Open Space Council's Blog

Let's start a new Olympic sport

What if there was an Olympic sport for most parks visited in one day?

Farms and ranches could be included. So could regional trails and community gardens. Competitors would have to touch a sign post with the park's name on it before moving onto the next. They could use any transportation available to them to get between the parks (excluding helicopters - that's not fair). 

The Park-A-Thon would have to take place in the San Francisco Bay Area because no where else can you visit as many parks all in one day. We have over a million acres of parks for all to enjoy. We have national leaders in land conservation throughout our ten counties. We have regional trails, regional plans, and regional projects. And we have some of the most beautiful parks in the world.

And it's never too soon to start training.

 

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We have Olympic fever. But since NBC hasn't asked us for our commentary on the 2012 London Games, we'll share our ideas here with you. Our regular programming will return August 15.

Photos by Lech Naumovich at the 2012 Alt. More info about the event can be found here.

Liveblogging from the Alt. Ride!

10:17pm:

YES!

18 riders rode to the tops of Mt. Hamilton, an unusually hot Mt. Tamalpais, and an oppressively hot Mt. Diablo in one day using Caltrain, Golden Gate Ferry and BART to get between the base of each mountain. Another 9 people rode to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and Mt Diablo which on a day like today is not an easy feat (for some of us, regardless of weather, it's harder than hard). With a hot dog cart and food from Taheri's in Walnut Creek, the riders and family and friends held a Closing Ceremony in the plaza across from the Pleasant Hill BART station. Ron Brown from Save Mount Diablo and Gail Murray, a member of the BART Board of Directors, spoke to the crowd about the value of parks and our transit systems. And medals were awarded to those that braved the heat and accomplished the day's goal.

You can get a sense of the event on the event's website - www.altride.org - from a variety of perspectives. Those pictures do way more than I can in words on this blog.

Everyone is on their way home now. Riders hailed from around the Bay Area: Mill Valley, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Oakland, Walnut Creek, San Jose, Fremont, Berkeley, and more. I'm reminded, again, about how Bay Area this event is. I love the Bay Area!

We are so grateful for sponsorship from CLIF Bar, Coastal Conservancy and Peninsula Open Space Trust. Thank you!

A great group of partners provided permits, volunteers, gear, food, drinks, encouragement, and more. We want to thank our Lead Partners: East Bay Regional Park District, REI, Save Mount Diablo, and Trust for Public Land. And also thanks to our Partners: Alameda Natural Grocery, California State Parks, Caltrain, Chipotle Mexican Grill, MTC / Clipper, San Francisco Parks Alliance, Santa Clara County Parks, Skratch Labs and TransForm.

We want to thank the John McNeil Studio for their creativity and for their belief in disruption. Lech Naumovich is a photography hero and we can't wait to see his pictures. Our volunteers lugged heavy bags of trailmix, made sure riders had enough water, and took pictures and to all of them we are grateful. And since it's me here at the keyboard and not him, I want to thank Ryan Branciforte for his ideas, for his passion, and for being a really great person to share an office with.

 

1:19pm:

The riders are almost to the top of Mt Tam by now. 21 riders safely made it to the top of Mt Hamilton this morning about 6:30am. They zoomed down to San Jose Caltrain station and devoured breakfast (or is it lunch since they've been up since 4am?). They boarded a 9am train northbound for San Francisco and arrived at 10:36am. From there they rode over to the Ferry Building where another 15 riders were waiting. These 15 will do Tam and Diablo, or at least that's the plan. It's hot!

The next critical time is the 3:50pm ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco. They miss that ferry and it's really hard to finish all three peaks.

There's a whole lot happening over at www.altride.org. Check it out and contribute! Remember, email pictures of you outside and moving today and enter to win a sweet bag from Timbuk2, burritos from Chipotle Mexican Grill and yummy bars from CLIF Bar. All ya gotta do is email pictures to submit [ at ] altride [ dot ] org  SO simple!

