 

Supervisor Melgar lives the furthest away from City Hall compared to the rest of her colleagues and is the only Supervisor that rides her bike to work everyday. So, not only has she consistently advocated for safer streets in her tenure representing the residents of District 7, she also lives by the sustainable transportation values she advocates for as supervisor.

What is your bike story?

I learned to ride a bike when I was 7 years old. My friend Elizabeth taught me with great patience on the street in front of her house in San Salvador where we grew up. She had a purple and pink Schwinn with a banana seat, and I was hooked!  I now have a green WVTA electric bike with fat 20 inch tires that fold up when needed. It came in a box to my house during the pandemic and I put it together myself.  Jeff Taliaferro from Ocean Cyclery saw me riding it down Ocean Ave that first day and said, “cool toy Myrna, let me check it out!” When he did, he found I had put the front wheel on backwards!  He fixed it on the spot and probably saved my life. I have since installed hydraulic brakes, lights, bells and so much more on this bike. I love her! Her name is Carlita and she has a little over 7,000 miles on her now. She can handle the big hill behind City College with no problem, which is my route to work.  I can take her on BART and have gone as far as San Mateo, east to Oakland and across the Golden Gate bridge.  My job can be stressful, but after work, I get on my bike to go home and feel the wind on my face and everything seems good in the world for a few minutes.

What work around safer streets are you most proud of?

The improvements to Ocean Ave — the new extended platforms for the K stops; the protected bike lane on Lake Merced boulevard which now goes from the Daly City border, in front of Lowell High School and on the other side to Skyline. I’m also so proud of the bike lane on Frida Kahlo in front of City College. And citywide, I’m very proud that we now have a biking and rolling plan. It is not perfect, but the fact that we have one is cause for celebration.

What are you currently working on that you want members of the public to know more about?  

We are working with the County Transportation Authority (CTA) and the SFMTA on improvements to the Ninth Ave and Irving corridor.  It is such a vibrant and awesome area of my district but it is messy and dangerous for people walking, biking, and rolling. We have a lot of folks who double park and block the N, and pedestrians trying to cross the street — backing up car traffic the entire block sometimes. The street narrows on Seventh Ave in front of Independence High School — with car traffic and bikes competing for space, and the intersection on Ninth and Lincoln sees a lot of pedestrians crossing from Inner Sunset to Golden Gate Park and should be a lot safer and more inviting.  

Thank you, Supervisor Melgar, for your leadership and enthusiasm! To stay up to date on all the things we’re working on in District 7, sign up for campaign updates below.

Sign Up Here

BTWD Stamp card challenge a huge hit!

This Bike to Wherever Day brought a fun new activity for people to participate in — a challenge to visit at least 10 Energizer Stations and collect stamps to be entered into a giveaway. 

We were blown away by the number of people eager to participate and complete the challenge. We had a total of 35 completed stamp cards. It was so much fun to see and cheer on individuals and groups rushing from one station to the next.

Two riders, Carl and Hannah, were able to complete the entire stamp card, visiting all 17 of our stations! Carl said, “It was a fun way to explore the city and see the different stations all across SF.” Carl and Heather rode a total of 50 miles that day while completing the challenge. They were motivated to visit all the stations by the opportunity to see people throughout the whole city working to make bicycling more visible, and the collaboration between SFBike and Space Age Bags with the chance to win a unique messenger bag sure helped. 

Member Tazika won the one-of-a-kind Space Age bag in our drawing. Two others won swag bags from SFBike and all the other participants received a Bike to Wherever Day t-shirt. 

We look forward to doing this challenge again next year. Thank you to everyone who participated and made it a great day. If you didn’t get a chance to join or renew your membership on Bike To Wherever Day, you’re not too late. 

Join or Renew your membership today!

Let’s Keep Market Street Moving

In April, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Waymos would be welcomed this summer onto the car-free portion of Market Street, undoing one of the biggest wins for street safety and transit efficiency in San Francisco in the past decade. We’re proud to announce Keep Market Street Moving, the alliance that your SF Bicycle Coalition and other sustainable transportation advocates have drawn together to ensure that San Francisco’s key corridor remains safe and efficient for the most equitable and sustainable ways of moving through the city.

