Strikes, snobs and sweat: The latest in San Francisco

July is off and away, and there are quite a few things of note going on in San Francisco.  Let’s take a look:

• STRIKE: Today is DAY 3 of a BART strike in the Bay Area.  The BART is the subway train system that takes people across the Bay, through San Francisco and beyond.  The unions and BART officials have not come to terms on a new contract agreement, and this situation is drastically affecting the City.  BART is the nation’s fifth largest rail system, and hundreds of thousands of people commute into San Francisco each day using it.  Without service, employers have encouraged employees to work from home, carpool, or take the ferries or shuttle buses.  People are reportedly waiting hours for alternative means of transportation.  It’s a mess out there.   Luckily, I’ve still been able to safely meander around on foot during this disruption, staying close to my neck of the woods.
• SNOBS: San Francisco was just given the top spot on the list of “America’s Snobbiest Cities” by Travel + Leisure.  Some of the measures included San Francisco’s reputation for tech-saviness, recycling, a serious foodie culture, high prices and other signs of elitism.  Local website SFist said it best:  “Yes, S.F. is the snobbiest city around. But that’s only because we’ve got a good thing going, and we know it.”  It’s true though, sometimes I feel bad about how much I gush over the things there are to do and see in this City.  There’s another event taking place in San Francisco this weekend that adds to the City’s snobby factor: the America’s Cup Opening Ceremony 2013.  Tomorrow is the start of this international sailing competition enjoyed by the uber-rich.  It’s called the Super Bowl of sailing, and it’s not exactly a poor man’s sport.
• SWEAT: It’s launch time in the Bay Area.  All the 24 Hour Fitness gyms around San Francisco and in Northern California debuted the latest round of Les Mills group fitness releases this weekend and on Monday.  Every three months, Les Mills International delivers a new set of well-researched choreography with popular music for each of its ten group fitness programs and one team training program.  On Saturday, I went out to the 24 Hour Fitness Walnut Creek Super Sport to take BODYPUMP 86, CXWORX 11 and BODYATTACK 81.  I say it every three months, but these workouts just keep getting better and smarter, with new moves and innovations in functional training.  The launches in the city gyms take place on Mondays (since many do not have weekend classes), so I launched in my own class on Monday afternoon and taught BODYPUMP 86 wearing some new sneaks.  It wasn’t a full class though, which is rare for a launch.  Many of my members are commuters, so maybe they worked from home due to the strike.

Tomorrow marks my first Fourth of July in San Francisco.  Rumor has it that the summer fog can shield the fireworks display planned for Fisherman’s Wharf, but I am hopeful it won’t.  Dave and I have spent the last few years watching the annual Downtown Orlando Fireworks at the Fountain at Lake Eola from the full-length windows of our condo overlooking the lake there.  This year, we’ll be attending a rooftop shindig in the North Beach neighborhood.

Here’s to a safe, happy and snob-less holiday weekend.