Bay to Breakers 2009: The Aftermath – Recap and Photos

18May09

6:00am – The alarm goes off. I crawl out of bed, slip on my hot pants (what?)  and head straight to the kitchen, passing by friends that are still sound asleep as they dream their silly dreams. 

6:30am – Slaving over a hot stove, I begin cooking pancakes to keep our tummies full and happy for the long morning ahead.

7:00am – Mimosas are served, the pancakes are devoured, 90’s dance hits fill the air, and the excitement really starts to build.

Bay to Breakers 2009 is about to begin! Hit the jump for the recap and photos.

For all the Bay to Breakers veterans out there, you all know this feeling. It’s like waking up the morning you are sentenced to be stoned in the middle of the town square, except completely opposite. For all the newbies, the feeling of wonder and curiosity take over, especially when you finally see whordes of people in wild and flamboyant costumes that put yours to shame. Hopefully you read my Newbie’s Survival Guide to Bay to Breakers! 

It’s funny how this one day suddenly makes complete strangers your long lost best friend. The short MUNI ride from Ingleside to the Embarcadero introduced us to many unique and fun people, all of whom had one goal in mind, and that was to have the best third Sunday in May ever. With 60 ice cold Bud Lights in tow, the morning was off to a great start. Nothing answers the age-old question “What are we doing today?” like cracking open a cold one on a crowded MUNI train at 7:30am.

Upon exiting the tunnel and heading to the corral, smiles stretched from ear to ear on everyone’s faces, as we passed by naked astronauts and others in various forms of undress. It has officially begun!

For whatever reason, some guy, some odd years ago, decided to throw tortillas in the air just to be doing something, much like the passing of the beach ball at concerts. This turned into an annual tradition practiced to kick off the start of the “race.” We came prepared with our own bag of tortillas and catapulted them through the air like frisbees, unleashing a barrage of Mexican projectiles on unsuspecting bodies.

The next few hours were filled with lots of beer chugging, high-fives, finger pointing, boobies, penises, more beer chugging, public urination, fairy dust, fake penises, witty signs, clever costumes, loud music, hoses, more beer chugging, and more beer chugging. You know, the usual. I hate to be cliche but Bay to Breakers really is one of those things where “you had to be there” to understand, but pictures do speak a thousand words, so enjoy these and relive the moment through our eyes.

No, I am not wearing a jersey dress!

Photobooth + Music = Fun Float

As a matter of fact, yes we are.

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! Cool runnings!

Even SFFD got in on the fun, hosing everyone down in the heat!

Getting sprinkled with magical fairy dust 🙂

Move along, nothing to see here...

"Beer Man! Beer me!"

*splash*

The King

Getting down with The Green Man from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

When in San Francisco...

The Second Amendment: The right to bear arms?

The crowd heading up the Hayes St. hill

New Orleans & Tokyo

Barely made it past the 3 mile marker. The course is 7.5 miles long.

A brief stopover on Fell before heading back

Bay to Breakers 2009: It's a wrap!

If you’ve made it this far, I commend you. For those of you who made it out, how was your experience? I’d particularly love to hear from first-timers. As with other things in life, you never know what to expect your first time, but each time you do it after, it just gets better and better. See you all next year!

Thanks for the photos, Rey! 

Filed under: Embarcadero, Events, Feature, Golden Gate Park, Hayes Valley   |  2 Comments
Tags: b2b, bay to breakers, bay to breakers 09, bay to breakers 2009, beer, beer float, downtown, drinking, Embarcadero, fell st., floats, hayes st., hayes st. hill, music, naked, public drunking, public gathering, public urination, san francisco, sf bay to breakers, sffd, tortilla toss