I woke up at 6:30 am. Unusually late, but I had a hard previous day. I ended up just sleeping on top of the covers. It doesn’t seem to get very cold here. Very short riding day. San Diego was in range, but I decided to break it up into two days. Besides, I had business to attend to.
This is the light that I got from Pappy’s Market last night. It’s good to know I have a spare, if I need to ride pre-dawn in the desert.
I went to the public library to print out a form and mail it. Didn’t hurt to have internet access, too, to load my smart phone maps, Oceanside library let me use a station. I just had to show ID, then was given a login.
Outside the library, I met Jim Douglas, a local cyclist who does 40-60 mile rides in the area. He advised me to take the Coast Rail Trail into San Diego. I think I will. While I was working on my forms at a table in the library, Jim found me and gave me a San Diego area bike map, showing exactly the way.I had set my GPS to guide me to Payless Shoe Source, but on the way, I spotted a DD’s discounts. On a whim, I turned into the shopping center. DD’s had a name brand (Nike) pair of running shoes, super light, in size 10 1/2. That’s bigger than my feet, but they felt completely right. $16.99! I got them.This is why the shoes were at DD’s for $17. There is some kind of plastic flashing left over in one of the cleat holes, making it impossible to put in the cleat. I’m actually pleased to have found the defect, rather than wonder if it was rejected for some other structural problem. I was able to clear the hole with an awl, and put all the spikes in. Nope, no good. Can’t walk. Took them all out.El Super (that’s the actual name) was right next door to DD’s. I got 5 Pan Dulce for the road.Naturally, I had to eat at the supermarket deli. The combo meal was $6.49, and included a drink. They use the real pork ribs in their chile verde. Stewed so long, the meat just falls of the bones. SO GOOD.By the time I started out from Oceanside, it was already 2 pm. Not a problem, as I only had 15 miles to go, and there was camping or lodging even closer if I needed it. In the morning, I was burning up at the library, but a coastal fog moved in, and everything got cooler. Much of the road was designated bike lane like in the picture above. There was some climbing, but as the whole day was so short, that didn’t matter. The one exception was around downtown Carlsbad, when the shoulder disappeared on the Coast Highway. There were “sharrows” on the street indicating that cars were to share the lane with bikes, but it was still crowded.As I was riding along, I met Cole, a San Diego area local. He asked whether I needed anything, so I asked if there was a drugstore nearby, where I could get some Desenex for my saddle rash. He wasn’t sure, although certainly, there would be stores in San Diego. Next month, Cole will be riding San Francisco to San Diego. I also met another rider after him (not pictured), who does an annual benefit ride for Haemophilia down the Pacific Coast.San Got into camp about 3:45. San Elijo is dry and barren compared to places like Leo Carrillo. This is the hiker/biker area. A large group of surfer girls had two separate sites, including the one next to me, and wanted me to swap my site for their other, so they could all be together. I went to the other site, but the ranger told me that my space, #134, was the designated hiker/biker site, and I couldn’t swap.Livin’ the Life.Hey Cole, look what I found in the Camp Store at San Elijo! The price borders on ridiculous, but my privates are worth it.Nearby campers Bill (L) and Kevin (R). They’re both from Tahoe, and just born for the outdoors. They came down to surf.There were stairs going down to the beach, but I didn’t go. No appropriate footwear.My neighbor on the other side was Ian, formerly from this area, but now from Boston, where he works in the jewelery business.. He had just flown in, and was still on east coast time. Nevertheless, he had already met up with friends earlier and gone hiking.
