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Ever skated in San Francisco? - 10:44 09 Sep 08 Does anyone have any experience of skating in San Francisco?
I’m off there on holiday next week and taking my skates with me.
There is quite a lot of information on websites but I wondered
whether any of you have experience of skating there and whether
there are any do’s or don’ts that might not be obvious to visitors.
I'd be grateful for any advice.

Sadly, this will mean that I’ll miss the first of the Sandhurst sessions ...

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Red

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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 11:12 09 Sep 08 Retread wrote:
Sadly, this will mean that I’ll miss the first of the Sandhurst sessions ...

Any excuse !!

I'm just jealous. Let us know what you find out, perhaps do an FAQ !

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dogsbody

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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 11:20 09 Sep 08 I havn't skated there myself (I went before I started skating) but I'm sure you alreday know it is VERY hilly!!

...saying that I believe the flat bits are very skatable, people talk about skating around the bay up to (and over?) the Golden Gate bridge.

I believe there is a Friday night skate too!! Has to be a great way to see the city.

You may want to drop http://www.cora.org/ an e-mail

Oh and buy lots of stuff from the cheap USA skate shops and get it sent to your hotel to save on international shipping! Are you taking orders??

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Peter
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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 12:28 09 Sep 08 Theree are not too many skate shops in San Fransicso. It's apparently a skateboard mecca. I can confirm it is steep. You do see comments about skating in Golden Gate park.

I always feel that if you can take your skates then do so, but only if you are likely to use them a bit.

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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 10:44 10 Sep 08 Thanks very much for all the advice. It's much appreciated.

We are not good enough skaters to consider skating up and

down the hills without coming to a sticky end and as we've
never done a street skate, San Francisco is probably a silly place
to start! Think we will stick to the Golden Gate Park and waterfront promenades if we can, as well as checking out any skate shops we come
across.

Thanks Dogsbody for suggesting that I contact cora.org. I've emailed
them.

Will report back on my return, if still in one piece.

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Peter
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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 10:57 10 Sep 08 Quote from another site about shops inSF

Checked out Black Diamond Sports (http://www.blackdiamondsports.com/). For inline skates, it is a Rollerblade shop, with a good selection of mid to high range RB skates in stock. John, the owner, is quite knowledgeable and helpful. They are willing to order anything if they don't have it. I

Even without a car, to get there from San Francisco downtown is easy. Take the train from the main Caltrain station on 4th Ave and Townsend (usually leaves about twice an hour). The ride takes around 45 minutes to an hour depending on how many stops in between. Get off at Palo Alto station, and the store is just 3 minutes walking distance on 162 University Ave (across to the other side of the tracks).

Based on research and feedback so far, it seems like this is the only viable store in the region for mid to high end inline skates.

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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 11:12 10 Sep 08 Thanks Peter. Will definitely check it out.

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Re:Ever skated in San Francisco? - 07:50 13 Oct 08 Update on skating in San Francisco ...

On the whole it is far too difficult to skate there to bother taking skates with you.

There is a shortish, flat, wide path/cycle lane along Marina Boulevard,
which is between Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate bridge, but it is not
very long. We saw one skater just skating up and down on the same stretch.
It is possible to skate along the Embarcadero towards Bay Bridge, but there are huge numbers of pedistrians using it as well.

Skating across the Golden Gate bridge has now been stopped. It is very busy with pedestrians and cyclists using just the one pathway (the one on the other side of the bridge being closed), so skating could be quite hazardous!

However, we did skate in Golden Gate Park on the Sunday, when they close off one of the roads to traffic so that skaters and cyclists can use it. We were a bit early and later found that the time to go is Sunday afternoon when all the skaters come out. We only saw three! It is not too clear in some areas where the traffic-free area ends and you can suddenly see a car approaching, only to find that you are on the open road!

I had no response to my email to cora before we went and overall saw very few skaters, which was a little disappointing.

HOWEVER ... San Francisco is fabulous and we had a wonderful time, hiring bikes to satisfy our need to be on wheels!

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