Greetings from San Diego, CA

The Tour de Rubenstein has reached the end of its road after our two-day ride from Los Angeles to San Diego and a drive into Mexico yesterday, through Tijuana to reach Rosarito, 20 miles south, for a few hours of sightseeing and relaxing on the beach. Here's a recap of the essentials:

Day 9 - Monday, August 4: Los Angeles to San Clemente, 97 miles.
Day 10 - Tuesday, August 5: San Clemente to Coronado, 77 miles.My 10-day totals: Miles biked: 562. Miles missed (driving support van): 90. Flat tires: 0. Runs along the beach: 2 (L.A,, Coronado) Swims in the ocean: 7 (Santa Cruz, Cambria (coldest), Ventura, Malibu, Coronado (twice), Rosarito). Best wildlife sightings: sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, elephant seals, dolphins, pelicans (lots), ostriches (at Ostrich Land in Buellton), a roadrunner.

Day 9 was a long, hard day, first weaving through Los Angeles streets from the Hotel Rubenstein (Steve's mother, Florence's house, where we took a day off on Sunday) to Marina del Rey. From there we rode the long bike path along the ocean to Hermosa Beach, where we took a break, and on to Redondo Beach, then traveled on quiet roads with nice wide bike lanes, following the coast through expensive neighborhoods in Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills.


Bike path at Hermosa Beach


Palos Verdes Estates

Actually we mistakenly stayed along the coast too long, heading toward a dead end on the San Pedro peninsula, but we all enjoyed the long switchback climb that resulted: the grade was easy and it was our toughest climb since leaving Big Sur. A winding downhill led us into Lomita, and we then rode through the ugliest stretch of the whole trip - 5+ miles on Anaheim Street through a seedy area of auto junkyards, fast-food joints, and bodegas, the Port of Los Angeles off to our right, to reach the city of Long Beach, the downtown area of which was much more upscale, featuring an array of chain stores and restuarants near the waterfront: Borders bookstore, P.F. Changs, etc. By then it was after 1:00 p.m. and we'd ridden more than 50 miles to escape L.A. County.


Port of Los Angeles, approaching Long Beach

It was also hot in Long Beach: this was our sunniest day of the trip, with little of the coastal fog that we'd been encountering, and we realized we still had a long way to go. But a strong, cool coastal breeze kept us from overheating as the rest of the day took us through a series of attractive beach towns - Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente. Offshore oil rigs were visible from the north end of Huntington Beach, but the water looked clean and the white sandy beach inviting. Overall I liked the look of Huntington Beach the best, as further south the beaches were more crowded.

Huntington Beach, CA

The ride also became draining as it was very stop-and-go - lots of traffic lights through each town - the route became hilly, and we had to stay alert for opening car doors as we rode between lines of parked cars and the heavy flow of traffic. By the time we reached the Hampton Inn at San Clemente, it was nearly 6:30 p.m., 11 hours or so after we'd left Los Angeles. But overall it was a fine day. Southern California is certainly more crowded, but the beaches are beautiful, the ocean inviting, and the air warm and breezy, so there are plenty of compensations. Some of the streches had traffic that was surprisingly light, and nearly all of the route had either bike paths separating us for the road or wide, well-marked bike lanes. Bicyclists' safety and enjoyment is very much kept in mind.

Day 10 - our last day of riding - was similar. We had a quiet morning, riding in cloudy weather through the Camp Pendleton military base. The northern end of the base was limited solely to bicyclists, and it was there that I saw a roadrunner, which dashed off before I could aim my camera. South of the checkpoint we shared the road with a few military vehicles, and along the way there were heartfelt handmade signs welcoming officers back from duty overseas. When we finally emerged from the base and rode through Oceanside on Route 101, our ride from then on resembled much of the day before, as we passed through a long strip of beach towns, dealing with streets lights and moderate traffic, and having periodic views of the surfers and sunbathers along scenic stretches of sandy ocean beaches. I particularly liked Carlsbad, the first town south of Oceanside, but Leucadia, Encinitas, Cardiff, and Solana Beach were all similarly attractive. The traffic was heaviest in Del Mar, home of a major thoroughbred race track, and after a hot climb through the Torrey Pines State Reserve, the sun finally emerging from the clouds, we wound our way along elegant coastal streets through La Jolla, in the poshest residential section I'd seen since Malibu. David Frankel was also particularly struck by La Jolla, saying that for his wife's sake (he's not a beach person) he'd like to retire there.


La Jolla, CA


House in La Jolla

We emerged from the residential section onto a busy main street, but then escaped the traffic by turning onto another beachfront bike path that took us to Mission Beach, a bustling spot just a few miles from downtown San Diego. Another bike path took us into the downtown harbor area, where we caught the hourly ferry to Coronado. Our final destination was the home of Susan and Randy Bookout in a gated community across the street from Silver Strand State Beach. Susan is the older sister of Big Rube rider Alice Nelson, and she was exceedingly gracious in hosting our whole group of seven riders, and then six of the seven for a second night. I rode ahead to the house, champing at the bit to get in the ocean after riding past so many beautiful beaches, and while was body surfing, some dolphins passed by, swimming southward about twenty yards beyond the breakers. It was a wonderful end to a great ten-day bike ride.


San Diego harbor


San Diego Bay

Yesterday we celebrated with our drive to Rosarito, where the surf was rougher and the water colder and beautifully clear. Before swimming, though, we walked from the Rosarito Beach Hotel to a local arts and crafts mercado featuring nearly 100 stalls of merchandise, where big-hearted Carol Tremble spent at least an hour buying gifts for her loved ones, refusing to bargain with the merchants, insisting on paying them the price they first quoted. A typical purchase went like this:

Carol: How much?
Merchant: For thees? $30.
Carol: Okay then. I'll take it.
Merchant: How about $25?
Carol: No, you said thirty. Stick to your guns! That's what I'm I'm paying you.
The merchant is shocked.
David Frankel (aside, sotto voce): Carol, he said twenty-five.
Carol (aside to David, loudly): But he said thirty first, so that's that! (Quieter by one decibel): He needs the money.


The arts and crafts mercado in Rosarito


One of the stalls at the mercado


Carol buying a hat for Eric

Later she bought one of the stack of 20 or so hats that another merchant was wearing, soliciting sales on the beach. All the merchants seemed Mexicans of Indian descent. I was struck by the hardness and expressiveness of their faces; and heading back to Coronado, we were all amazed at the cottage industry at Tijuana border, where merchants offer an array of food products and gifts to the captive audience of vehicles waiting to pass through U.S. Customs.




Salesmen working the line for U.S. Customs in Tijuana

The wait was an hour long but very entertaining, and Carol and David acted extremely conspicuously when they hopped out of the van and danced the polka while Steve played Carol's favorite song, "Ya Sure, Ya Betcha" from a CD she bought two years ago in Minnesota.