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.
