Step right up, everyone’s a winner! Hi Neighbors, Happy August! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

*Take 11, August 2nd 2025 *

Slow News.

*Step right up, Step right up, Step right up *

*Everyone's a winner *

*Bargains galore *

*That's right you too can be the proud owner of *

*The quality goes in before the name goes on *

*One tenth of a dollar *

*One tenth of a dollar *

*We got service after the sale *

*How 'bout perfume *

*We got perfume *

*How 'bout an engagement ring *

*Somethin' for the little lady *

*Somethin' for the little lady *

*Somethin' for the little lady *

*3 for a dollar *

*We got a year end clearance *

*We got our white sale on a smoke damaged furniture *

*You can drive it away today…. *

Hi Neighbors,

Sometimes, Jay makes me listen to Tom Waits as a means of reconnecting with nostalgia from his drug-addled youth and giving me inspiration for my secret salesman persona, and boy, oh boy do I have some things up my sleeve for you today. No long, rambling lament about the state of the world or feelings or the hope we are so desperately trying to hold onto. No, today’s newsletter is about good old fashioned STUFF. Let’s get shopping shall we…

First up on our list of new items for you to peruse and collect as you desire are comfy, cozy, perfectly oversized crewnecks sporting a deeply adorable embroidered oak tree and the text “Quercus.” Quercus is the latin name for oak, and the name of our up-cycled bike brand. More than anything, Quercus is a reminder of our beloved California landscape. Memories of rolling through the oak-lined trails of the Marin Headlands fill us with nothing but joy. Our new crewnecks are a love letter to the Coast Scrub Oaks that make up the background of our favorite adventures.

Click below to shop your favorite color, size, etc., and get your name on the list for preorders.

Embroidered Quercus Crewneck PREORDER

$65.00 Shop

Next up, we’ve got Brand New! Never before seen! Shiny! Nasa Technology! Bivo water bottles fully fashioned with our new “Scenic Routes Center for Bicycle Culture” Raven logo.

You can pick between 21 ounces non insulated, 25 ounces non insulated, or 21 ounces insulated. What an adventure! The colors are cute and bright and beautiful, and the cool, crisp water will be the best thing you’ve ever tasted on a long hot ride.

Click below for those!

"Scenic Routes Center For Bicycle Culture" Bivo Waterbottle

from $40.00 Shop

Up next, the long awaited return of the voile straps. We’ve got pink! We’ve got black! We’ve got green and yellow! We’ve got minis! They are yours for the takin’, and come with the sweet reminder that “Slow is Forever.”

Click below for all your strapping needs.

Slow is Forever 20" Voile Strap

$10.00 Shop

Have you had enough of me playing salesman? I think so. Let’s get back to the long rambling text full of sweet sorrow and longing for community.

We, as in we at Scenic Routes, are never going to try to sell you something. We are never going to push bikes on you or make you buy the Latest! Fastest! Sleakest! gear. We believe strongly in doing the work that needs to be done to make your bicycle function in order to serve you. We believe in stocking things on our shelves that will make people’s lives better and easier and more fun. We also, unfortunately, are products of our environment and love to buy buy buy! We love trinkets and gadgets and doodads and bits and bobs and things, and, we love our bikes. So, trinkets and gadgets and doodads and bits and bobs that are a celebration of our bikes are a no brainer. Everyone should carry a water bottle while riding their bikes, so why not offer one that is free from plastic and will last you a lifetime? Everyone living in San Francisco should own a crewneck (or 10), so why not offer one that is thoughtfully designed and embroidered locally?

In other words, while there may be no ethical consumption under capitalism there is scab consumerism under capitalism and Amazon (and the likes of it) is definitely a union busting company. So maybe buy your junk at…

Fleetwood or Jack's Record Cellar or Animal House or Paxton Gate or Parklife or Comix Experience or Christopher's Books or Primepaw or Kamei or Acme Workware or Booksmith or Box Dog Bikes or Earthen or Real Guitars or Needles and Pens or Silver Sprocket or Bound Together or Gamescape or Afterlife or Double Down Vintage or Just for Fun & Scribbledoodles or Perfectly Seasoned or Cloud-Hidden Plants or Green Apple or Nettle Studio or Cole Hardware or General Store or Landline Home or Cookin’ or Blackbird Books or Good Vibrations or Friend of a Friend or The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. or Nooworks or Sports Basement or Denhard's Market or Foggy Notions or Bird & Beckett or Groove Merchant or Dead End Vintage or Tantrum or Rare Device or Tunnel Records or Spanish Table or Fog City Flea or Life Boutique Modern Relics or SF Skate Club or Parish Trust or The African Outlet or Scrap or Gus's Grocery or maybe Scenic Routes.

