What is your opinion on cycling in the city. I live in SOMA and haven’t started riding yet. I used to ride all the time in GA, but it definitely seems more dangerous out here.
When I lived in SF I would ride pretty everywhere. The SF Bike Coalition is one of the most effective lobbying organizations I've ever seen, and they've done a huge amount to transform the city to make it bike friendly. In return, the number of people biking has really skyrocketed in the last 10 years. There are often good bike lanes along routes, and sometimes they are even separated. They have a pretty good map that shows you bike lanes, so you could use that to plan out some routes while you're getting familiar.
Anecdotally, the motorists are more aware of bikes now than they used to be (just because there are more of them), but you still need to ride pretty defensively.
Only other city I've ridden is Stockholm, and I commute on Folsom which has a striped lane but basically:
a) Make sure you're visible. I always have lights and reflectors, and wear hi-vis jacket if it's dark out
b) Always assume there's an Uber about to do something dumb and dangerous - ride defensively, don't assume that drivers see you, seek eye contact, don't be afraid to take the lane
c) Relax, take it easy, it's a wonderful city to ride in.
Its totally doable, just be wary of your surroundings and try to move with the flow of other bike traffic. Moving as a herd makes you more predictable to cars.