When the Mayor announced this decision in April, we immediately opposed the move, but the plans have continued forward. Today, we invite you and every San Franciscan who recognizes the importance of prioritizing Market Street for biking, rolling, transit, and walking to sign our petition and learn more about getting involved. 

If the City does not change course, we will likely see a flood of cars and other vehicles back on San Francisco’s main street. Regardless of the potential safety of autonomous vehicles, a Market Street filled with more cars of any kind will be more dangerous for everyone, and worse for transit. We must join together now to prevent reverting to a time when Market Street was clogged with cars spewing exhaust, people had to dodge through traffic to get from transit boarding islands to the curb, and people on bikes risked their lives weaving through the chaos. Adding new cars to Market Street will not improve the corridor for anyone and will not bring back the foot traffic that local businesses so desperately need.

Sign the petition today to join this movement and keep Market Street moving!

SIGN THE PETITION

We’re Hiring: Youth and Family Coordinator

Who we are

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition works to promote bicycling for everyday transportation in order to transform our streets and neighborhoods into more safe, just, and livable places. Our member-based grassroots organization is considered one of the largest, most active, and effective groups of our kind in the country.

The position

The Youth And Family Program Coordinator will play a vital role in the SF Bicycle Coalition’s efforts to encourage the city’s families and K-12 youth to adopt bicycling and other sustainable modes as one of their transportation options, both by providing fun and informative activities and administratively supporting citywide sustainable transportation programming. Contributing to the work of two contracts – San Francisco-Safe Routes to School (SF-SRTS) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Spare the Air Youth (MTC-STAY) Family Biking program – the Youth and Family Program Coordinator will split their time between contract and project administration responsibilities and youth and family biking program implementation, such as organizing workshops, bike fairs, rides, and other events to educate and encourage youth and families to bike. The successful candidate will be organized and have a keen attention to detail, as well as experience and expertise in leading youth (K-12) programming, especially related to bicycle education. 

Commitment to Equity and Justice

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition acknowledges the harm biking culture and unequal access to transportation have inflicted upon underserved communities — especially people of color, people with disabilities, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and people with LGBTQ+ identities. We believe that these communities must be centered as leaders in the work we do.

Primary responsibilities include:

  • Work with the Director of Youth and Family Programs on Safe Routes to School contract administration and project management. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
    • Scheduling meetings, trainings, and onboarding for partner subcontractors 
    • Developing and leading onboarding for partner subcontractors
    • Invoicing and reporting
    • Contract compliance
    • Meeting facilitation
    • Ensuring consistency across subcontractors in programmatic quality and adherence to program processes and protocols 
  • Lead reporting and invoicing for MTC-STAY contract, coordinating with six other non-profits or government agencies who hold up to 40 events annually.
  • Lead around four or more Family Biking Workshops annually. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
    • Scheduling workshops
    • Identifying appropriate locations and acquiring necessary permissions or permitting
    • Organizing and planning workshops
    • Coordinating with nonprofit, agency, and/or business partners, as needed 
    • Teaching bicycle skills, as needed
    • Evaluating efforts
  • Lead program implementation for SF-Safe Routes to School as-needed bicycle programming. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
    • Curricula development and updating
    • Coordinating and collaborating with schools and SF-SRTS partners
    • Teaching bicycle safety education
    • Collecting evaluation data
    • Coordinating with evaluation contractor
    • coordinating with the Adult Bicycle Education Coordinator to schedule bicycle educators (LCIs).

Strong candidates will possess as many of the following qualifications and skills as possible: 

We recognize that this position encompasses a number of different responsibility areas. We are committed to train and support our staff to strengthen their abilities in each area and we encourage applications from people who may not have all of the qualifications listed below.