 

6:50am:

The day started early for the Alt. riders attempting Mt Hamilton, Mt Tam and Mt Diablo. This is Annie Burke reporting to you live from Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose. I'm en route to San Jose Caltrain station and making a stop for coffee for the riders. I don't drink coffee and so I don't get it, but I guess I'm in the minority. I'll be posting here on this blog as I can throughout the day, but more frequently over at www.altride.org

It's a Spare the Air day in the Bay Area which means it's a perfect day to take Caltrain, Golden Gate Ferry and BART. Which is what we plan to do!

More later....

 

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Today is the Alt. Ride: a bike ride party up Mt Hamilton, Mt Tamalpais and Mt Diablo in one day using public transit to get between the three peaks. More information can be found by scrolling down or hopping over to altride.org. The Alt. Ride is coordinated by the Bay Area Open Space Council and Transit and Trails.

Monday Morning Quiz

How well do you know the land conservation community of the Bay Area? 

Let's take a pop quiz on this beautiful Monday morning and see what you know about the region's parks and trails. Ready? Of course you are.

Courtesy of Google Maps

STEP ONE: Take out a piece of paper and a #2 pencil (we're old school, but taking notes on a screen of some kind is allowed).

STEP TWO: Read this article on Off Metro San Francisco.

STEP THREE: Answer this question - How many park agencies are represented in the article?

STEP FOUR: Choose one of the following ways of sharing your answer:

• Whisper it quietly to yourself  
• Email it to your colleagues and see if they had the same answer
• Write it in the Comments section of this blog post
• Tweet it and include @BA_OpenSpace with your tweet

 

Everyone who submits the correct answer in the comments and/or on Twitter will win a lot of respect from the Open Space Council staff and will be recognized here on this blog. Bonus points for creative answers and pictures.

Ready? Go! 

 

Get out, get moving, get involved

Alt. is more than a really hard core bike challenge.

What makes it special are the parks it goes through and the transit that brings it all together. And those parks, trains, ferries, and buses are for all of us to use. Alt. is an opportunity for everyone to get out, get moving, and get involved. Over the next 3 weeks we'll share ideas about how you - yes YOU! - can celebrate alternative modes of transportation and the awe-inspiring landscape of the Bay Area.

Not up to riding 3 peaks, but 1 sounds doable? Join us for a Training Ride on June 2 up Mt Hamilton. We'll start at 9am at the San Jose Caltrain Station. Here is the route we'll take. Register here so we know you're coming.

What will you do on June 16? Here are some ideas:

• Take BART or MUNI to the Farmers' Market at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Look for Alt. along the Embarcadero and watch the riders go by at about 10:45am.
• Do a low-elevation version of the Alt. ride: San Francisco Ferry Building to the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and ferry back to San Francisco. Yes, there's a little climb to get to the Bridge but you can do it.
• Jump on a bus to a park near you and use Transit & Trails to plan your trip.

Sign up here if you plan to get out, get moving or get involved on June 16 and join the movement. Thanks to all of our sponsors and partners:

 

Bike! Ride! Celebrate! Registration now open.

It's time.  Learn more about Alt. and join the celebration on June 16, 2012 for something so Bay Area:

Photo by Lech Naumovich from the 2011 ride.  Rolling golden hills is definitely so Bay Area.

Riders!

Join us for an epic ride up Mt Hamilton, Mt Tamalpais and Mt Diablo using Caltrain, Golden Gate Ferry, and BART to get between the base of the three peaks. It's 128 miles and 12,000+ in elevation gain. The ride starts Friday, June 15 at 5:00pm at the San Jose Caltrain Station. Riders camp out at Joseph Grant Campground and wake up at 4:00am to start riding at 4:30am. The ride concludes at the Pleasant Hill BART station at about 9:00pm.

Space is limited because of the complicated logistics and tight timelines.

Act fast: Register to ride

Riders and fans in 2011.

Everyone Else!

