Slow News - December Edition Hi Neighbors, Happy December! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

*Take 15, December 4th, 2025 *

Slow News.

Hi Neighbors,

Although it is undeniably cliché to say, I cannot believe that December is upon us; the season of dinners and parties and hosting and music and lights and fenders and cold hands and muddy tires. When the sun started setting barely an hour after we eat lunch, my heart lurched at the departure of warmth and iced matchas and my cats laying in the sunbeams that cast themselves across my apartment’s floors. Change is often unpleasant, even when we should be anticipating it long before it makes itself known, even when the reality of the change isn’t all that unpleasant at all.

But I was stuck in my sore mood and the unhappiness of being cold and wishing away the inevitable, cyclical change of seasons. I’m still cold, and Lily, who is more grandma than millenial and thinks a jacket should suffice, won’t let us turn on the heater at the shop (and gives me dirty looks when I even suggest it), but my mood has shifted. Last week, I was riding down Page Street on my way home from work, well after the dog walkers and joggers had abandoned the lanes for the shelter of their Victorian apartments. My tires were sticky on the wet pavement and made a delicate squelching noise as my glasses collected droplets from the foggy air. The air smelled like the soil of a damp redwood forest and the city was so silent it was impossible to imagine the infinite lives existing within a seven-mile-radius of me. I was alone with my bicycle surrounded by a drizzling night in the place that I call home, and I felt *at home. *

My hands were cold, but only enough to remind me that I am alive. In that moment on Page Street, I  was overcome by gratitude that this absolute joy ride was my commute home from my job doing what I love with people that I love serving my community that I love. The winter evenings give us a reason to make soup for our neighbors, the crisp mornings make a cup of tea in bed all the more enticing, and the dark nights make even our commutes home feel magical.

There is a trope in the bike shop world that winter is dead. No one is riding and the work is dried up. We certainly have fewer bikes in the queue than we did six months ago, but the shop has never felt more alive to me. We are building Quercus Bikes at a rate never seen before, our friend Jesper is making new Scenic Routes merch, we are reimagining the layout of the shop, and our rides have more people attending every month. The thing about being a community bike shop is that there is no off season. There is no off season for creating room for connection, for rewriting the narrative of the bicycle, and for providing service to those of us who use our bikes every single day of the year, no matter the weather.

The shop spent the last weekend of November on Angel Island with 25 of you, braving the elements and making memories. I looked around at the row of tents and the campers bundled up in layers and was so proud of the world we’ve created - one where a ferry ride transports you to a far away land and it only takes two days for strangers to become friends.

Please do us the honor of helping us close out the year on the highest note yet.

On December 11th at 7:00pm we will be hosting the annual Scenic Routes Holiday Party.

We’ll be moving the bikes out of the way, doning our favorite Christmas sweaters, and serving up some serious holiday cheer. There will be a live three piece band, Mary’s famous punch, a Christmas cake, and treats covering every surface of the shop to be enjoyed. You are invited to bring something to share, and we might suggest that you label it’s allergens so our gluten free, vegan, dietary restriction freaks can partake without fear. There will be joy and company and laughter and warmth, so much warmth (Lily might even let us turn the heater on).

If you can’t attend the Holiday Party (or even if you can!!!) please let us send you a Christmas Card! It means the world to us to create real, tangible moments of joy, and this is one little way for us to show our thanks. Pop your address down below and await something besides junk-mail being pushed through the mail slot. Address Form

This Sunday, December 7th is the last Quercus Family Bike Ride of the year.

We will meet at 9:00am at the Love Blocks in front of the Conservatory of Flowers and bop down to Metson Lake for a story time in the grass. We roll at 9:15. Bring a blanket for sitting and warm clothes for wearing! We ride as slow as our slowest rider can go. Kids on balance bikes, pedal bikes, and cargo bikes are all welcome. (art work by one of our regular riders).

