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Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive 8
By JP Collins
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Every second Saturday in December if you go to the right place you can run into a group of car enthusiasts preparing for a drive through San Francisco in an event known as "the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive." Looking around you begin to see a pattern, this group shares an affinity for the same kind of car, the BMW 2002.
Bay Area 02, has met for the last eight years at Ocean Beach in San Francisco as the starting point for the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive. On this particular day in December 2005 the weather is cold, the sky is clear and the surf is up. The waves are so big, they attract larger than normal numbers of surfers for this time of year. So many that the group has trouble finding parking places near each other. Which is important if you want to compare notes, pop hoods and generally shoot the breeze.
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| Original map for the 49 Mile Scenic Drive |
The Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive was originally intended to be a one time event; the last gathering of the year and a special holiday season drive for Bay Area 02. It was loosely based on the more famous 49 Mile Scenic Drive originally developed in 1938 by the Downtown Association. It was created to highlight the city's beauty and to promote it as a business and tourist destination, the route began and ended at City Hall.
Over the years the route of the 49 Mile Scenic Drive has changed but two things remain the same, the start and stop location and the design of the emblematic seagull sign seen throughout the route. At some point during any the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive, participants will come across one of these signs. If you do take the original 49 Mile Scenic Drive, set aside about four hours to complete the route.
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| Artist Rex May, left, displays the new 49 Mile Scenic Drive sign in 1938. From SFGate.com |
The biggest difference between the two drives, other than not following the official route, is that the Bay Area 02 drive is a rallye that is about 1.5 - 2 hours in length. Oh, and it changes each year, and there is a challenge involved–besides following the route directions through San Francisco in an old BMW. The Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive is not a traditional rally like a TSD rally nor a true gimmick rallye, it's sort of a cross between a scavenger hunt and a gimmick rallye.
Originally participants were handed a sheet of directions and a list of San Francisco trivia questions that had something to do with the surrounding area in a specific part of the route. For instance: "how many streets named for trees are on Franklin Street between Market and Bay?"
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| Folsom and Fremont Streets. Part of the route in the 2005 edition of the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive |
The past couple of years have been different than the first six or so. On this 2005 edition of the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive, the group of drivers are handed a sheet of directions and a page with 12 photo images on it. Each image has a line underneath it and each image is a scene from the drive. All of the images are out of sequence of the route described in the direction sheet. The participant's challenge is to put the images into the correct order by placing a number under the image that corresponds to it's place in the route.
This is where it gets fun. Not only are people driving around a beautiful city on a beautiful December day but they have to navigate by following directions and pay attention to the landmarks illustrated on the image page.
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| Russian Hill looking out to Telegraph Hill. Part of the route in the 2005 edition of the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive |
The drive this group is about to begin contains lots of turns. The route, as usual, starts in Ocean Beach and goes through various parts of the city–mostly in the northern side of San Francisco. Both urban and natural scenes are along the drive and on the image sheet.
The Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive always follows a path that takes drivers through a diverse cross section of the city's neighborhoods. This year's drive like all others starts at Ocean Beach across from the Beach Chalet at 1000 Great Highway. The Beach Chalet is a city owned building and has public restrooms available. There are historic fresco murals in the foyer of the building that are worth visiting.
The Richmond district, where the 2005 drive ended is full of shops and restaurants of all kinds but Asian restaurants are the majority. However, like San Francisco itself, the Richmond district reflects the diversity of those who live there. Try out some of the locations listed below.
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| Nob Hill in San Francisco. Part of the route in the 2005 edition of the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive |
You can take the 49 Mile Scenic drive and the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive yourself. With the resources listed below. We hope to see you at the next one on the second Saturday in December. You can drive in any car you want, but remember, it's always more fun when you do it in a 2002.
You can find the 2005 "Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive" directions at the Bay Area 02 web site:
www.bayarea02.com/events/nt49msd.html
The best guide to the 49 Mile Scenic Drive is:
"San Francisco's 49 Mile Scenic Drive: The Guidebook" Joseph M. Lubow and Laurel Rosen
Sasquatch Books
You can get a map of the current drive at:
www.sfvisitor.org/maps/download/citymap.pdf
You can also find a copy of the original 1938 map at:
www.sfmuseum.net/hist/49mile.html
Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant
1000 Great Hwy, San Francisco, CA
(415) 386-8439
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| USF Campus near the Richmond district. Part of the route in the 2005 edition of the Not the 49 Mile Scenic Drive |
Clement Street - Richmond District resources (selected list)
Burma Super Star Restaurant
Burmese cuisine
(415) 387-2147
309 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Blue Danube Coffee House
Coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches, beer & wine
(415) 221-9041
306 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Eats
Neighborhood breakfast joint
(415) 752-2938
50 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Giorgio's Pizzeria
Old school pizzeria (red vinyl booths)
(415) 668-1266
151 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Plough & Stars
Irish Pub
(415) 751-1122
116 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Village Pizzeria
New York Style pizza
1 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Retail
Chinese Herb Co.
(415) 387-1892
918 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94118
Green Apple Books
(415) 387-2272
506 Clement Street San Francisco, CA 94118
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