If you've ridden a bicycle much in San Francisco, you've probably heard about the Wiggle; the zig zagging bike path that cuts through Lower Haight to take riders on a flat route in between the hills. But do you know about the Waggle? How about the Woggle? These are lesser known routes that my friends and I have created, and I'm writing this to officially coin the terms. If you pass through the area often or live close by, these small variations can be an exciting and convenient addition to your downhill bike routine.

Even though the Wiggle is "mostly flat," you'll quickly notice that it is slowly uphill to the Panhandle, and slowly downhill to Market St. The general consensus is that the original Wiggle route is the best way to go uphill, since it's the most gradual incline in between the hills.

However, when going downhill there is much more route variety that keeps you on the flats of Page for a little longer before having a bigger downhill towards Market.

My first Waggle ride happened one day when I was biking home with my friend Steven Lundy (he coined the term). We rode two extra blocks on Page and turned on Steiner to go down and merge in with the Wiggle route. The benefits of this are multiple: fewer turns (especially the left turns), avoiding the busyness of Haight St. altogether, and the fun potential to bomb the hill if you're lucky enough to get a green light crossing Haight. I loved the variety, and as a Lower Haight Local I began to share some other tips, resulting in this ride to be referred to now as the Waggle V1.

Living at the top of the Webster hill myself, I've discovered that Church St. is in fact now a very bike friendly street with its traffic calming measures and bus lanes. With the simple addition of a bikes-only filter crossing Market St., Church St. is mostly devoid of car traffic resulting in a mostly peaceful ride all the way to Dolores park (although take care of the tracks on 17th!). I almost never bike on Sanchez St. anymore, since Church St. has better light timings, fewer cars, and no low visibility 90 degree parking.

Once Steven was enlightened with the benefits of riding a bike on Church St., he created the downhill Waggle V2, in which one bikes farther down Page St. all the way to Fillmore, and then bombs down that hill on the way to Church St. avoiding the Wiggle entirely. The Waggle V2 is nice, but it does contain more elevation change to go up to Fillmore, so Waggle V1 (turning on Steiner) is still a good option for less elevation gain. I also wanted to explore other routes that could be useful going uphill but also avoiding the rush hour crowds of the Wiggle. This led me to create the Woggle. First ridden uphill, it starts on Church St., and runs parallel to the Wiggle but one block north or east, ending at Scott & Page when it merges with the other bike routes.

If you live along the Woggle instead of the Wiggle, try making that your standard bike route and see how it feels! Maybe the elevation change will be more gradual. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to different routes through Lower Haight. I have another favorite route I found that has nearly zero elevation change between the top of Wester hill and the Castro. (these are at nearly the same elevation!) You can find it on my website, along with other bike commuting tips and tricks. I hope to see you out there unleashing your creativity to explore more routes. Tell us the name of your Wiggle or Lower Haight route!

Website: www.BikeToEverything.com
Follow: @BikeToEverything

This story was originally published in the December issue of Lower Haight Local.