Perspective...

can change suddenly.  I set out on an easy coastal cruise today.  I was nearing the San Dieguito & El Camino Real intersection & I was feeling rather cocky about the fact that I successfully completed my Long Beach bike journey.  Shortly after this period of self-congratulation I ran into a young man in Del Mar who completely altered my perspective on the magnitude of my accomplishment.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

As I cruised through Santa Luz & on down through Fairbanks Ranch I couldn't miss several groups of circling red tail hawks.  I have never seen so many at one time nor this particular behavior.  I don't know what was going on but they were all excitedly circling in groups of 3 to 5.  A lot of their very familiar vocalizations & a great show.  Don't make a habit of looking skyward at cool hawks when you are on a bike...I danged near ran off the road several times.  I took one of my favorite routes into Del Mar proper.  By taking the San Andres road off Via De La Valle you join the Coast to Crest Trail that runs along the San Dieguito River where it reaches the Pacific.  While seeing the usual egrets, brown pelicans & other shore birds I was pleasantly surprised to find a large group of western grebes just east of Jimmy Durante Drive.  I had never seen them here.  Very common at Lake Hodges when I make that loop, but never on my Del Mar run.  I was also happy to see the green heron right by the bridge over the San Dieguito River.  DWB & I have seen this bird on two occasions & pretty much in the same spot. 

Then on to Del Mar via the River Walk Trail that connects with the 101...there I got the big perspective shift!

As I crossed the 101 to head South into Del Mar proper I spotted a biker who had panniers on top of his panniers.  This guy was packed with so much gear I could barely make out the bike underneath it all.  I caught up with him when he pulled over to check some papers he was reading.  I discovered they were his directions.  This young guy had biked/camped all the way from Vancouver, Canada.  Thin as a rail & happy to be nearing his destination of downtown San Diego.  He hailed from Portland, OR & had already covered 2,000 miles plus.  He'll stay with friends downtown & return to Portland via Amtrak.  We exchanged a few tidbits on how to avoid the grade at Torrey Pines - I got the distinct impression he was going to go right up it anyway - & off he went.  My perspective on my wee journey sure got tweeked...but I still loved every minute of it.

Headed home & felt pretty good after a quick 27 miles at 10.7 avg mph.  I smiled to think that this wasn't even halfway to Dana Point.  Was that really just a tick over a week ago?  Carpe Diem

ps  our cooper's hawk is getting real comfortable in our yard...this was taken from the office window & he is on top of our bird feeders...come & get it!

How fleeting...

our time.  I thoroughly enjoyed my journey to Long Beach.  As with all things anticipated - either of a positive or negative nature - it seems the time of their arrival & completion is all too rapid.  Carpe Diem.

My adventure began with one bright-eyed & bushy-tailed biker departing for the coast:

Smooth sailing to the 101 in Solana Beach & then ever Northward.  It felt great to be underway & to put together all the little test rides I had made.  Once again, the mighty Camp Pendleton proved to be the toughest segment for these old legs.  Very brisk headwinds & those sneaky not-so-little upgrades made for a long slog to the Las Pulgas Gate.  It was here that I gleefully texted my followers that I had a mere 12+/- miles to go before reaching my first day destination.  I was more than ready to get there by this point.  Alas, I was woefully mistaken.  My calculations were based on the data I got from mapquest & this software obviously did not allow for the zigs & zags that are Pendleton's trademark.  It took an extra 6 miles to reach the Dana Point Inn.  May not seem like much...but I had already chugged 52 miles & was not exactly in the mood for a whole lot more riding.  So, with daylight waning, legs burning & a wee bit of a headache coming on my cell phone went off.  Understandably, these 6 unexpected miles knocked me off schedule & DWB was calling to see if I was still alive since my text update was rather overdue.  My spirits were lifted as I explained that I could see the hotel dead ahead & that the sunset was rather nice to boot:

With 58 tough miles behind me a hot shower & ample quantities of BenGay never felt so good.  A very short walk to a splendid sushi bar & I was in 7th heaven.  I slept like a stone.  Morning brought another liberal application of BenGay & off I headed for Long Beach.  I can now confirm that it is uphill from Dana Point Inn by the Sea to Laguna.  I was feeling pretty frisky after breakfast in Laguna Beach.  All downhill & level from there!  Huntington Beach was reached in short order & I welcomed the awesome bike path that kept me off the PCH all the way to Seal Beach:

Just north of this spot BWB called me to say he was heading out of the office & he would meet me at his house.  I knew I was closing in on the goal & continued cruisin' along until a fellow biker approached me with a hearty hello just a few minutes down the trail.  A great surprise as I realized it was BWB on his own bike to be my "wing man" for the balance of the ride.  He had me fooled completely with the "see you at the house" line.  Great fun to cruise into town on some much better routes than I was originally planning.  39 miles today & a successful completion of my trip.  Great to spend time with B&T.  Also enjoyed a little 10.5 mile bike cruise around the Long Beach boardwalk & "The Pike" with BWB the next day.  We may well be doing a ride together along the Los Angeles River in the near future...great path that borders the river & wetlands for 50+ miles.  Something to look forward to.

