Photos for Wednesday, 8/13

Cardiff to Imperial Beach, CA

Wednesday, 8/12 - 57 miles. We officially ended the trip tonight at the U.S. - Mexican border south of Imperial Beach, CA. Today was a long day which covered a lot of different areas. At Torrey Pines we encountered our last big climb of the trip. It was moderately steep but the hill went on for quite awhile. There were also a number of small steep climbs in the San Diego area. We stopped in La Jolla Cove where seals and people were sharing the beach. The seals were sunning themselves on the rocks seemingly oblivious to the people swimming in close proximity to them. One thing that was striking in the Cove was a very distinct putrid smell which everyone seemed to be ignoring! Cycling into downtown San Diego entailed traversing a bunch of interconnected bike paths which was a little confusing. Plus, Hal got his second flat. After a few wrong turns we finally ended up downtown where we boarded a ferry which took us to Coronado. After a late lunch in Coronado we followed a bike path all the way to Imperial Beach which I believe is the last town along the coast before you reach the Mexican border. It was getting late in the day so we cycled at a relatively fast pace so we would hopefully reach the border before dark. After leaving Imperial Beach we had to ride inland because the coastal area immediately south of Imperial Beach is a large wetlands area that is not accessible. We had to ride east, then south and then west towards the coast. The road was pretty desolate and the only civilization we saw was an ocassional horse ranch. When the road headed west it was flanked by steep mountains to the south. A substantial steel fence stretched across the adjacent mountains indicating the border with Mexico. Eventually we reached the Pacific Ocean at the point where U.S. - Mexican border starts. The location is in a somewhat remote park that was closed to vehicular traffic. Only pedestrians and bicyclists were allowed in the park. A large arena was located on the Mexican side of the border very close to the border fence. You could hear music coming from Mexico and we saw people swimming on the Mexican side. (The border fence extended out into the ocean). The U.S. side was devoid of people and any sign of development. It appeared to be a large wetlands area set aside as a preserve. Looking across the border fence the houses and apartments directly adjacent to the fence looked modern and upscale. Signs warned you not to go near the border fence so you had to stay at least 20 feet from it. A border patrol officer was sitting in his truck watching us so I obeyed the sign. As the sun was setting we decided it would be prudent to head back to Imperial Beach where we had made a motel reservation. A short 5 mile ride in the dark (with lights) brought us to the motel at about 9 pm. Tomorrow morning we have a 1.6 mile ride to a car rental place. According to Hal's bike computer we covered a total of 1,905 miles over about six weeks of riding. We took two forced rest days (one in WA and one in OR) due to mechanical bike problems. And, we took one real rest day in Oxnard, CA.

Photos for Tuesday, 8/11

Dana Point to Cardiff, CA

Tuesday, 8/11 - 46 miles. I think we are at the last hiker/biker state park campsite heading south. Today included riding through Camp Pendleton which is a base for the U.S. Marines. We heard a lot of live fire exercises going on - not sure what was being fired but it was quite loud. Definitely not small arms being fired. Last night's hiker/biker campsite was poorly situated behind and very close to the public restrooms. However, today the site is located at the end of the campground and it is overlooking the ocean. We actually made it in early today so I am relaxing and watching the surfers ride the waves. Tomorrow should be our last day of riding. We will follow the coastline adjacent to San Diego and finish in Imperial Beach which is the last town on the coast before the Mexican border. There are train tracks that have run along much of the Pacific coast. Up north of here they appeared largely abandoned but in southern CA they are in heavy use. Frequent passenger trains operated both by Amtrak and by the state rumble by in both directions. Two things we have noticed in CA state parks. The charge for bike camping varies significantly from park to park without any reason. Also, some parks require you to use quarters to take a shower while other parks require you to buy tokens for the showers. The amount of time the shower runs for each token or quarter also seems to vary. Sometimes you only 2.5 minutes for each quarter or token. Other times you get much longer. Finally, in some parks you can adjust the water temperature while in other parks the temperature is fixed. The impact of Mexican culture is very apparent in CA. Many breakfast places serve you nachos and hot sauce with a traditional breakfast such as an omelet. I included a picture of a delicatessen called a mexicatessen which is a very clever play on words.

Manhattan Beach to Dana Point, CA

Monday, 8/10 - 64 miles. Part of the route this morning took us through some commercial/industrial areas in Torrance and Carson, CA. Other parts of the route followed a series of interconnected bike trails. Some of them were right on the beach. However, at least one trail followed the LA river which is encased in a deep concrete channel with high levees on either side of the river. The river only had a very small amount of water in it. The bike trail was on top of one of the levees. It was not particularly scenic. Eventually we ran out of bike trails in Newport. The riding from Newport to Laguna beach and eventually to Dana Point left a lot to be desired. The road had two lanes in each direction with cars parked on the side of the road. That left inadequate room for cyclists. The result was a less than relaxing ride especially with the addition of hills in this area. Hopefully, the riding tomorrow and the next day will be better. We met two Italian cyclists today who were riding from Seattle to San Diego. They spoke very good English but we were a little confused when the told us they were going to stop in Redondo Beach to take a bath! Later we realized they meant bathing  (swimming). In the hiker/biker campsite we met another couple from Italy. The hiker/biker campsite is quite small and crowded since camping options in southern CA are limited along the coast. Another solo cyclist who is camping in the site is a software developer who just left a job in NYC.

Photos for Monday, 8/10

Oxnard to Manhattan Beach, CA

Sunday, 8/9 - 66 miles. Today was an interesting ride. It was  basically flat with a few small hills in the Santa Monica and Malibu areas. At the end of the day we went inland a few miles to a motel in Manhattan Beach and we had a few small steep hills to climb. After Malibu we got onto a bike trail and we ended of riding on several bike trails that took us all the way to Manhattan Beach with only a few breaks where we had to ride on the road for short distances. The areas we went through also varied. In the morning we passed several miltary bases, farmland, wealthy areas with beachfront homes and some much lower socioeconomic areas. After lunch we passed predominantly wealthy beachfront areas. I also saw a lot of nice state beaches although many were small ribbons of sand that were immediately adjacent to the highway so anyone using the beach must have been subjected to significant traffic noise. The bike paths on the beach were enjoyable to ride on although it was rather slow riding due to the sheer number of bikes on the paths. It seemed like the heaviest concentration of bikes was in the Venice Beach area. For dinner tonight Hal convinced me to try an all you can eat Mongolian restaurant which was across the street from the motel. You picked the various food items you wanted and then a chef cooked everything for you on a giant wok - like surface. The food was very good although I am unsure if it was really authentic Mongolian food. One interesting note about the restaurant was that the owner may have been Mongolian but the servers were Chinese and the chefs were Hispanic. At the beginning of the ride this morning I heard a loud banging noise coming from rear wheel after about two miles. I couldn't figure out the source of the noise until I laid the bicycle on its side and spun the rear wheel. A two inch piece of heavy wire was sticking out of my tire and it was hitting my rear fender every time the wheel rotated. Amazingly it did not puncture the tire so once it was pulled out of the tire I was able to continue riding. I was rather surprised I didn't get a flat!