"FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK BIKE LANE DOWN SAN FRANCISCO'S HYSTORICAL GAY BAY TRAIL..."

Celebrate Gay Pride Weekend With A Bicycle Ride Through San Francisco's LGBTQ History. Visit Sites And Neighborhoods Of Historic And Cultural Significance In Making San Francisco "America's Gayest City". This 3rd Annual Gay Pride Freedom Ride And LGBTQ History Bicycle Tour Begins At The Embarcadero Waterfront And Rolls Through Market Street, North Beach, Polk Gulch, Civic Center, Tenderloin, SOMA, Mission, Valencia Corridor, And Castro Neighborhoods. COME OUT!!!...And Celebrate The Accomplishments And Contributions Of The LGBTQ Communities To San Francisco, City By The Bay...

12:45pm Meet-Up At The Base Of Cupid's Arrow (Embarcadero @ Folsom Street)
1:00pm Roll-Out For Our 3rd Annual GAY PRIDE FREEDOM RIDE AND LGBTQ HISTORY BIKE TOUR.
4:00pm Arrival At Jane Warner Plaza (17th Street @ Castro) To Enjoy "PINK SATURDAY" In The Castro And Await The Arrival Of The "DYKE MARCH".

This Is A Ten Mile Bicycle Ride That Will Take Us From The Old Gay Cruising Grounds Of Market Street And The Embarcadero To North Beach, Home Of San Francisco's Barbary Coast And First Gay Bars. We Then Ride Through the Broadway Tunnel To The Polk-Gulch Neighborhood, Where Gays, Drag Queens, Trannies Formed A Visible Community And Vibrant Business District On Polk Street. Then Down The Hill To City Hall, Where Harvey Milk Was Elected To The Board Of Supervisors (The First Openly Gay Man Ever Elected To Office), And The Scene Of His Assassination. City Hall Is Also The Scene Of The "White Night Riots", Which Occured When Harvey Milk's Killer, Dan White, Using A "Twinkie Defense" Received A Few Years Sentence For The Murder Of Harvey Milk And Mayor George Moscone. Civic Center Witnessed The First Gay Marriage In 2004, When Then-Mayor Gavin Newsom Opened The Door To Marriage Equality. City Hall Witnessed The "Gay Winter Of Love" In 2008, When (For Four Months) Marriage Equality Was The Law Of The Land In California. City Hall/Civic Center Is Where Gay Marriage Was Won, Lost, Won, Lost, Won, And Won Again. The Marriage Equality Decision Is On Stay Until The United States Supreme Court Weighs In. It Is Also The Place Where The Annual Gay Pride Festivities Is Held. In The Tenderloin We Visit The Site Of The Old "Compton's Cafeteria", Where Trannies, Drag Queens, And Queer Vanguard Youth Fought Back Against Police Harassment In 1966, Two Years Before The Famous New York Stonewall Riot. We Roll Past The Sex Clubs, Leather Bars, And Gay Bath Houses Of SOMA As We Ride Through The Sites Of The Folsom Street Fair (Which Celebrates Gay Male Leather Fetish), Hairrison Street Fair (Which Celebrates Big, Hairy Gay Men), And The Up Your Alley Fair (Formerly Dore Alley Fair-Which Celebrates Gay Male Kink). We Continue Past The Mission Dolores, The Oldest Building In San Francisco, Where The Spanish-Mexican Christian Missionaries Forcibly Converted The Native Bay Area Ohlone Tribe To Christianity And Violently Quelshed Their "Two-Spirit" Native Peoples, Making The Two-Spirit People California's First Gay Martyrs. We'll Roll Through The Valencia Corridor, Which In The Late 1980-1990's Say An Influx Of Young Hipster Lesbians Into The Neighborhood, Past The Women's Building To The Dyke Festival Happening In Dolores Park. We Finish Our Ride In The Castro, The Gayest Neighborhood In San Francisco And Home To Harvey Milk's Former Apartment And Camera Shop, The Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy (The Only Elementary School In The U.S. Named After An Out Of The Closet Gay Person), The LGBT History Museum, Pink Triangle Park And Holocaust Memorial, A Gay Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, And The World's Largest Rainbow Flag Flying High Atop The "Gayborhood". Chill And Relax In The Castro And Enjoy The PINK SATURDAY STREET FAIR As You Await The Arrival Of The DYKE MARCH...

The Gay Pride Freedom Ride Rolls Past (But Only Briefly Stops At) Two Fabulous Gay Celebrations: The GAY PRIDE FESTIVAL At Civic Center And The DYKE FESTIVAL At Dolores Park, On Its Way To The PINK SATURDAY STREET FAIR In The Castro, Where The Ride Ends. Those Not Wanting To Bike The Entire Gay Pride Freedom Ride Can Stop Can Stop At Any Of The Festivals To Enjoy The Music And Community. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Will Be Providing Free Bicycle Parking At Both The Civic Center Gay Pride And Dolores Park Dyke Festivals.

While There Are A Few Medium Level Hills, This Is Not A Strenuous Bike Ride. The Hardest Hills Are On Montgomery, Between Columbus And Broadway (2 Blocks), Polk Street, Between Broadway And Washington Street (3 Blocks), And 18th Street From Dolores Street Onward, With Its Gradual Uphill Incline To Castro Street. Go At Your Own Pace. This Is A Bicycle Ride, Not A Bicycle Race! We Do Stop Along The Way To Discuss Sites And Events Of Queer Historical Significance. We Keep A Slow Steady Pace Throughout The Ride, Enabling Us To Give A Queen's Wave To All The Adoring Fans We'll Be Bicycling Past.

This Is A BYOB Event: Bring Your Own Bicycle.
You Could Also Rent A Bicycle Or Borrow One From A Friend.

Naked Bicycling, Outrageous Costumes, Over-The-Top Wigs, Big Easter Bonnets, Leather Daddy Gear,Drag Wear, Rainbow Flags, Bear Flags, Leather Flags, Tiaras, Tutus, Feather Boas, And All Sorts Of Fabulousness Welcomed And Encouraged On This Ride.

This Event Is Co-Sponsored By The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
A $5 Donation Is Appreciated (But Not Required) Of Non-Members.