Where Wheels Go To Die

It's there, on the outskirts of town, where empty old industrial buildings decay, pristine city streets give way to shadowy, unkempt ghettos, and the ghost of Jack Kerouac hovers, as if still living in the shanty towns that once accompanied the grit of heavy industry and international shipping. Literally, where the passing trains split the civilized from "the other side of the tracks." A place so dark and lacking in civility the residents of this beautiful San Francisco see fit to call it Town's End.

It's there, on dark, crumbling, rocky pavement, that the City claims its victims. It's there that dreams -- and wheels -- go to die.

Townsend. The bane of my commuting existence.

Allow me to explain. Since beginning my CalTrain/bike commute, I've ridden from my office, along the Embarcadero, to the train station at 4th and King to catch my ride home. It's an easy 2 miles, with fairly wide bike lanes and manageable traffic. You can stay on Embarcadero all the way to 4th, but where it turns into King you lose the bike lane and have to joust with autos intent on rocketing out onto 280 to get home, or you can turn right on Townsend, avoiding the traffic and shortening the ride (by about 1 block). But there's a problem. Townsend is a disaster.

My introduction is perhaps misleading: the China Basin area I'm talking about is actually quite nice: the ballpark is beautiful, there are several good restaurants and bars down there, new condos dot the landscape, and urban malls make up the remainder of the area. The tired and decaying industry that used to be there is largely gone, replaced through surprisingly effective urban renewal projects and city planning. A little further south you see some decaying industry, primarily down by the old shipyards and docks, and then, finally (pretty far south), you actually reach Hunter's Point, San Francisco's ghetto. I never actually ride that far down. China Basin's pretty nice. Except for Townsend.

I have what I misleadingly call "inside information" from a source at the City. The problem with Townsend is the endless argument over how to properly develop what remains undeveloped (or, in reality, un-redeveloped). Due to whatever pressures the various lovely interest groups bring to bear on the [sarcasm] always efficient [/sarcasm] Board of Supervisors, Townsend remains as is. Which translates to the worst road conditions I know. Riding down Townsend is like riding over a cobblestone road, but less predictable. Not ideal conditions on a bike.

It was bad enough when I was on my mountain bike, designed with fat tires, a wide stance, and a forgiving frame. It still jostled me daily as I returned to CalTrain. On the road bike? The 700x23 tires aren't designed for monster truck rallies, nor is the racing frame. And it got worse one fateful day as I changed lanes to turn onto 4th and into the train station. A bump, a pop, and my front wheel jerked to the side. Was it a rut? A groove in the road? A pothole? Does it matter? Over I went, leaving me beaten, bloody, and in need of both a new helmet and a new front wheel.

Townsend: where wheels go to die.