And all month long we will be open for your bike needs, your sitting-on-our-couch needs, and your holiday shopping needs. Below, I have highlighted a few of our favorite items that would be a real treat to receive as a gift. Your grandma is going to buy you something, so why not direct her towards your favorite anti-profit bike shop? Or perhaps you need something for a Secret Santa you’re being forced to participate in - we have doodads at every price range.

Or maybe this email was sent to you by your bike riding, tree hugging, pot smoking commie-anarchist relative out in San Francisco who’s trying to hint at what they want you to buy them. May we suggest a gift certificate to everyone's favorite anti-profit community bicycle center, Scenic Routes. Gift Certificates redeemed will be used exclusively for bike joy. Gift certificates never redeemed will also be used exclusively for bike joy.

Come by the shop, poke around, try things on, and listen to the Christmas vinyls spin.

Joel’s favorite item is Full Coverage Fenders . ($80)

Joel says “Here is why:

1- They protect you when it's raining.

2- They keep you dry and clean when the ground is wet but it’s not raining. Riding on wet pavement sounds and feels so good when you stay dry.

3- They keep your bike/drivetrain clean and lessen drivetrain wear

4- They look so good

5- Fenders provide a perfect spot to mount your generator taillight

A $100 gift certificate would cover the cost of most fenders we sell and some of the install price of the plastic fenders.”

Lily’s favorite item is the Park Tool AWS-1 Three-Way Hex Wrench . ($17)

Lily says “I don't recommend buying gifts for your loved ones: I believe you should exchange dorky handmade gifts instead, as is tradition. But, if you must buy a gift, consider the Park Tool AWS-1 Three-Way Hex Wrench. It's more comfortable to use than a multitool or the small Allen keys that come with Ikea furniture. The extra leverage is perfect for adjusting rim brakes. If you want to go all out, pair a new tool with a gift card to Scenic Routes: we love to help DIYers with that tricky final 10% of the project.”

Jay’s favorite item is the Paul Component Brake Levers . ($200)

Jay says “Okay so I'm not a gift guide person. Gift guides are for people who believe in solutions, and I'm more of a problems person, generally speaking. My feeling is you shouldn't buy stuff you don't need and you really shouldn't buy other people stuff they don't need, which is basically all stuff, but here we are, alive, buying things.

So if you're going to do it, buy something that lasts. Buy something that will still be there when everything else has gone to hell, which it will.

I've had these Paul Component brake levers on my commuter bike for years. They've been through rain, grime, getting knocked over approximately ten thousand times, crashes, “the whole catastrophe” as my grandma would say. And one of them broke, back before I owned a bike shop, back when I was just a person with a broken brake lever and a telephone. I called Paul up in Chico, California, and asked if I could buy the part to fix it myself.

They sent it to me for free.

I said, look, I'm pretty hard on these things. I don't expect them to last forever.

They said, we expect them to last forever.

Can you imagine? Expecting something to last forever? The audacity. The beautiful stupid hope of it.

They've been making parts in Chico since the late eighties. Some engineer named Paul quit his real job - his real job, as if making things with your hands isn't real - and bought a falling apart house with a big garage and started machining components. They still make everything there. American aluminum. Built to be fixed, not thrown away.

You buy them once. You repair them. You move them from bike to bike like they're family heirlooms,  which I guess they are now (like the Buck 110 my Uncle Lee gave me on my 10th birthday). And eventually you forget you bought them at all because they just work, quietly, asking for nothing, which is more than you can say for most things in this life.”

SKH’s favorite item is the Beverage Buddy . ($10)

SKH says, “The bottle buddy came into my life on a last minute overnighter to China Camp when Ayla gave me and Ben each one on our way out the door! It kept my stem caddy dry and my spirits high as it reminded me that even a small gesture can mean a lot. Get a bottle buddy for you and a buddy and cheers to the small things and big friendships.”

Nishad’s favorite item is a Wald/Tanaka 137 or 139 Basket . ($40-60)

Nishad says “Nothing will make you feel more smug than riding up to your holiday potluck with that pie in your front basket. Take in that freshly baked aroma as you roll down the street feeling grateful that you didn't have to give up that coveted parking spot just to get the damn pie to the party.

