A man with a rolling suitcase stood by the curb outside Oracle Park on Friday morning, and as I rode by on my bicycle, I couldn’t help but ask if he was also headed to San Francisco International Airport. “No,” he responded with overt confusion.
Several minutes later, at a tight bike path intersection outside Chase Center, I made room for an incoming trio also on wheels. A mother and her two boys, both strapped in those helmets with the silicone mohawks, passed by. When I volunteered my final destination, the mom called out: “That’s a great way to get there!”
I think it’s reasonable to bike to SFO.
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Getting to the airport is one of the foibles of air travel, often considered more stressful than the flight itself due to driving and parking. So last week, I set off from our newsroom in downtown San Francisco to glide along the bayshore toward the international terminal at SFO, roughly 15 miles away.
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino rides past the United Airlines San Francisco maintenance center during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
A sign lets bicyclists and motorists know about a bike route to SFO on South Airport Boulevard on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino and social video editor Melissa Cho ride their bicycles down the bike lane on Terry A Francois Boulevard in San Francisco on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
Reaching an airport by bike is inconceivable if you’re a heavy packer, but it’s not out of the question if you attach panniers or fly with just a backpack.
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Pink McDowall lives in the SoMa district — we connected after I left a note on their bike, locked at the SFO rack. McDowall told me it’s their preferred mode for traveling to SFO, which they do often, whether for work or leisure. “It’s really nice to get some exercise before a long flight,” they said. “And it makes you very conscious of what you’re bringing on your trip. It helps you be thoughtful: Do I really need that?”
San Franciscans are particularly blessed since few other international airports are more celebrated for bicycle infrastructure than SFO. It has multiple bike parking areas and service stations, and it’s routinely ranked among the best in the country for bike-to-flight travel.
Equally important, the ride is enjoyable, and mostly flat. I’ve explored many corners of the city on bike, but this trip put me on a few new avenues and gave me a more intimate sense of some neighborhoods that are easy to overlook when zipping by in a car or on public transit. The ride also ends with an absolute novelty for flying in 2026: free parking at SFO.
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SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino and social video editor Melissa Cho get ready to ride their bikes from the San Francisco Chronicle building in San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino, social video editor Melissa Cho and culture editor Dan Gentile ride their bicycles up Third Street during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
We set out around 10:30 a.m. on a balmy Friday. My colleagues Melissa Cho, Dan Gentile and Doug Zimmerman joined the ride to either help document or just embrace the breeze. The first couple of miles were on bike-friendly paths with enhanced safety features like dedicated lanes and bollards. We cruised past the stadium and arena for San Francisco’s two major teams and cut through Crane Cove Park, where it looked like hordes of kindergartners were having a field trip.
After crossing over the Islais Creek Channel, the bicycle-friendly infrastructure eroded as we rode Third Street through the rickety spine of Bayview-Hunters Point. Car and bicycle traffic share a busy lane, and at times, it was a bit hectic.
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I was encouraged to later read how the Bayview Community Pathway is underway to improve walking, biking and transit in the neighborhood. Construction for a safer route somewhat parallel to Third Street is expected to begin in 2028.
The route takes a sharp right onto Paul Avenue following two miles. On the corner was a greasy institution and the first roadside attraction from my journey that I saved on Google Maps for a future visit.
B&J Burgers has served breakfast and lunch on this corner since 1962. I was lured inside the single-room diner by its sizzling siren song. The menu includes a $7.25 cheeseburger, but Ashley Guillory said not to gloss over breakfast, including bacon and pancakes. She was picking up lunch for her family nearby and has been coming in since she was a little girl.
B&J Burgers at the corner of Third Street and Paul Avenue in San Francisco on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino checks out B&J Burgers at the corner of Third Street and Paul Avenue in San Francisco during a bike ride to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
In the parking lot outside, Sheiba Boissiere hopped in a yellow cab with her takeout order and, like Guillory, has eaten at B&J Burgers her whole life. “It’s the best as far as home cooking that’s not very processed,” Boissiere said before driving off.
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Biking with a burger belly is its own form of torture, so I withheld from placing an order, and we powered down Paul Avenue toward a Highway 101 underpass. I might visit Bayview-Hunters Point once or twice a year, so I appreciated how the ride and short stop at B&J helped bring more elements of the neighborhood to life.
