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.