San Diego Bike Trip (December 10th 2005)

4:40am- I hop on my bike and leave my house in El Segundo to begin the journey. I was off to San Diego to see my brother. I was planning on taking PCH most of the way and taking about 10-12 hrs. I figured I’d get there by 5pm. I left when it was still dark and the temperature was crisp and perfect for riding. I was charging the Gatorade a bit too much in the beginning and had to stop to pee a few times. My especially favorite stop was in Wilmington where I headed down the silent dark alley to wiz. It was so exciting. I was doing about one bottle of Gatorade per hour and one food bar per hour with the occasional Cliff Shot. Now I swear those Cliff Shots are the best thing ever!! I had never tried them before this trip but they work so awesome. I found myself forgetting to eat my bars and became a little fatigued but after I took a shot within 2 min I was off in a sprint again. I rolled into Long Beach I hopped on Ocean Ave. By this time the sun was just starting to come up. I was heading right into the sun so I had the perfect view of the sunrise. What a beautiful day it was, not a cloud in the sky and I could see Catalina across the channel. Why had I not made this trip earlier?? I stopped at Bolsa Chica to check the surf, pee, put some bars in my pockets and refill my Gatorade (I carried a gallon on me in my backpack and would stop to refill the two bottles on my bike). I would stop every two hours to reload. I was glad to see that I was not missing any surf, everyone was just floating out there enjoying the day. Onward to Laguna where I had fun charging the rolling hills. I didn’t get honked at the entire trip. A big plus!! I caught up to a morning ride in San Clemente and drafted them even pulled them for a while until Camp Pendleton where they turned left to go through the base and I turn right to hit the freeway!! And holy shit was that cool. The 5 FWY stretch went by so quick with the 80mph tail wind generated by the cars and big trucks. I took the 5 to Oceanside and then down to the bike path. I continued on to Carlsbad Blvd and then the climb up Torrey Pines and I was smoking fast down the backside into La Jolla. I made it to my brother’s house at 1:30pm. My computer read 7:55min, 15.5mph average speed, and 41mph max speed. It took me 9hrs, way faster than expected. This was the first time I have done a trip of this distance and I was surprised by how easy it actually was. I did end up taking then train home but next time I think I’ll ride back too. I can’t wait for the next trip. LA to San Francisco?