Chad bikes to

My travels by bicycle

San Francisco to San Diego

A ~10 day, 1000 km ride in August 2022

Day 10: Newport to Oceanside

Last night I slept without the fly on my tent. It was cloudy, so no stars, but the breeze and open air was divine.

The ride this morning was through neighborhoods in Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente. Communities built into the hills on the shore. 30 seconds downhill, 3 minutes uphill over and over and over. This and the beach trails made for a very nice Saturday morning.

I’m not a car person, but I do have a soft spot for VW vans, and rode through a crowd of them this morning. Old timey #vanlife

I met a friend from Toronto at a cafe just off the bike route in San Clemente. My volunteering with the Bike Brigade in Toronto includes being the point person for our partnership with Fort York Food Bank. It just so happens that Julie, who manages Fort York, was in San Clemente. Fun!

After leaving San Clemente things went a little haywire. At some point there was a checkpoint on the bike trail/road. An 18 and one day year old with a rifle three quarters the length of his body told me I couldn’t enter whatever it was he was guarding, despite the bike trail sign a few feet behind him. Some kind of military base I guess. Rather than argue I just turned around and rode away.

Next thing I know I’m on interstate 5. 4 lanes of bumper to bumper southbound California traffic and Chad the Red on a shrank bike riding the shoulder. I’m quite certain this is not legal and definitely not safe. Except I was moving faster than the traffic! Unfortunately it was 15 kilometers before there was an exit.

I rode over 900 kilometers in pristine beauty and spent the last handful choking on exhaust 🤦‍♂️

Once off the freeway it was a short 5 km to the house we’re staying in for the next week. I was greeted by my parents, brothers and their families. ❤️

Under that tank top is the most unbelievable farmers tan you have ever seen. It’d do my grampa proud. My mother, on the other hand, said I looked scruffy 😛

And then it’s done. Just like that.

A few things about this ride that are worth noting

  • The weather, while cooler than you might think, is perfect for cycling
  • The coast is blessedly bug free. Coming from Canada and it’s various warbird insects like mosquitoes, well, this is a huge perk
  • The frequency of state parks is incredible and makes this an excellent and easy place to ride a bike and camp, despite the parks system trying to make it complicated
  • The frequency of good Mexican food is overwhelming. I did my very best!

Thanks for coming along!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pretty proud of you Chaddo. Proud of the ride you completed, you stuck to it despite getting off to a rocky start and then managed to entertain us with your creative writing. Well done.

  2. Way to go Chad, really enjoyed hearing of all your adventures, the ups and downs of the road, literally and figuratively… and the summary of cycling tips for this route! The lack of ‘warbird insects’ is very appealing! 🙂 Take care and enjoy basking with family.

  3. WOW! Bravo my darling, you did good. What a wild ride. The scruffy comment from your mom made me laugh. Will miss your daily updates, they were fun! See you tomorrow in San Diego, we’ll take the easy way there (or will we?).

  4. Following you along was so great and being here to cheer you in was even better. Thanks for sharing your journey with us and reminding us about the world outside our lives. Here’s to the fun week ahead.