Unappreciated Cyclists In Sausalito

"Some Sausalito locals are comparing the pedal-pushing tourists who descend on their boutiquey town to a plague of locusts, tying up traffic, taking over parks, blocking doorways and generally making the weekends miserable.

"They're just a big pain," says Tom Mahoney, manager of the Winships Restaurant on Bridgeway, who loves the business they bring but hates the clutter.

The cycle tsunami is being fueled by a score of new bike rental outfits around San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, plus bike-path improvements in Sausalito meant to make the town more tourist-friendly.

Despite the economic meltdown, business is booming.

The recent bike jam has the Sausalito City Council enduring an earful from cranky residents.

The cycling phenomenon is causing overcrowding on Golden Gate Transit and Blue and Gold ferries that bring the bikers back to the city. So now the Red and White Fleet, which runs a charter service, wants to run boats out of Sausalito as well."