Tanks and Thanks

After my mildly unsocial evening at Doheny State Beach, I found myself rising before the sun this morning. As such, it was a completely unsocial morning at Doheny State Beach as no one else was awake yet. I’m not saying I was trying to leave early in an attempt get out of the park without paying, but if nobody happened to be manning the booth when I cycled past I figured I wasn’t going to feel guilty. As it turns out, there was no one manning the booth. And I didn’t feel guilty.

The start of my ride today was very enjoyable. Over the past few months, I’ve come to really enjoy a well maintained and separated cycle path. Today had both. As the sun rose over the mountains, I pedalled along the path protected from the highway to my left and the passing trains on my right. As I said, very enjoyable.

My first stop of the day was my usual stop (when available). Subway for breakfast. It was a generally uneventful stop except for the nonchalant inspection that was clearly taking place. I curiously (yet subtly) watched two individuals (one with heavy rubber gloves) casually work their way through the dining area, using flashlights to look behind, under, and inside pretty much everything. I couldn’t help but think this was some sort of extermination inspection. That’s when I remembered the truck outside the store, “Lloyd Pest Control”.

For the record, I’m guessing if there were any actual health risks that the store wouldn’t have been open. At least, that’s what I told myself. But from an optics perspective, I think such inspections should be done after hours. But that’s just me.

Having seemingly escaped any plague-like symptoms during breakfast, I returned to road. The next portion of my ride was a bit more interesting. Spoiler Alert: No I didn’t get run over by a tank. But the possibility was there.

Today’s ride was scheduled to be a somewhat short ride. While San Diego was certainly reachable today, my Warm Showers arrangement was set up for tomorrow night. As such, I had set my sights on Cardiff – more specifically the campground at San Elijo State Beach which was about 80 km away.

Between my starting point at Doheny State Beach and my destination of San Elijo State Beach was Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton is a Marine Corp Base. A fully functioning Marine Corp Base. Unlike my last attempt to cross a fully functioning Marine Corp Base (in Virginia last year), this was a much more successful endeavour.

The first part of ride through the base was rather enjoyable as it was clearly an old road that, as far as I could tell, is only used by cyclists now. It was completely separated from the main highway and, while it wasn’t directly beside the coast, there was an unobstructed view of the ocean. Well, with the exception of some not-so-occasional “No Trespassing” signs.

As might be expected, there were plenty of other cyclists taking advantage of this route. There was only one other fully loaded cyclist (heading north), the rest were out for what I would assume is their daily ride/race.

Contrary to what I mentioned earlier, the roads were not used exclusively by cyclists. I continued to follow the path which eventually led me through a short tunnel under the highway. Unlike usual, the tunnel was not a concern as I figured there would be no traffic in said tunnel. That was somewhat true.

I followed the path as it veered to the left towards the tunnel. There was a separate dirt road that continued straight but I had no intention of following the dirt road because, well … it was a dirt road. Oh, and the fact that there was a tank riding towards me on that road was a good deterrent too. It turns out there were five tanks on that road. All heading for the same tunnel.

Fortunately, the tanks weren’t moving all that quickly and I got through the tunnel without incident. I stopped on the other side to take some photos of the passing tanks. I figured I’d find out soon enough if photos were allowed or not. Apparently they were as the Marines driving the tanks paid little attention to my photographic efforts – although, they did wave as they passed.

From there I continued along my way until I reached what was clearly the more restricted area of the Base. Yes, there were guards to whom I had to show identification before entering, but enter I did. Prior to entering, there was a sign specifically outlining the rules for cyclists using this route. The rules were pretty basic but I figured this would probably be a good place to obey them.

Obeying the rules was successful and the rest of my ride through Camp Pendleton went well. While the initial sections felt like a military base, eventually it became more of a regular city complete with gated communities and a shopping mall.

After leaving Camp Pendleton, the route returned to the ocean for more coastal riding. It was another beautifully sunny day in California and, as such, another great day to be on the bike. There was even a Costco along the way (in Carlsbad) which has become my new favourite stop for ice cream (and of course, a hot dog). Every time I’m there I consider getting a membership but I’d have to buy quite a few boxes of CLIF Bars to cover the cost of the membership fee. Instead, I just buy ice cream.

By 2:30 I had arrived at the campground at San Elijo State Beach. Unfortunately, they don’t accept registrations for the Hiker/Biker sites until 4:00 pm. I actually noticed the same rule at last night’s campground. The 4:00 pm check-in had little effect on my day as I was actually planning on heading over to the library which was on the other side of the highway. I figured I could easily spend a few hours inside working on my very tardy blog updates.

It only took a few minutes to get to the library and I have to say I was stunned by what I saw. As I approached the library there was a patio complete with chairs and a bar/counter along the side. No, it wasn’t a bar with drinks. But it did have power outlets. And WiFi. This was suddenly my new favourite library. So much so, I ended up being there for about four hours. I also had a nice visit with one of the staff members who came out to lock up the chairs at closing time. Despite, not going into the Cardiff-By-The-Sea Library, it was definitely a great place to work.

The Cardiff-By-The-Sea Library is also a great place to meet nice people. As I worked away on my blog, I met Tom and Terry who live in the area and were walking past the library. We ended up talking for a bit as they’ve done a lot of cycle touring too and before they left they invited me over to their place for dinner. Needless to say it was a very unexpected (and very appreciated) invitation. And I accepted.

Their house was less than 1 km away and at the top of a somewhat steep hill. It always seems like the steepest hills come at the end of the day – I know that’s not true, but it seems like it. Either way, it was worth the climb.

It was a very enjoyable evening with a delicious dinner (and not just because I was planning on having bagels and peanut butter). Oh, and they even let me take a shower before dinner – although, I can’t help but wonder if that was for my benefit or theirs! Either way, showers are good.

As would be expected, cycling was the primary topic of discussion for the evening and many entertaining stories were shared. They also offered a lot of suggestions and tips regarding my route to San Diego and even gave me their ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) map for the San Diego area.

Despite enjoying the evening , the sun long since set and it was time to make my way back to the campground. Fortunately, I always have my lights with me. I thanked my hosts and even remembered to take a group photo before packing up my things for the short ride back to the campground.

The ride back to San Elijo State Beach was generally uneventful – I did make one wrong turn on the way back down to the highway but nothing serious. When I arrived at the campground there’s was no one manning the gate – sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it isn’t. With no map indicating where the Hiker/Biker area was, I was temporarily lost. Fortunately, a couple in a golf cart (I’m guessing they were Park Hosts) saw me (or my lights) and were able to point me in the right direction. I figured I could register in the morning.

The Hiker/Biker site was at the far end of the campground and had a nice view of the ocean. And so, my day came to an end with me setting up my tent in the dark as ocean waves provided the soundtrack. Not a bad way to end the day. If all goes well, I’ll be in San Diego tomorrow.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 79.15 km
Ride time: 4:20:10
Average speed: 18.25 km/h
Maximum speed: 45.90 km/h