You get the point. We are going to shop, so let’s shop local, and in doing so, help the people we love thrive and survive in this city.

And if you do want to give us your money but your 300 square foot apartment doesn’t have the capacity for one more piece of bike gear, you might want to consider becoming a Scenic Routes member, or making a contribution to our “You get a Quercus” fund. Each bike we’ve given away is a reminder that we are able to make real, tangible change when we work together and create space for people to be vulnerable. Let’s keeping getting good bikes out into the world! Membership Page

And while I hope this goes without saying, buying our crap is not the best or only way to support us. My day is made brightest when someone walks into the shop and tells me that the newsletter from that month made them smile, or when a child brings their bike in to adorn it with ‘slow is forever’ stickers, or when a person who attended one of my flat fix classes returns months later to tell me that they successfully patched a tube on their way to work. These are the moments we are working for, and selling stuff just happens to be a part of the job.

The other, vastly more fulfilling part of the job is creating moments for us to exist together. On the calendar coming up there is:

FLAT FIX CLASS!

Thursday, August 7th, 7:15pm

This month’s class is already filled up, but if you really want to come, I don’t take role and you are welcome to just show up.

NIGHT MOVES COMMUNITY BIKE RIDE

Thursday, August 14th

Meet at 7:15, Roll at 7:30

Roll through Golden Gate Park and down to Ocean Beach with us at a slow, casual, chit-chatty pace. We will serve tea and cookies and hopefully make it to the surf perch just in time to watch the sunset. Bring a mug, a friend, a jacket, and your bike lights!

ROTATING MECHANIC’S CLASS - ALL ABOUT TOOLS.

Thursday, August 21st, 7:15pm

This month, Jay is talkin’ tools. Chain checkers, spoke wrenches, crank pullers, etc., etc. If walking into the shop and seeing the tool-lined walls fills your heart with joy and intrigue, this class is for you! Why does that thing that’s shaped like this other thing make that other thing do that thing? You’ll leave the class with a brand new vocabulary and maybe a shopping list for your home tool kit! Sign up Here!

COMMUNITY NIGHT

Thursday, August 28th, 7:00pm

This is your invitation to make your way into the shop for no other reason than to take up space. Tell us your stories, ask us your questions, drink our beer, and let us bask in the light of your company.

DAY GROOVES QUEER COMMUNITY BIKE RIDE

Sunday, August 31st

Meet at 10:45, Roll at 11:00.

Bring your bike, yourself, and all your good vibes. We’re going to cruise through the presidio and end somewhere with a view. I’m riding my cargo bike and (maybe) bringing Bennie. Let’s cruise along the scenic routes and fill our hearts with the joy of using our bodies for simple pleasures.

QUERCUS FAMILY BIKE RIDE - a ride for every member of your family tree.

Sunday, September 7th

Meet at 9:00, Roll at 9:15

Starting at - the ‘LOVE’ blocks in front of the Conservatory of Flowers on JFK Blvd.

Ending at - the meadow across from Metson Lake on Middle Drive.

Join us for a slow rollin’ good time. There will be bubbles, kid’s tunes, and a story time featuring a book about bikes at the end! Kids on balance bikes, pedal bikes, scooters, and cargo bikes are all welcome. All ages may attend, and we will pick a pace to accommodate our littlest riders! Bring a picnic blanket, some snacks, water bottles, and whatever else you think you and your family may need to have a good time.

This ride will happen the first Sunday of each month. Put it on your calendars and get excited!

Scenic Routes is continuing to grow and thrive, and it is 100% a result of people showing up and participating in our community. Someone described our shop as an “exchange” rather than a business, and I can only hope that one day we will reach what is an equitable back and forth that leaves us all with gratitude, joy, love, and hope (there’s that hope I was talking about). Being an anti-profit business sets us up for what some could only call failure, but when we approach our work as an exchange of effort and energy and time and attention and money and goods, we can appreciate the fact that our success has only just begun.

We are here because of you, and we are here for you. Thank you for participating in our business and our world and our lives.

I’ll be in your inbox next month. And maybe I’ll see you before then (I can only HOPE).

Ayla Visit Our Site!

P.S. I need everyone to see this gorgeous, beautiful, work of art tin type photograph that our friend and resident photographer Connor Cimowsky shot this past week.

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

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