where to skate in the East Bay

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Permalink Reply by John Hamilton on February 19, 2009 at 6:13pm

Hi Sarah -

Are you a speedskater or a recreational skater? If you're speedy, I'm always up for trying to organize group skates. Let me know if you're interested... Though I think we're due some more rain this weekend...

Basically, I recommend the Bay Trail that runs from Emeryville to Richmond. I wrote about it in an earlier post, so let me paste that in again here. Hope this helps!

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So... the question is, where to skate in the Bay Area? As a transplanted New Yorker, I have to say that it's a little disappointing how few skate-friendly trails there are out here. In the East Bay, the hills are good for keeping in shape, and the residential streets are pretty quiet, but the pavement is often pretty lousy.

I live in Berkeley, so my usual route is to skate down the hill from where I live and over the pedestrian bridge below the spot where University Ave. crosses the Interstate. From there, I might skate to Emeryville and turn around - it's a very flat trail along the Bay, and though the pavement is a little less than ideal, it's not bad. Heading in the other direction, once you get past the Marina, it's smooth sailing all the way to the road to Golden Gate Fields. There's a climb up to the racetrack, and a steep hill going down with some really gnarly pavement... The parking lot is serious gatorback, but once you get through it and onto the Bayside trail in Albany, it flattens out into nice skating and great scenery all the way to the Richmond marina. Then, I'll turn around and skate home.

Another option if you're into punishment is to skate up Old Tunnel Road. I sometimes skate all the way up Ashby to it... It's a serious climb to the top of the hills. The trip back down Old Tunnel is a great reward... But since I don't have a car, I have to skate down Tunnel Road (route 13), and that's really unpleasant, what with the massive hill, the cars whizzing past, and the stoplights at the bottom by the Claremont Hotel.

I once rode a BART train way out East to the Iron Horse trail. It was a really hot summer day, so not too comfortable, but the trail was really nice. There were more intersections than I would have liked, but the pavement was good and the scenery was pretty nice.

I also like to skate from the Ferry Building in San Francisco along the Embarcadero, up to the Presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometime cyclists get angry at me -- skaters aren't supposed to be there -- and when you pass them, they get really mad. I've never had the nerve to try climbing up into the hills in the Marin headlands -- does anyone know if that area is skatable?

I've skated in Golden Gate Park, but the road surface is terrible, and I keep comparing it to New York's Central and Prospect parks, where I used to skate, and it just doesn't seem to compare. But I have heard that there's a Sunday morning skate to Lake Merced that's supposed to be fun. Anyone ever do that?

I've heard that Canada road is great, but since I have no car, it's impossible for me to get there... It's really far off, anyways.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Burnson on February 19, 2009 at 6:34pm

Hi, Sarah from Boston.

Like John said the Bay Trail's probably your best bet. ... Best place to park is probably Point Isabel Regional Park. ... Look for the bike trail, which winds around and through it. ... The trail goes up into Richmond (north) and down to the Golden Gate Field's Racetrack. ... You can skate up and around the racetrack and then keep going to the Berkeley Marina and beyond. ... Hope you have a great stay here in the Bay Area! - Robert

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Permalink Reply by Sarah from Boston on February 19, 2009 at 10:30pm

I am hoping that the rain holds off this weekend - not looking good so far. Sunday afternoon I am free, if people are gathering.

To answer John's question - I am neither a rec skater nor a speedster. Somewhere in between. I've been doing night skates in Boston for, geez, coming on 15 years - and can hold my own there and with the night skates in LA and in SF.

Though we've had a snowy and icy winter in Boston - so I've not been on my skates since late October. :(

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Permalink Reply by John Hamilton on February 20, 2009 at 2:57pm

I should have mentioned this before. There's a really fun Friday Night Skate in San Francisco every week, and since the last couple got rained on, I think tonight's will be bigger than usual and lots of fun. You should come if you can - it's a blast, and a great way to see San Francisco.

It's pretty wild and woolly - kind of a disco party on wheels. There's a booming sound system that organizer D. Miles takes with him, lots of day-glo lights and usually a tripped-out bike with a bubble blower on the back end. There are some hills and a slightly perilous trip down a narrow sidewalk through one of the tunnels. But if you're training for A2A, you'll be fine. The pace is really pretty slow.

Hope you can make it tonight! Cancel whatever other plans you have - it's the best thing to do on a Friday night in San Francisco. It's basically 100% certain to be rainy on Sunday, so this is your only chance!

Everyone gathers at Embarcadero and Market, in the plaza between lanes of Embarcadero. Here's a map:

http://tinyurl.com/aj386u

That's right next to the Embarcadero BART stop - the first stop in San Francisco if you're coming from the East Bay.

Make sure you're there by 9pm or you'll miss the boat!

Sarah from Boston said:

I am hoping that the rain holds off this weekend - not looking good so far. Sunday afternoon I am free, if people are gathering.
To answer John's question - I am neither a rec skater nor a speedster. Somewhere in between. I've been doing night skates in Boston for, geez, coming on 15 years - and can hold my own there and with the night skates in LA and in SF. Though we've had a snowy and icy winter in Boston - so I've not been on my skates since late October. :(

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