Getting too hot for those gloves? Stop faffing about with those hard-to-reach jersey pockets - just dump 'em in the basket!

We have 'em big, we have 'em small. We even have some half as tall.”

Beaux’s favorite item is a Squeezy Bean BART Brake . ($8)

Beaux says, “As a new commuter on BART, the Squeezy Bean keeps my bike in one place and makes my ride a little less chaotic. Just slip it over your handle bar and pull it tight around your brake lever! It also functions as a cute bracelet when relieved of its braking duties.”

Ben’s favorite item is a pair of the Ornot Merino Wool Gloves . ($45)

Ben says “I wasn’t a daily glove guy until picking these up. They’re great! The perfect amount of warm for San Francisco and all the grip you need. I’m on my third pair (lost one, burned one, don’t ask) and they’re a must-replace every time.”

Jerry’s favorite item is an Arno Lashing Strap . ($8-15)

Jerry says, “Made in Sweden, solid stainless steel buckles. Easy to adjust and cinch items down snug, I’ve never had one slip. I use them to strap the crate that my dog rides in and other hauls of various sizes on my cargo bike. They’re also awesome for strapping a pizza to your Wald 139 basket on your Quercus.

Bundle firewood, organize camp gear, strap your life to your favorite bike or wear a 100cm Arno strap as a belt like I do. It might really save your ass one day.”

And as far as my favorite item goes, I don’t know where I would be without my Tunitas Creative Stowaway Ba g. ($60)

Each and every one of my bikes is adorned with a little bag to compliment its colorway. Nestled right against my stem and my handlebars, it puts all of my treasures in perfect arm’s reach. Chapstick, phone, a handful of peanut butter pretzels, my keys, that one really cool rock my favorite 4 year old gave me.

I didn’t know how much I loved my stem caddies until one got stolen off my Lightning Bolt while parked in front of Jay’s house. MY stem caddy?! My precious little treasure chest?! I rode straight to the shop and bought myself a new one because I couldn’t bear the thought of being without it for my ride home.

Stem Caddies are perfect for commuters, long distance riders, roadies, people on tour, kids, and literally everyone else. The owner of Tunitas sews her bags in San Francisco and delivers them by bicycle to the shop. She even buys pink fabric just for us.

What’s not to love?

Of course, you don’t need to buy anything, especially not from us, but if you’re anything like me, you love stuff. Trinkets and tools and treasure, and if you ARE going to buy stuff, why not buy it from us? It’s challenging to reckon with our anti-consumerist ideals during the most consumerist month of the year, but what can I say, we’re trying our best. The more money you spend at Scenic Routes, the more money Scenic Routes has to subsidize bikes, feed people lunch, do repairs for free and host free events. Your money is not going to waste in our hands, and also, we sell pretty good stuff.

If you’re in the giving mood and want to spend some money but you got your gift shopping done months ago and you don’t need any more junk in your 300 square foot apartment, consider giving to the “You get a Quercus Fund.” We will be using the money raised in December to get people, who can’t otherwise afford them, BIKE LIGHTS! Help us keep our neighbors safe and give the gift of a niterider front and rear light. Any money left over will go to subsidizing Quercus bikes for members of our community. Quercus Fund

If you’ve made it this far through my ramblings, please allow me one last opportunity to say thank you. There are no words to describe the gratitude I feel in the face of the support you continue to show our store front on Balboa Street. I walk the streets of my neighborhood and see people I don’t recognize wearing “slow is forever” hats and my mind is blown. I ride through the park and notice bikes with pink and yellow housing and can’t help but wonder if they had their bike worked on here. The shop is growing, slowly but surely, and we are growing, as people, as mechanics, as workers, and as friends. It is an honor to have spent another year as your bicycle mechanics. We’ll see you in the new year.

Ayla

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Scenic Routes Community Bicycle Center, 521 Balboa Street, San Francisco, United States

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