  • Two or more years teaching or working with youth (K-12) and families;
  • One or more years implementing bicycle safety education or other transportation-related programming;
  • Three or more years of experience in contract or project management;
  • League of American Bicyclists-certified League Cycling Instructor;
  • A commitment to and passion for the mission and core values of the SF Bicycle Coalition and SF-SRTS;
  • Highly organized with excellent attention to detail;
  • Strong self-starter;
  • Proven collaboration skills;
  • Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written);
  • Experience and skills using software for project management, database management, and/or CRM (Airtable, Salesforce, Asana, etc.);
  • California driver’s license and willingness to safely drive a U-Haul to transport bicycles; 
  • Experience and skills with Google Suite or MS Office/365 applications;
  • Bilingual in English and another language, especially Spanish, Cantonese, Filipino/Tagalog, Arabic, Vietnamese, or Samoan

Reports to: Director of Youth & Family Programs

Salary and Benefits: This position starts  July 1st, 2025 and will receive the annual salary rate of $70,895.40. 

Full-time benefits include excellent medical, vision and dental insurance with no employee contribution, as well as three weeks of paid time off, half-days on Fridays, and a flexible work arrangement policy.

Hours: Full-time, exempt. The position may require occasional early morning or evening work and often includes weekend work, depending on the season.

Location: Hybrid — San Francisco Bay Area. Staff and their supervisors will work together to determine the appropriate work arrangement based on the nature of the individual’s role, and in alignment with organizational policies and departmental needs and activities. We strive to be as flexible and fair as possible while ensuring in-person accessibility when needed to interface with our volunteers, membership, community, and each other. 

To apply, please submit a resume and a PDF with your answers to the below three questions. Please make your answers roughly one paragraph each:

  1. What inspires you to want to work at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition?
  2. What does transportation justice mean to you and how do you see it fitting into your career?
  3. What skills and/or experiences do you have that would make you a good fit for this role?

APPLY HERE

CA Supreme Court affirms: Cities must maintain roads in safe conditions

In a crucial decision for people across California who ride bikes, the state Supreme Court has ruled that a San Francisco man who was gravely injured in a crash in Oakland may sue the City for negligence, despite having signed a liability waiver. The case, Whitehead v. City of Oakland, stems from a 2017 incident in which Ty Whitehead was severely injured after hitting a pothole on Skyline Boulevard while participating in a training ride for AIDS/LifeCycle. Whitehead sued the City of Oakland for failing to maintain its roads in a condition safe for people biking. Oakland claimed that the waiver Whitehead had signed to participate in the ride relieved them of liability for his injuries.

The unanimous ruling in Whitehead’s favor states unequivocally that cities have a statutory duty to maintain public roads in a reasonably safe condition for all users, no matter their chosen mode. In the Court’s opinion, Justice Kelli Evans emphasized that waivers cannot excuse a city’s legal obligations to ensure road safety.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, along with CalBike and Bike East Bay, submitted an amicus brief supporting Whitehead’s case, authored on behalf of the organizations by SF bicycle attorney Shaana Rahman. The brief highlighted that a ruling in favor of Oakland would set a dangerous precedent, potentially allowing cities to avoid responsibility for hazardous road conditions. Such a stance would undermine street safety, jeopardize organized bicycle rides and classes (such as the dozens of free bicycle education classes offered by SFBike and Bike East Bay each year), and discourage the public from participating in cycling activities or riding a bike at all.

This decision is a significant victory not only for Whitehead, but also for the statewide cycling community, because it reinforces the principle that public entities must be held accountable for unsafe infrastructure. It sets a precedent that cities must prioritize road maintenance and safe conditions for the most vulnerable road users or be held liable, ensuring that cyclists are not unfairly saddled with the consequences of poorly maintained streets.

“This decision is a win not just for one rider, but for every Californian who uses a bike to get around,” said the brief’s author, Shaana Rahman, in a post on her firm’s website. “It sends a clear message that cities must take their responsibilities seriously—especially when it comes to keeping cyclists safe.”

One of the lawyers who argued the case for Whitehead, Anthony Label of the Veen Firm, said, “Oakland’s roads are notoriously bad for cyclists, and the city has done far too little to meet even minimum safety standards.” He continued, “This landmark decision by the California Supreme Court will ensure that cyclists like Ty, in the Bay Area and throughout the state, will be able to hold public entities accountable when they fail to maintain safe infrastructure. It will also encourage these entities to keep their roadways safe instead of trying to hide behind overbroad releases.”

Support vital advocacy like this by becoming a member of the SF Bicycle Coalition today. Already a member? Show your dedication by donating today.