To Oceanside

January 3, 2016

With a side trip to Morro Hill

Conditions were fine again today - sunny, mild winds, and in the fifties - much warmer than we've gotten accustomed to for most of this tour, and for most of the last several months for that matter. Our room for the night is in Oceanside, a short 30 miles away - too short for such a nice day, so we decided to double it by adding a loop at the end into the hills east of Oceanside.

On paper, this morning's ride looks like it hugs the coast - but actually we are only by the ocean for the first eight miles or so, until we get past San Clemente. San Clemente is of course a beautiful spot, with dramatic cliffs rising up abruptly not far from the sea, leaving little room between their base and the surf - just enough for the train line and the beach trail. The highway bends inland and up at the start of the cliffs, but we followed the pedestrian beach trail for the next three miles along the base of the cliffs. It's a bit of a slow go - it's partly paved, partly a walk through packed sand; partly cycleable, partly restricted to foot traffic; and always fairly congested with foot traffic and other bikers. It is a beautiful stretch of beach though, and we would definitely do it again if we make it down this way again.

Amazing cliffs along the bike path north of San Clemente

I love this showy succulent, common along roadsides here on the coast. And, thanks to Randell, I now know this is Aloe Arborescens, from South Africa. I'll have to go back to working on Rachael about a tour down there so we can see it on its home turf.

Past the cliffs, we left the shore and stayed away from it for the remaining miles to Oceanside. Much of this distance was a surprisingly great ride (surprising to me anyway - I hadn't been aware of how quiet this stretch would be). For about 12 miles it follows an abandoned stretch of the old Pacific Coast Highway - the only traffic is a steady stream of day cyclists racing up and down the coast. At its end, cyclists face a choice - call a shuttle service to get past a stretch of the freeway that prohibits cyclists, or ride through the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

We rode on of course, after presenting our ID's at the sentry post, feeling grateful that the base has granted permission for cyclists to pass through. I don't know how much of the base is open to cyclists, but we stayed on Stuart Mesa Road until its exits the base at its eastern end just above Oceanside. Most of this ride felt just like the preceding ones - empty and quiet, albeit with the occasional sign to watch out for tank and troop crossings.

Much of the route from San Clemente to the entrance to Camp Pendleton was like this, on the abandoned old coast highway.

In Oceanside, we stopped for lunch at the waterfront, enjoying paninis at an outside table beneath the lighthouse, overlooking the harbor and enjoying the sun. Then we departed for the second half of the ride - a lollipop shaped route east along the San Luis Rey cycle path, a loop into the foothills, and back along the cycle path again.

Rides like this one typify what is so special about cycle touring - the element of surprise and discovery. This was basically a last minute tack-on to our itinerary, selected after staring at the map this morning for a reasonable way to add a few miles. We were both surprised and excited at what a wonderful the ride was though - it was really the best part of the day. The cycle path was beautiful, following the small river for six or seven miles through colorful end of season vegetation - it felt like a fall day up in Portland. The loop into the hills was especially beautiful though, rising steeply up into an amazingly lush area with beautiful views around. The miles from the turnoff to Sleeping Indian Road until we dropped back down out of the hills at Bonsall were very special, and nearly carfree.

I don't know if it was dumb luck to have picked out such a good route through the hills here, or if there might be many other great local rides nearby. It certainly left us both wanting more though, and wanting to come down this way again.

On the beautiful San Luis Rey cycle path

Sculptured fields near the summit of Sleeping Indian Road

Morro Hill, from the summit of Sleeping Indian Road

The arched bridge over the San Luis Rey, on an abandoned stretch of historical US Highway 395 near Bonsall. Though closed to motor vehicles since about 1990, it is still open to pedestrians and cyclists.

Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 519 miles (835 km)

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