Bikes to Books: A literary bike tour

San Francisco Bay Guardian | October 6, 2013
San Francisco is famous for many things, one of which is its vast literary legacy, a legacy that stretches back to its earliest days. On October 2, 1988, 12 small streets scattered throughout the city were renamed for famous authors and artists who had lived in San Francisco, as proposed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 25 years later, we’ve devised a bike tour and interactive, multi-layered map connecting all 12 streets and authors, from Jack London to Jack Kerouac, South Park to North Beach. The tour itself is admittedly not for the faint of heart nor gear—these streets were not named because of their proximity to bike lanes— and there’s plenty of traffic to dodge, hills, one-way streets, and even a set of stairs to climb, but it’s still a diverting and unique way to celebrate both the literary and the adventurous spirit of San Francisco. Takes between two and three hours from start to finish, and lands you right in front of two very important literary landmarks: City Lights Bookstore and Vesuvio Café!

San Francisco Bay Guardian

The San Francisco Bay Guardian was founded in 1966 as the first newsweekly specifically designed to be alternative to and competitive with the local daily newspaper monopoly. It has become one of the best-known and most respected editorial and advertising...
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