My return home was a breeze - Amtrak's Surfliner to Solana Beach & then a very familiar & relatively easy 16 miles on my trusty steed.  Home in one piece & mighty glad to have done it -

Let's see...where might I go next?

A little hill work...

never hurt anyone.  I started off on a fairly regular loop to the coast.  The usual route...until I got to thinkin' as I approached the polo fields on the El Camino Real.  The typical Sunday soccer crowd was making my travels a little cramped on that narrow stretch of road.  The old 2-lane bridge that crosses the San Dieguito River was particularly busy.  I decided to get off the main drag at the fields & also get in a little hill work on my way home.  With just a couple of days to go before I head North to Long Beach, I am trying to keep myself in reasonably good condition.  I headed east on the polo pony warm-up track(also part of the San Dieguito River trail system known as Coast to Crest) & headed home on Via De La Valle, Calzada Del Bosque, El Apajo & up the San Dieguito Road into Santa Luz.  I capped it off with the Carmel Valley Road to Black Mountain.  All of this translates into a pretty strenuous grade...several miles of UP!  By the time I finished my little jaunt I knew two things for certain - these hills still get my full attention but I sure get up them a lot easier than I did a few weeks ago.  21.9 miles, 10.3 mph average, max speed of 27.7 mph(my one downhill) & some low gear panting.  I am ready to begin my northward journey!

DWB & I often comment on how your powers of observation improve when you're either hiking or biking.  You simply see things that would otherwise be missed.  Today was no exception.  As dozens of cars whizzed by me, I crossed the San Dieguito River near the vegetable stand on Calzada Del Bosque.  I came to a stop & admired one gorgeous Snowy Egret who was just below me on the river bank.  One of the pleasures of cruisin' in the slow lane.

Gear ratios...

why didn't I think of this sooner?!  Like Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap fame("well, this one goes to eleven..."), I simply need one more gear!  Obviously, 21 distinct gear ratios are woefully insufficient for these old legs.  While on a very nice ride through Rancho Santa Fe & Del Mar it occured to me that my next bike will simply have more gears - at least go to 22.  That will do it.  Of course, better conditioning is out of the question when I can simply buy more gears.  There.  That's settled.

Saw a gorgeous red-tailed hawk cruising Santa Luz as I headed for El Apajo Road & Rancho Santa Fe.  While this species of hawk is quite common around here I still marvel at them as they soar around.  Don't hear their distinctive cry very often but this fellow was vocalizing to beat the band. 

One thing I have learned while biking around the North County is that drivers are not the least bit interested in giving bikers a break.  Indeed, I think more than a few go out of their way to give us a good scare.  As I was heading for the 101 on Via De La Valle I needed to bear left in order to cross under the 5 freeway.  Being careful, I stuck my left arm out as a signal.  This after looking back for any close traffic.  Got a quick manicure from the rearview mirror of the pickup truck that blew by me as they slashed over to grab the Northbound ramp to the freeway.  This guy was flying!   My hand signal quickly changed to something more bird-like(how appropriate).  I also came up with a stream of expletives I haven't used since the last time I missed a 3 foot putt to win a match with the "Four Fools of Golf" at Steele Canyon(you know who you are).  It bears noting that one cannot miss me when I'm on my bike - everything reflects & I wear a "screaming yellow" jacket(thanks, SRB) that jumps out at you day & night.  I really think some folks make sport of how close they can come to you.  Be careful out there!

I finished my loop in one piece & I am so looking forward to my cruise North...with eyes wide open.  28.7 miles, 10.3 mph avg, top speed of 28.4 mph(yeah, another nice downhill) & very little wind today.

Head Winds & Heavy Legs...

lead to a healthy sense of humility!  Just out for what I felt would be a fairly easy toodle to Del Mar via the San Dieguito Road & then South along the coast & home along the 56 bike path.  The head winds along the stretch of road by the Rancho Paseana horse farm were brutal!  I'm a slow poke anyway but this knocked off an extra couple of miles per hour.  The entire ride was just over half the distance I plan to cover when I head North for Long Beach & I was really dragging by the time I climbed the last grade into PQ.  Fortunately, while my body is aging rapidly I am still somewhere between 25 & 35 years old in my mind!  Therefore, I just let my mind convince me that I could actually make it all the way to Dana Point in one shot.  Time will tell...  The fact that today's wee little training ride was almost more than I could bear is immaterial.  The truly humbling experience was what befell me as I approached Camino Del Sur along the 56 bike path.  This is a fairly moderate uphill grade & I must admit it requires my full attention...especially when I'm suffering from the aforementioned "heavy legs syndrome".  I was passed handily by a woman on a single speed beach cruiser.  She not only blew right by me, but she was wearing flip flops!  Her daughter was right behind her & as I yelled "Show Off!"(good naturedly, of course - riiiiight!) I determined to at least keep pace with them for a bit.  I failed miserably.  Oh well...27.1 miles, a scorching 10mph average, a screaming top speed of 29.7mph(you can only imagine how steep that downhill was) & 2 hours 42 minutes to get it done.  Birds?  I'm sure they were out there somewhere...I was too busy wheezing.

