Triumphrat

Thunder_Forever · 01-12-2006

About a month ago, I posted some questions regarding the LA area. I was in the process of a potential relocation.....but now the table's turned a little north.

I'm flying to San Francisco on Jan. 19th for a second job interview and to apartment shop for a few days.......

Someone tell me where the best Triumph shop (or general bike shop) is there, please.

If all goes well on the 19th, I'll live there in February......with my only baby, my bonnie.........obviously she'll have to ride b!tch on the uhaul trailer though. Hopefully this is not a scarring experience for her.

dazco · 01-12-2006

remember when you said you'd be moving to long beach and i said there are a lot of bad areas there? Well, you won't have to worry about that in frisco........it's beautiful. There is however a bit of undesirable news iff you aren't aware......it's FRIGIIN EXPENSIVE AS HE|| !!!. Seriously.......my neice lived up there for years and she'll tell ya. It really is one of the most expensive citys in the U.S. Prepare yourself for sticker shock.

PCRider · 01-12-2006

The Triumph dealer in Mountain view just south of SF has a good rep I think it is called California Cycles, you can look them up on the Triumph factory site. Also Munroe Motors in SF has a good rep but are not inexpensive and they were a triumph dealer back in the day as well, they also have a branch in San Leandro in the East Bay. Hattar Motorsports in San Rafael about a half hour north of the golden Gate is a good dealership as well. Tons of great riding along the coast, in the mountains etc. and the weather to back it all up. Good Luck. I like Moto Meccanica in Santa Rosa but that is an hour north of San Francisco.

PCRider

DrEnglish · 01-12-2006

SF is pretty steep. Heh. There are lots of bike shops around. I am only familiar with California Triumph in Mountain View and San Jose Triumph, in San Jose (Duh). Both of these are good shops, and certainly driveable, but I think you won't have to go that far.

Daz is right, San Francisco is expensive. Housing is the big bite; other things are not so bad. Your future employer will make you an offer based on cost-of-living in this area; just remember that it costs about $200K a year to be middle class here, and even then you won't be living in a 6-bedroom house.

California is like a beautiful, charming girlfriend with designer tastes, a diamond fetish, and a crack habit. Oh, she also goes skiing and mountain climbing.

Good luck and let us know.

BonnieGroover · 01-12-2006

Thunder Forever,

I've lived here for quite a while and like all cities, there are good and bad points. Northern California is one of the most beautiful places in the world to ride but you'll find a lot more traffic than in Colorado. Best dealer by far is California BMW/Triumph in Mountain View - but that's 45 minutes south of SF. Munroe Motors in San Francisco has a mixed reputation but may be OK depending on what you need. Email me for any questions about apartments, neighborhoods, places to ride, etc. Craigslist.org is the best place to find an apartment.

Best of luck!

- the Groover

(tried to post a picture here; guess a yahoo url doesn't work)

[ This message was edited by: BonnieGroover on 2006-01-12 21:47 ]

bcohen · 01-12-2006

SF -- As Mark Twain said "The coldest winter I spent was summer in San Francisco."

Don't get me wrong, if I weren't in paradise (SoCal), I would be in SF.

Also winter sucks -- it rains all the time. As mentioned above, just give me the opportunity and I would be there.

Good luck

PCRider · 01-12-2006

The only people who think the weather is bad in the San Francisco area are from So Cal. If you like hot weather within driving distance of SF move to Concord or other parts of the East Bay that are to hot for anyone that wasn't born in a desert. San Francisco and the Coast actually have better or at least clearer weather in the winter. The cool sunny winter days are great for riding. We only get about 20 or so (guess) inches of rain a year in the wetter areas and some areas are drier. It is true that housing prices will scare the hell out of you but a decent neighborhood in the LA area will be just as bad. Think 350k for a starter home with a long drive to the City or 500k plus for the east bay and add a couple hundred thou for the City or Marin and more for the Peninsula or Silicon Valley.

Hope we don't scare you away, OH another great thing about the Bay Area is that no matter how weird you are there is always someone around here that will make you seem normal.

ChuckofTahoe · 01-12-2006

I advise you consider areas in and around in addition to San Francisco.

Check out the interior east bay. I used to live in Walnut Creek near Alamo and it is great biking territory. Much warmer than the city during the summer and similar to LA but without the smog. Colder and wetter in the winter which gives you a little flavor of seasonal change and that is welcome in my book. I used to live in both LA and in the Bay Area and I believe the Bay Area is an upgrade for you.

A very nice area to live. From there you can spike out in 360 degrees of direction on bike rides.

Edit: But if you wind up working in San Francisco, living in the city makes a lot of sense as far as daily commuting. For me the city was too gloomy in the summer with two months of fog from June to July. I enjoy both hot and cold weather so the east bay suited me. Real estate is expensive all around there as someone said. From what I have heard about he RE markets, renting makes a lot more sense economically right now.

Edit #2: Obvioiusly you will check this out but garaging a bike in San Francisco can be a pain and very expensive. I think garages are harder to come by than apartments.

[ This message was edited by: ChuckofTahoe on 2006-01-12 22:42 ]

dazco · 01-13-2006

Quote:

Edit #2: Obvioiusly you will check this out but garaging a bike in San Francisco can be a pain and very expensive. I think garages are harder to come by than apartments.

Thats another thing my niece mentioned. She didn't even own a vehicle because of that.

Thunder_Forever · 01-13-2006

Wow people.....Thanks for all the input. Trust me, I'm aware of the cost of living there. I wouldn't go if I wasn't compensated correctly. I'm not scared of rain either. I've ridden through several hail storms and lots of spring rain here. I have a car as well if it gets horrible out. When you come from Colorado, weather is not intimidating.

As far as living goes, I usually rent and it ends up being studio apartments most of the time. I mean heck, I'm 25 and single with nothing to lose.

Thanks again and feel free to post more tips and advice...