PC_Day33

Day 33

Thursday, 1 July 2004
San Clemente, CA to San Diego, CA
69.1 miles, 5h17m, 13.0 mph
Elapsed Time: 7h09m, Max speed: 35.6mph
Total Climbing: 2060ft, Max elevation: 510ft
Total mileage: 1965.6

Linda arrived in San Diego last night, so this morning she drove up to San Clemente and took our bags away from us. Woo-hoo!

We got started a little after eight and worked our way through the residential neighborhoods of San Clemente. Then we spent a long time riding through the San Onofre State Beach, which appears to be built on an old version of the coastal highway. When we finally ran out of park we were dumped onto a bike path built on top of the old highway, which later turned into a bike path as wide as a runway.

JT veers out of control on the runway.

At the end of the runway, we were forced on to I-5. The only other road through this area runs through the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton. The base has been closed to cyclists since 9-11 and there has been no attempt to build an alternate route, so we have to ride on the Interstate for about 7 miles.

Here's proof that we rode on I-5.
MPEG Video: Getting on to The Five (5.1 MB)

I-5 is 5 lanes in each direction in this area with plenty of shoulder room. In spite of the high-speed traffic and noise, this road is actually quite safe compared to some of the roads through the towns north of here.

MPEG Video: Riding on The Five (6.6 MB)

Once we got off the interstate we found ourselves back on the Pacific Coast Highway. This road had bike lanes everywhere except in the towns, but the road was a little wider and the traffic was a little lighter than Laguna and the other hell towns from yesterday. Linda met us for lunch at Leucadia.

The big climb of the day was at Torrey Pines, past the famous golf course and the University, then we dropped down into LaJolla. We took the scenic route around La Jolla, sticking close to the water.

Cheap homes in La Jolla.

Eventually we worked our way around to the bike path at Mission Beach. The beach was moderately crowded for a Thursday, and the path was a mess. After a couple of miles I decided that it would be safer to ride in traffic, so we moved over to the parallel street. Almost immediately I nearly rear-ended an SUV who decided to turn right from the left turn lane without bothering to signal. I thought Maryland drivers didn't know how to use their turn signal, but these people are much worse.

A sane moment at Mission Beach.

Several miles later, downtown San Diego hove into view...so I took a picture. I had to call Linda to find the hotel (it's not a Best Western, so I don't have the automatic homing device), and then we went out for seafood.

Tomorow we'll take a short ride to Imperial Beach and finish this thing.

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