Hitting the road in SD County

On Thursday after getting lost and driving around in circles, I finally made it to B&L Bikes and picked up my ride. I was a bit leary hitting the road because people here are really aggressive behind the wheel. Anyway, I decided I was going to ride around Mission Bay and surrounding communities and stick around the coast. I zigged and zagged around and enjoyed the views, stopping a couple of times for some pics.

One of the many great views in La Jolla (la hoya)

After a couple of hours I decided to head back. However, on my way back I saw this guy riding in the opposite direction; so I pulled a U-turn and chased him down to ask him where he was heading. He was going north on a long ride. With a couple of hours under my belt, I didn't want to slow him down. He suggested that I do the Mount Soledad climb - good climb, great views and fun ride back down, he said. He pointed me in the right direction and away I went.

still a long way to go...

It was a pretty long climb but a constant grade. There are three parts to this climb; the first part seen above is the longest (1.5 - 2kms), a middle part through a ritzy neighbourhood and a third short climb to the summit.

End of first climb

Views from the summit

The climb was well worth it, the views were spectacular. The ride down was a lot of fun! In the end, I ended up riding for just over 3 hours.

Oh, on more thing, my fear about the aggressive drivers turned out to be unfounded. Drivers are great, they respect your space, leave you plenty of room, very courteous... unlike those in Ottawa. I should also point out that a lot of the streets here have dedicated bike lanes.

Stay tuned for Friday's ride which was entirely spectacular!!