What seems like a wee jaunt...

almost always turns into something more substantial.  Today was no exception.  I really only intended to scope out my half-way point & motel for my bike journey to visit BWB & T...ooops, again.  Drove to Las Pulgas thinking that would put me just South of the eventual overnight break.  Got on the bike & headed North through San Onofre State Park & really underestimated just how many winding streets one needed to traverse to get to the PCH on the way to San Juan/Dana Point.  Saw a very cool red tailed hawk perched on a telephone pole as I got started.  He was trying to warn me about what was ahead.  I passed through San Onofre & then into San Clemente proper.  While I had driven along the bike route through town in the past, it is quite another experience on a bike.  Almost like a roller-coaster & much longer than I expected.  Finally got to the PCH at the North end of town & found several motels that might fit the bill.  I will definitely be ready for a break by the time I get close to Dana Point!  I am so looking forward to my trip to Long Beach by bike & I figure this route is quite acceptable...

 

By the time I turned around in Dana Point & headed South I realized this was going to be another 30+ mile trip.  Got a kick out of a house all tricked out for Halloween in San Clemente.  While I passed it on the way up the coast, I didn't notice it until I was headed back to Las Pulgas.  I stopped to get a few pix & was joined by 2 other folks who also stopped to check this place out...

Saw a goodly number of turkey vultures in San Onofre again...worries me.  Also got pretty close to a California ground squirrel as he took in the afternoon sun...you'll have to look closely...he's standing on the rock...

All in all, a successful little trip of 35.8 miles at an average speed of 11.8mph(obviously more downhill) & 3+ hours to get it in.  I need to make sure there's a spa at whatever motel I choose!

By the way...got home to find our Cooper's Hawk cruisin' the yard...that's him on the back fence...

A mystery solved...

In our post-911 world, I was not sure about access to Camp Pendleton.  An important link in my planned bike trip to visit Brett & Tiranan in Long Beach, I set out to confirm I could make it to San Clemente.  Drove up to the Oceanside Transit Center & headed North on bike.  I woefully underestimated both the ease of access & the distance across the base.  The only ID needed to go through the South Gate was my driver's license...period.  No questions about my destination, plans, etc.  I had thought that this would be a quick little jaunt of approximately 20 miles round trip...oooops.  The bike route follows base surface streets for many miles before heading out to the coast at what the Marines call "Red Beach".  This is the area you see from the 5 as you pass by Las Pulgas Road & the Amphib Assault base( "No Beach Out of Reach").  From that point you are on the old 101 & passing through San Onofre State Park.  There was a lot of long gradual grades & winding roads.  While heading north I was joined by a fellow biker who was at my side for a few miles.  He was heading for his bivouac where about 700 troops were involved in a training exercise.  A freighter from Saipan was at anchor off Red Beach & they were off-loading & re-loading equipment, vehicles & supplies.  This was a rapid response training & was intended to simulate an emergency deployment.  Riding along with this fellow & hearing what he was doing made me think he had a pretty cool career path.  He was 48 years old, a fully pensioned Marine retiree but still had his military job(even the same office on base) as a civil servant.  Nice gig.  While not getting into a lot of detail(I was too busy huffing & puffing while trying to "casually" keep pace with this guy for a few miles), he said he was a "logistics officer"...anyhoo, he pulled out at Las Pulgas where their tent city was set up.  I finished the trip to San Clemente & then headed back to O'side & home.  I was allowed back on base with a wave of the hand & no ID check at all.  With a rather brisk headwind I really had to pump my way South...heavy-legged by the time I got to the car.  So much for an easy, breezy trip: 46.2 miles roundtrip, 10.9 mph average(how slow can I go?!) & 4 hours + to get it done.  This valuable exploration confirmed that I will break my Long Beach trip into two days...get to San Clemente/Doheny & crash in a motel...then on to Long Beach.  Looking forward to the journey & November  5th looks like the day.

By the way, I was too pooped to peep at whatever little bird friends might have watched me pass.  There was an impressive number of turkey vultures soaring around when I passed through San Onofre State Park.