Day 1: To Viejas Indian reservation

February 26, 2012

I got away from the Porto Vista hotel at 8:45. Late, considering there was very little packing to do. The temperature was 60F, overcast.

I pedaled mostly north to the San Diego river near Old Town. The last couple miles duplicate the route I did yesterday. Then I followed the Ocean Beach bike path east for one mile until it ends.

The remainder of the day is on roads, but every road has a signed bike lane. Most of the roads are multi-lane arteries, but traffic was light. I planned my departure from San Diego to be on Sunday for minimum traffic.

Major items of note:

I crossed 6 expressways.

I passed Fashion Valley Mall which has Nordstrom's, Neiman-Marcus, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's. No doubt San Diego's most upscale mall.

I passed 70,561-seat Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers NFL football team and the San Diego State University Aztecs football team. The stadium occupies 15 acres of land but the 19,000 space parking lot occupies 122 acres of land.

I passed dozens of look-alike strip malls and office buildings. Everything looks prosperous, but like Qualcomm Stadium the parking lots typically occupy more land than the buildings. As if commerce caters more to cars than people.

Something exceptional I noticed while pedaling through suburban San Diego.

The ACA map directs me to turn left into Mission Trails Regional Park, but I missed that turn. Instead I climbed the first steep hill on a 6-lane road.

I neglected to turn into Mission Trails Regional Park and climbed the first big hill on a 6-lane road. Park on the left, subdivisions on the right.Fortunately it has a bike lane and not much traffic on Sunday.

Later I climbed a steeper hill to get to the top of the Lake Jennings dam. Today's route is mostly uphill, as expected when starting at sea level.

At the rural community of Flinn Springs I thought I might be past the suburban sprawl. But there are plenty more large trophy homes in the foothills ahead.

The settlement of Flinn Springs gave me the false impression that I was past the suburban sprawl.

Fringe suburban sprawl 30+ miles from downtown San Diego.

The mountain climbing begins in earnest on Alpine boulevard which is signed Olde US 80. It parallels the I-8 expressway but is usually just far enough away to be quiet. Still populated, but with more of a rural feel. Small old houses instead of giant new trophy homes.

I turned onto Willows road to get to the Viejas Indian reservation which has the only camping in the area at Mar-Tar-Awa RV park. The RV park is 2 miles past the giant casino and outlet mall.

Viejas Indian reservation has a large casino and outlet mall.And an RV Park that's the only campground in the vicinity.

Today had a high of 70F but the temperature was 55F at 5:30 PM when I arrived at the campground. Definitely cooler now that I'm at 2600 feet elevation.

At check-in I was told that a big storm will pass through tomorrow, and I should stay out of the high mountains. The forecast calls for 8 inches of snow at Cuyamaco Rancho State Park, where I intended to camp tomorrow night.

Distance: 46.4 mi. (74 km)

Climbing: 4021 ft. (1218 m)

Average Speed: 8.2 mph (13.1 km/h)

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 83 miles (134 km)

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Mike AylingInteresting comment about the size of parking lots compared to the the buildings that they serve!
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3 years ago

Wayne EstesSouthern California built the world's first cities designed for cars in the early 20th century, leading to persistent smog starting in the 1940's. Nowadays motor vehicle gridlock and extreme air pollution is the norm in most of the world's biggest cities.
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3 years ago