An adventure in San Diego, March 3rd, 2007


The sun dips into the Pacific during my ride up the peninsula to Coronado...


It all began when I got orders to work the Lawson show in San Diego. I scheduled my flight two days early so I would have an entire Saturday to myself. What I wanted to do was go for a bike ride in warm weather. I could rent (for $35/day) or... I began watching Craig's List and 3 days before the trip I found this Nishiki for $60. All I knew about it was it was a 10-speed with SunTour components, had a Sugino crank, and a 63cm frame. I called the owner, Jerry, and the deal went down after he assured me it was ready to ride. I flew into San Diego and called Jerry. He had to leave town but Dave would meet me where the bike was the next morning.

I took a cab to the shop and got my first look at the bike. Oooo. Yeah, the rear brake cable was broken... No matter. I got to work and threw on some SPD pedals, scrounged around, found a length of shifter cable, and fixed the brakes. I replaced the pads up front, adjusted the saddle, and in about an hour I was ready to go. The tires looked terrible with dried and cracked gumwalls althought they had plenty of tread. Remembering that Sheldon Brown said this was OK, I pumped them up to 80 lbs (I didn't have the guts to go higher) and headed out. The brakes were only marginal which made me a little nervous on some hills but the bike shifted smoothly and was quite comfortable. At the top of one hill was a supermarket so I stopped for something to drink and took this picture. I had only the vaguest idea of where I was headed, knowing only that I was heading west by looking at satellite dishes (which always point south). I lucked out and found a local shop called BikeSmith. Bob, the owner, got out a map and showed me how to get back to my hotel. He also replaced my brake cables and adjusted those old Dia Compe centerpulls so you could stop a car with them! He was a Fuji and Nishiki dealer from back in the day and even had an old maple rimmed Iver Johnson hanging up in the shop! If you ever get to SD, look him up. 1936 Garnet Ave.

Following Bob's directions, I turned south and rode across the bay by Sea World. I would loved to spend some time at this skatepark, but I had somewhere to go. I did stop for a rest at this marina and got a couple of shots of the Midway, which is now a floating museum (1, 2). Finally I made it to my hotel and I don't mind telling you I was a little sore. My shoulders were aching from two days of snow shoveling and riding a road bike wasn't helping. I dropped off some stuff and picked up some water and ibuprophen and headed out for the real ride: a 25 mile loop that would take in Coronado. A coworker found this route on line and it looked pretty good, taking bike lanes and bike trails the whole way. I would have to get going, too, because it was already 3:40 and I didn't want to end up riding in the dark without lights. Almost immediately that plan went out the window when I came upon a guy with his chain jammed between the front sprockets. I still had my tools with me and I was able to use my pedal wrench to get it out. I should have taken his picture but forgot to. And I took a couple of wrong turns, too, going at least a mile out of my way. Luckily I got back on track and stopped for my only meal of the day at this fabulous BBQ trailer in a drug-store parking lot! Boy, did that hit the spot.

Now I was on the peninsula. Here's a shot looking back at San Diego as I begin to head north again. Then the sun started going down and I tried out some artsy crap with the sunset. I had to make tracks because the ferry from Coronado to San Diego runs only once an hour but I couldn't resist this shot of the moon coming up over the San Diego bridge. Bike traffic is prohibited on the bridge! Bastards!

The ferry costs $3.50 with a bike. They even have a rack on board! I took another shot of the moon which was really beautiful, but within 15 minutes I was on dry land again. The hotel was only a few miles away so I finished up for the night. I figure it was about 42.08 miles total after plotting it on Google Earth.

I made another trip out on Monday morning, but that was all I had time for. I got some cardboard off the loading dock of the convention center and created a box. I broke down the bike, stuck it in the box, and sealed it up. I couldn't find good packing material like foam or bubble wrap so I am a little worried about how it will make the trip. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.