Riding a bike for 128 miles isn't for everyone. But the parks and transit the riders visit and use ARE for everyone. Getting outside into nature IS for everyone. Join us to:

• Explore and learn about the Bay Area parks and the transit that connects us all from volunteers
• Snap pictures, take video, and share your experience on altride.org and contribute to the online journal of the day
• Enjoy surprises along the way that we can't tell you about (it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?)

Sign up to celebrate  

Thanks to our sponsors and partners!

Sponsor

 

Lead Partners

      

 Partner

 

 

Questions?  Contact Annie Burke at 510 809 8009 ext 252 or annie at openspacecouncil dot org.

 

Taking the Leap with Androids, Blogs, Blazers, and Peaks

Happy Leap Year!

On this very special day that happens every 4 years, we are excited to announce 4 exciting new ways that Transit and Trails is expanding its reach.  

THE FIRST: Remember the Triple Threat?  It’s a 128-mile bicycle ride up Mount Hamilton, Mount Tamalpais, and Mount Diablo in one day, using public transit to get between the three peaks.  Nine riders completed all three peaks last year (plus seven who did two peaks, and one who did one): 

Photo by Lech Naumovich

But riding 128 miles and climbing 10,000 feet on a bicycle isn’t for everyone.  The parks where this ride takes place ARE for everyone.  The trains and ferry they take to crisscross the Bay Area ARE for everyone.  And so we announce a new name and an expanded event: 

We’re thinking bigger than bikes.  The day will include opportunities for:

• 25 bicyclists to summit three iconic peaks, using public transit to get between them
• Anyone to join open-air parties to cheer the riders on and celebrate the beauty of the Bay Area
• Anyone to ride transit with the riders and enjoy some transit-friendly revelry
• Anyone with a mobile phone or computer to tell the story of the day by sharing their experience of the ride online, in real time

Check out the website and stay tuned for more information about how you – how everyone! – can participate.  Registration for riders will open on March 26.  Sponsorship and partner opportunities are available. Contact Annie Burke at annie@openspacecouncil.org with questions and ideas.

 

THE SECOND: There is so much more to Transit and Trails than a map of trailheads, trips and campgrounds.  There’s a vision that more people get outside and use low-carbon intensive ways of getting there.  There are ideas and dreams and plans and conversations.  There are a lot of trips outside to check out those transit connections, take in the vistas, and soak up that fresh air.  And so we’ve created a way to share some of these stories with you: 

Introducing our new blog!  

Take a look, bookmark it, let us know what you think in the comments, and if you feel so inclined share it with friends.  We'll post ways of getting outside, what to see and do while you're there, information about the Alt. ride, fun links and videos, and more.  

THE THIRD: Our iPhone app has been available for download for about a year now.  We’re happy to announce that all you Android phone users don't have to wait too much longer.  Stay tuned to our blog in the next week or so to find an app that you can call your own.  Here's a sneak peak at what you'll soon be able to download:

   

 

THE FOURTH! A dedicated group of trusted partners has been making Transit and Trails better.  They have been adding trailheads to our database and making them available to you.  The Trailblazers, as we like to call them, are a knowledgeable group of outdoor enthusiasts who know the Bay Area like the back of their hand.  The include: 

• The City of San Jose who has added well over 150 trailheads to Transit and Trails, many of which include descriptions, photos, and more.
• Bonnie Lewkowic, the author of A Wheelchair Rider’s Guide to the Bay Area, is adding information to Transit and Trails about how to access local parks and trails in a wheelchair. 
• Groups like the San Francisco Bay Trail and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy have contributed information to make it easier to get to their beautiful places

Are you interested in being a Trailblazer?  Email Ryan at ryan@openspacecouncil.org to learn more about what’s involved.

Photo by Bonnie Lewkowic.  Trip information is here.

 
Well, that’s it.  That’s our big leap.  More ways to expand Transit and Trails so that more people use it to get outside.  More partnerships.  More ways of telling the story about Bay Area parks and trails.  More ways of connecting people to this beautiful place we call home.

What do you think?  Tell us in the comments.

 

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Our regularly scheduled Wednesday post, Open Space Happenings, will resume next week.