Best Places For Winter Workout Gear In The Bay Area
Surfboards and bikes (credit: Laurie Jo Miller Farr)
Many New Year's resolutions focus on getting fit, although early sunsets mean being sure to light up at night with reflective protection on shoes and bikes for better visibility. Anticipating El Niño? Get water-resistant gear so you'll stay drier. Go through your winter workout gear to make sure you've got the right stuff for indoor and outdoor activity...and hit the road or the mat without delay to be looking at a new you in the mirror by spring.
A Runner's Mind, San Francisco (credit: Laurie Jo Miller Farr)
A Runner's Mind
3575 Sacramento St.
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 800-7575
www.arunnersmind.com
"Arm your feet," say staff members at this neighborhood store a few blocks from Arguello Gate at the Presidio. From head to toe, men and women can get what they need to stay warm and dry. The store organizes group runs from here on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturday mornings, so you always have someone to run with. When it's time for new running shoes, they'll do a gait analysis to ensure a proper fitting for everyone. The other store location is in Burlingame.
575 Crespi Drive, Suite 1
Pacifica, CA 94044
(650) 359-5471
www.sonlightsurfshop.com
This shop is located right near the beach at Linda Mar, where they've been serving all levels of surfers since 1985. Open seven days a week, stop in for surfboards, paddleboards, wetsuits, booties, flippers, clothing and accessories. Your new wetsuit brand will be from brands like Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Hotline or Patagonia. Parents of growing children really like the kid wetsuit trade-in program for upcycling the gear.
3001 Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 858-7700
www.mikesbikes.com
A short walk from the Stanford campus, Mike's Bikes have saved the semester for more than one student without a car. Get anything and everything you need for bicycling into the first quarter of 2016, including helmets, locks, reflectors, child seats, baskets, outerwear, rain gear, cycling socks, leg warmers and gloves. Grown and spread from a San Rafael beginning more than 50 years ago, Mike's Bike has looked after a couple of generations of Bay Area folks and families.
1970 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA 994611
(510) 339-9313
www.montclairsportsoakland.com
Name your sport. Whatever you and your family are into, Montclair Sports is a good place to start. This locally owned sporting goods store has been in business since 1957. Skis, boots and snowboard department — tick. Tennis racquets and stringing service — tick. Hiking boots — tick. All kinds of sports apparel for men, women and children — tick. Come for old fashioned personal service seven days a week. Those in the know say that their winter sports rental and return from here can save a lot of time in Tahoe.
6014 College Ave.
Oakland, CA
(510) 655-4809
www.transportsrunwim.com
Support a local business and they'll support you is the theme at this popular store for year-round running and swimming enthusiasts. Operating since 1982, the staff members are also athletes and can resonate with customers and their needs. Once your gear is sorted, there are lots of events to join, all posted on the website a few months in advance. People like their free loyalty club offering a 10 percent discount for either location; the second one is at 1559 Solano Ave. in Berkeley.
Laurie Jo Miller Farr loves walkable cities. A tourism industry professional and transplanted New Yorker by way of half-a-lifetime in London, she's writing about the best of the bay and beyond for Bay City Guide, AXS, Examiner and more. Examiner.com.