“On a bike, you move slowly enough so you can actually see people and don’t have the insulation of the glass cabin in a car,” McDowall said. “You are a little more vulnerable, and that’s healthy.”
The first incline appeared with San Bruno Avenue, parallel to the freeway, and after summiting a few blocks later, we sailed the winding descent onto Bayshore Boulevard.
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino and social video producer Melissa Cho ride past 7 Mile on Bayshore Boulevard in Brisbane, Calif., during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
SFGATE tavel editor Silas Valentino, culture editor Dan Gentile and social video editor Melissa Cho take a break to check out a display in South San Francisco, Calif., during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
At the edge of San Francisco is a bar and restaurant that is a testament to duality: a historic joint with a modern menu located on a parcel that’s half SF and half Brisbane. The 7 Mile House serves Filipino staples such as adobo and lumpia while enduring the lashings of time. It’s in far better shape than its neighbor, the Bayshore Roundhouse. The former freight yard is among the Bay Area’s decaying, abandoned places but made for a fascinating distraction as I began to pedal up the side of a slim mountain range.
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Famous for a saddle of its own, San Bruno Mountain creates a natural gateway to South San Francisco. It’s also where Bayshore Boulevard unceremoniously evolves into Airport Boulevard. That transition occurs by those glass towers on the southern hillside. These buildings for biotech companies were designed like someone flourishing a cape in front of the facade. I sometimes wonder how they’re one of the first landmarks that a person visiting San Francisco sees from the highway. At least it’s better than a billboard promising something irrelevant like data compliance.
Airport Boulevard eventually tucks under Highway 101, where sonic splooge from aircraft in the sky grows louder. Melissa noticed how gas prices displayed at stations along the route seemed to gradually increase as we approached the airport’s perimeter.
We passed the long-term parking structure. It costs $27 to park for 24 hours. I saw hundreds of cars inside and considered how their owners, wherever in the world, were currently spending over a $1 dollar an hour for parking inside.
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino, culture editor Dan Gentile and SFGATE social video editor Melissa Cho ride on South Airport Boulevard during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino waits to cross the street in front of the SFO long-term parking garage during a bike ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
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SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino and social video producer Melissa Cho watch out for traffic while riding in a bicycle lane on North McDonnell Road during a bicycle ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
Across the street from the United Airlines building, where its neon sign glows ruby red at night, I met Enmanuel Fernandez at a hangar for bus shuttle maintenance. He said he sees two or three cyclists headed to the airport a week. He also warned that the last mile could get hairy.
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The final stretch on North McDonnell Road was exciting like a cortisol spike. Not only was there roadwork forcing us to merge onto the road with a bus, but the long artery is narrow and active. How many roadways have Highway 101 to the right, tracks for the AirTrain up above and the tarmac for the busiest airport in the region on the left?
We pedaled on and entered the heart of SFO. The road took us directly to the bicycle parking area in Courtyard G, more or less beneath the BART station. I saw a few bikes, including McDowall’s Synapse, as well as electric scooters. An abandoned, periwinkle Schwinn was missing its front tire, but the bike area was undeniably secure. The reserved parking space for Mike Nakornkhet, the airport director, was a few feet away.
SFO allows 14 days of parking and requires registration at the nearby kiosk, which McDowall said is operated 24 hours a day. Parking is free, but the airport said it reserves the right to implement a fee with a 30-day notice. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said biking to the airport not only reflects SFO’s values of wellness and sustainability but is a “uniquely San Francisco airport experience.”
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SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino parks his bike at SFO after a ride from downtown San Francisco on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
From an SFO bicycle parking area, airplanes are visible through the fence at San Francisco International Airport on April 17, 2026.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
Upstairs in the international terminal was a fitting finale. The SFO museum is showing an exhibit on the lowrider community, with a dozen idiosyncratic bicycles on display. Like tassels on the handlebars blowing in the wind, biking to SFO toys with the mundane. It’s a chance to ride through three Bay Area cities — San Francisco, Brisbane and South San Francisco — and through bayshore neighborhoods that do not always appear in guidebooks.
“People are always a little surprised. It’s not something a lot of people know or think of,” McDowall said of the ride. “They’ll think you’re a little crazy but in a good way.”
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