As a child, any stretch of sloped pavement or grass meant an opportunity for fun — even rolling down a hill was an exciting way to spend an afternoon.
For grown-ups, a steep hill is generally just a reminder to use your parking brake and turn your wheels in, but on Sunday in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, dozens of adults manifested their childhood need for speed and scrunched onto tiny plastic tricycles to race down the crookedest street in San Francisco for an epic Bring Your Own Big Wheel race.
The race dates back to 2000 and was originally on Lombard Street before moving to the actual windiest street in the city, Vermont Avenue between 20th and 22nd Street. Since the late aughts, the event has been produced by a team led by Frog Gilmore, a former veterinary assistant who rocks a Princess Leia costume complete with two miniature wheels as hair buns and a radio earpiece constantly buzzing as we spoke. The event is no small undertaking, requiring a street closure permit that costs more than $1,000, as well as security guards and EMS workers, whom I greatly hope I will not become acquainted with as I embrace my inner 37-year-old child and inch toward the starting line.
For potential first-time riders like me, Gilmore offers a few tips.
“Wrist guards or sturdy gloves are good, so you can use your hands on turns. You don’t really suffer much injury if you fall, you just kind of roll over. If you do so, pull your fingers in, because you’re going to run the risk of getting smooshed,” Gilmore said. She also stressed that since vehicles rated for age three to seven aren’t designed for adult-sized butts, you have to lean back and not put all your weight on the front wheel, because the fork will flatten. “It’s this really delicate balance.”
Reader, I can assure you that my experience was anything but delicate.
Costumed participants prepare to descend Vermont Street during the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel event, on Sunday, April 17, in San Francisco. Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE.
Even if you’re too intelligent to ride a vehicle with hollow plastic wheels down a very steep hill, the race is definitely worth attending. McKinley Square Park becomes one big party, complete with DJs, dancing robots and a whole lot of costumes (best dressed award goes to the “Wizard of Oz” crew). Hay bales line the winding street, with spectators standing along the hill as if they were watching the running of the bulls. The first few hours are kids-only, which is just as heart-warming as it sounds, with cheers of encouragement erupting whenever anyone gets stuck or scared.
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I raced down San Francisco’s crookedest street on a big wheel and lived to tell the tale.
Dan Gentile, SFGATE
Costumed participants descend Vermont Street during the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel event, on Sunday, April 17, in San Francisco.
Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE
As a child, any stretch of sloped pavement or grass meant an opportunity for fun — even rolling down a hill was an exciting way to spend an afternoon.
For grown-ups, a steep hill is generally just a reminder to use your parking brake and turn your wheels in, but on Sunday in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, dozens of adults manifested their childhood need for speed and scrunched onto tiny plastic tricycles to race down the crookedest street in San Francisco for an epic Bring Your Own Big Wheel race.
The race dates back to 2000 and was originally on Lombard Street before moving to the actual windiest street in the city, Vermont Avenue between 20th and 22nd Street. Since the late aughts, the event has been produced by a team led by Frog Gilmore, a former veterinary assistant who rocks a Princess Leia costume complete with two miniature wheels as hair buns and a radio earpiece constantly buzzing as we spoke. The event is no small undertaking, requiring a street closure permit that costs more than $1,000, as well as security guards and EMS workers, whom I greatly hope I will not become acquainted with as I embrace my inner 37-year-old child and inch toward the starting line.
SFGATE culture editor Dan Gentile shows off his ride during Easter Sunday's Bring Your Own Big Wheel event on Vermont and 20th streets, in Potrero Hill.
Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE
For potential first-time riders like me, Gilmore offers a few tips.
“Wrist guards or sturdy gloves are good, so you can use your hands on turns. You don’t really suffer much injury if you fall, you just kind of roll over. If you do so, pull your fingers in, because you’re going to run the risk of getting smooshed,” Gilmore said. She also stressed that since vehicles rated for age three to seven aren’t designed for adult-sized butts, you have to lean back and not put all your weight on the front wheel, because the fork will flatten. “It’s this really delicate balance.”
Reader, I can assure you that my experience was anything but delicate.
Costumed participants prepare to descend Vermont Street during the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel event, on Sunday, April 17, in San Francisco.
Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE
Even if you’re too intelligent to ride a vehicle with hollow plastic wheels down a very steep hill, the race is definitely worth attending. McKinley Square Park becomes one big party, complete with DJs, dancing robots and a whole lot of costumes (best dressed award goes to the “Wizard of Oz” crew). Hay bales line the winding street, with spectators standing along the hill as if they were watching the running of the bulls. The first few hours are kids-only, which is just as heart-warming as it sounds, with cheers of encouragement erupting whenever anyone gets stuck or scared.
I scream. A lot.
“The screaming is getting down to the primal essence of fun. You can forget about everything else going on,” Gilmore says.
Racers at the Bring Your Own Big Wheel event on April 17, 2022. Credit: Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE.
The street was like a rolling graveyard of stray plastic wheels and other brightly colored debris tumbling between the pack of riders. There are very, very many near collisions, but I somehow make it to the bottom unscathed except for some errant strands of hay in my mouth. Out of an abundance of caution (and SFGATE’s nebulous workers comp policy), I wore full pads, which felt a little ridiculous after the fact. That said, I still didn’t press my luck with a second run.
Costumed participants prepare to descend Vermont Street during the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel event, on Sunday, April 17, in San Francisco.
Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE
Aside from the pure thrill of speeding down a hill, what struck me most about the event was that it felt, well, completely irresponsible. Even though I didn't see any real injuries, this doesn’t seem like an activity that children should be allowed to do, let alone adults. It’s shocking that in the year 2022, the powers that be would allow a city street to be closed for a full day to allow people to race ramshackle children’s toys, but the continuation of a long tradition of irresponsible behavior was exactly what made it so much fun, a relic of an older San Francisco that rarely rears its head these days.
“It’s San Francisco weird at its best,” Gilmore says. “It helps people remember that San Francisco is still cool.”
Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:45 p.m., April 18, to correct the price of the street closure permit.
Event organizer Frog Gilmore, center with bullhorn, poses with participants at the starting line of this year's Bring Your Own Big Wheel event on Vermont and 20th streets, in San Francisco.Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE