Going over there hopefully for 3 weeks around the start of September.
Hit me up with places to shop, eat, drink, things to look at, venues where decent bands might play (Botom of The Hill in SF?), places we should avoid… etc.
Chanks.
In 2007 my gf and I hired a car and drove from SF up to Portland. Took 4 days or so. It was a great trip, but most of the places along the way were shithouse nothing towns - we probably could have researched that better. Eugene for example - as lame as it sounds. There were some amazing redwood forests though.
In SF we stayed in the Mission, which I’d recommend, if anything just for the burritos etc. Valencia St is there - it’s full of all sorts of random shops and some good stuff. McSweeney’s, for example. (even if Dave Eggers is a bit of a dick.) Not far from there is the Castro, which other than being the gayest place in the world, has a good steep hill you can ride up for a view of the whole city. Haight Street is the other obvious place - I assume you’ve already got Amoeba Records on your hit list, that place is incredible.
Portland was a weird place - pretty sure the reason there’s so much good music there is that there’s bugger all to do, and the weather mostly sucks. Good choice of beer though, from all the local breweries. We saw a heap of bands (Adrian Orange? The Chair Project? Frog Eyes?). There were all the usual scrappy warehouse venues, but one of the best ones was an old gaming arcade full of old machines, with the stage set up amongst them. No idea of the name. I think we played Ninja Turtles.
take your bikes… seriously.
riding in SF is amazing (and the hills are easily avoided)
riding in portland is supposed to be like having god come down and provide a permanent tailwind wherever you go.
places i always like when in SF
taqueria puerto villa (or farolito on 22nd)
ritual roasters (blakey will have other coffee tips)
deluxeSF shop
box dog bikes
ocean beach (theres a safeway a couple of blocks back - go buy some supplies and chill on the beach or the headland) - riding down there through the Avenues is super fun
SF Academy of Sciences is outright amazing
Buffalo Exchange in the mission to pick up all the gear the local skate pros have sold for $ (much deluxe/vans gear ;))
American Cyclery
Freewheel on Hayes
im assuming you will time it to go to cadences open door sales
pushbikeSF is by all reports a good spot to check
Hahaha, yep, I felt a bit like that- so easy to ride everywhere + cars constantly/bizarrely stopping for you when they have right of way?!- and a bike store on every block
Fly out on the 26th of August… got our tickets to see Archers of Loaf on the 1st in SF. Anyone got anything else to add?
you could get a job as a real life bike messenger for a couple of days
Interbike is in Las Vegas 14th-16th September 
I might be in SF around when your there, not 100% sure yet.
+1 on taking bikes. I dont leave the state/country without mine.
gordos burritos in sf, awesome,
i lived out near ocean beach and its deff worth checking out,
make sure you go check out the muir forest on the north side of the GG bridge, its where they filmed the ewok forest for starwars and is super pretty!
+1 on everything mentioned above, if your out near the sunset or inner sunset area, yankies and the fireplace are both decent bars
SF is amazing i love it, I have been 4 times now.
-ALKATRAZ do it its amazing.
-Check the swell reports when you are there its worth heading down to Mavericks (h\Half Moon Bay) just to watch for a few hours.
-Sears Pancake house is amazing for breakfast its been there for ever its opp the Sir francis drake look for the line up.
-Jump on a ferry over to Sorcilitto its nice that time of year.
-little italy.
-BE CAREFULL OF THE PROJECTS seriously there is some nasty ass peeps. I saw two murders and a bad gang fight.
I got rescued by a cop who was shot three times now wears bullet proof and carries two street sweepers and a gloc.
-Pier 49 has some cool cheap bazaar’s back in 2006 i got three pairs of nos ray ban for $50.
-The levi Factory/museum.
That’s pretty intense. Do tell more.
I got a NOS Rolex in Bangkok for $50 too. How do we get so lucky?!? 
polo worlds are on in seattle 16th-18th! also there’ll be plenty of polo folk hanging around in september
also some pretty good mountain biking around oregon, crater lake in particular
We’re staying near Union Square, reasonably close to tenderloin… but I’m not sure whether I should be worried or not.
nah i never saw any trouble and i lived in san fran for 3 months,
Amoeba records and the park are are cool, I love how the park starts in the city and ends by the sea. I have been about four times and would live there in a heart beat if I had the cash check out little Italy and drink at the bars that Kerouac and co got smashed in. Asia food is also awesome there try the little local restaurants in the suburbs and Japan town.
rad… you can go see You Am I!
the tenderloin can feel sketchy but by day it aint so bad… lots of people who arent really living in the same world as the rest of us, but largely harmless. hunters point or east oakland are far more dangerous (and worth avoiding without some level of local knowledge).
take golden gate down from haight-ashbury/the panhandle to market for a super rad downhill ride that isnt a death-defying hillbomb (for that go hit polk).
+1 on checking out ocean beach… its a fun ride out from the ‘city’ and theres a safeway a block back for supplies so you can sit on the wall and chill watching the ocean (romance points will be awarded for this). the ride back is pretty sweet through the top of the presidio and the marina via fort mason.
get one of the SF bike maps to give you an idea of what streets to avoid (they have gradient ranges listed).
If you’re vegan I can help with food
Skate the EMB.
GASP! The Forest Moon of Endor!?
Isn’t that gone?
One does not simply walk into Mordor!
oh wait…