Yesterday when I got to my hotel in Newport Beach, it took me almost five minutes to turn left because traffic was so heavy, and there was no bike lane on this section of the road.
I was worried about morning traffic, because the sun is low on the horizon, and if traffic was fast and heavy, it could have been an unpleasant ride.
I needn’t have worried. Shortly after I started this morning, I had a bike lane and traffic was light. A minute later, though, the bike lane was full of idling cars. I was trying to figure out what was going on, when a cyclist rode up beside me. I asked him, and he explained that it was a really rich neighborhood that didn’t allow worker’s vehicles to enter until a certain time (7:30am?), so thy just waited there, in line, to be allowed in. John rode with me for a while and we chatted, and finally stopped for a picture before parting ways. He was getting in some miles before work, and I didn’t want to slow him down!
Laguna Beach was quiet, and the route continued through curvy hilly streets in the neighborhoods of San Clemente before leading into the Old Pacific Highway road that is now mostly bike only or really empty. At one point, when it was closed to vehicles, you could see that it had been a five-lane divided highway, and I didn’t see anyone except an occasional jogger or cyclist.
I came around a corner and was greeted by Mike, who was curious about my trip, because he had done it before with his brother. We compared notes, and he also strongly urged me to do RAGBRAI someday.
The highlight of the day, though, had to be riding on I-5 to get past Camp Pendleton. It was exactly what I expected: Loud, fast, wide shoulders. It was fun riding into the rest area. I suspect I never drink enough, because I don’t ever have to stop at rest areas to use the restroom, but MY WIFE does, so I have stopped at this always-busy rest area MANY times. I had a cold soda from a vending machine and pressed on. It wasn’t unpleasant, exactly, but the novelty had worn off by the time I got off the freeway in Oceanside.
Shortly after I started riding in Oceanside, a cyclist struck up a conversation with me. Mark lives in Tucson, but his kids live here and they have a condo here, so they visit a lot. We parted ways at an intersection, but I ran into him again at a stoplight and chatted some more. He sped away soon after, but a couple minutes later, I saw him on the side of the road, and he was gesturing for me to stop. At first, I was worried something was wrong, but it turned out there was an Osprey scanning the surf for lunch – and trying to ignore the crowd that was forming to take his picture!
Just before I reached my stop for the night, I found my first Roberto’s. I did have a burrito, but not a carne asada burrito like the old days. This was a veggie burrito, and it was great!
I just love riding here.
