Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage
Save the date!
September 21/22, 2024

DharmaWheels started in 2002. Our events are unusual. We offer a rolling community traveling to spiritual destinations. We work on a volunteer basis. There are no salaries and no fees. Participants offer food, supplies, service, monetary donations, and spiritual friendship for our journeys. It’s an experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Join us for a special 2023 pilgrimage. A journey like you’ve never experienced. Layers of spiritual intention beginning in winter, developing in spring, fortifying in summer, and completing the circle in autumn.

The physical dimension. Build fitness and meet other pilgrims on monthly rides. Completing a 10 or 20 mile ride today motivates a longer distance tomorrow. Set your sights on the two-day pilgrimage in September!

A bicycle ride is a meditation. 
Pedal the wheel of dharma. 
The seemingly impossible is within reach.

The spiritual dimension. We center on a single theme for the entire year, posting nuggets of wisdom every ride, and inviting insights from our monastic connections.

Karuna is self-compassion that extends to all beings. 
Where does spiritual longing lead? 
To a divine abode!

The community dimension. Discover friendly and generous people who share an interest in bicycles and buddhism. All are welcome regardless of beliefs.

We support each other. 
Whether it’s repairing a flat tire, offering transportation,
or bringing extra food to share.

The service dimension. Many participants focus on volunteer service. You do not need to be a cyclist to join DharmaWheels. Our volunteers hold the community together.

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. 
I awoke and saw that life was service. 
I acted and behold, service was joy.      – Tagore

🚴 Upcoming rides

Community rides are local group rides announced monthly. You can organize your own rides or join rides organized by others. See community page for more.

Postponed to January due to weather conditions.

✅ Saturday, November 18, 2023: San Francisco urban ride

Our 10th Community Ride of 2023 explores the urban village known as San Francisco.

Distance: 25.9 miles
Elevation gain: 2,184 feet
Total Time: Let’s guess around 4 hours. (The total time depends on the pace of slowest rider(s), the number and length of breaks, mechanical issues, etc.)

Description: We begin and end at SF Zen Center. Come early and we can stow bicycles before sitting zazen and receiving a dharma talk. The ride will follow Page Street to Golden Gate Park, north at Ocean Beach, rest stop at Lands End Lookout (bathroom/store). We’ll cross the GG Bridge and decide whether to climb Hawk Hill climb before circling back via Arguello to GG Park, Page Street, and the Zen Center.

Meet: San Francisco Zen Center, 300 Page Street, San Francisco
[Kate adds: Parking will be a bear and might require those driving in to find a parking garage. Such is life in the urban village]

Meet time: there are two options:

Arrive 9am, stow bikes, sit zazen 9:25 followed by dharma talk

Arrive 10:45, ready to ride

Rolling: 11am from the SF Zen Center

Route on ridewithgps: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44834843

Route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/tc0NZlUpkEb

This is a friendly, no-drop ride. There is no registration — just “Show and Go.” Riders are required to sign a Waiver of Liability that will be available the day of the ride from the lead. The ride is self-supported, so please bring your own fluids and fuel. We ask that all riders wear a helmet and carry ID. Weather forecast: cool in the morning, warm to hot during the day.

Questions? Call, text or email Kate McGee, the ride leader, at 415.298.5219, kate.urbus@gmail.com

For full schedule, see 2023-Community-Rides! We announce rides on social media a few days before events. Subscribe to get notifications!

Whatsapp – SF-Biking-Pilgrims
Facebook – DharmaWheels
Strava – Club

Celebrating 20 years of bicycle pilgrimages!

DharmaWheels was created by cyclists who wanted to ride their bikes with a few friends from San Francisco Bay Area to Abhyagiri in Mendocino County – it has grown a lot since then, you can read more about who we are here.

We have novice, intermediate, and experienced cyclists. We have advanced spiritual practitioners mixing with people dipping their toes in the water. We offer a rolling community traveling to spiritual destinations. After paying out fixed operational costs, nearly 100% of your dana goes to the monastic sangha.