Driving in the city of San Francisco is an adventure. It is city driving without a doubt. Urban maneuvering skills in a motorized vehicle is not for the faint of heart.

The numbers of smaller cars here in the peninsula-by-the-sea is huge compared to my Motorcity experience. Tiny Smart cars, Minis, and subcompact versions abound. They are like tiny buzz bombs zipping around corners, switching lanes and whipping into any open parking spaces on the street.

If decisiveness is not a part of a person’s driving repertoire, then they might as well ride the bus in this world-class city. My hosts have loaned me a Toyota Corolla. It has plenty of power, a good suspension and has a tight turning radius.

Gentleness on manuevers works for me. But besides the crowded streets filled with cars, buses and trucks there is a unique addition. Bicyclists abound on the streets of San Francisco.

These two-wheeled machines are not shy around motorized traffic. They pedal hard and quick into traffic. Riders are quite adept at balancing a latte and checking out a free space to squeeze into a lane leading them to their destination.

Don’t forget the motorized two-wheelers either. Big hawgs aren’t the prolific bikers in this category. Rather they are the under 200cc motor scooters.

They sound like a big rubber band whining up a hill with a centrifugal transmission. Different riders have decorated their scooters with decals, psychedelic colors and an endless variety of cargo baskets. So many of the scooter riders look oversized for the tiny little bike that they are on.

Whoa! There’s a guy using the pushy-technique. This method is where you drift into the lane you want, forcing the other driver to bake and by default makes room to merge. He jerked back into his lane when I gave him the Michigan horn-blast response.

What a dope! If you try to drive with intimidation but are chicken to follow through there’s no hope. Well, he’s an amateur, so I dropped back and let him in. In Michigan such a gesture usually wins a wave, but he just crowded in, so I laid on my horn once more.

Startled again he floored his little car only to slam on his brakes because the traffic stopped. He has a lot to learn. But at least this little Michigan manuever lesson might be one that he remembers.

photo credit: Google image