by Philip

Day’s mileage : 31

Running total : 2,099

Today we have a planned mileage of 28, which coincided with an AirBnB with a 12 noon checkout – very unusual – so it was almost like a rest day, with no alarm set and a gentle start, and a breakfast of a stack of waffles with ice cream, strawberries and mango to fuel us up. 

Leaving Dana Point we meandered through residential streets for a while, noticing that all the street names are Spanish now as we get closer to the border. We were passed by a few bikes carrying surf boards on frames that sit outside the cyclist’s legs – very clever! Once out of the town we stopped to make a call (during which we enjoyed a humming bird’s attention) to arrange some logistics about the bikes for when we finish the ride, then joined a cycle path running parallel to the interstate 5 freeway. Reaching a state park we found a barrier across the road and an official saying we were not allowed through on e-bikes due to a surfing competition. Liz successfully negotiated us going through with motors off, the official commenting that he hated making these big executive decisions. The surf competition was over the dunes, but is a big affair with lots of marquees and large TV screens, and loud PA systems. It turned out that we were only in the park for half a mile and then joined the old PCH, again parallel to i5 and almost completely devoid of traffic.

One thing that has amused throughout the trip is the way lanes are labelled here – the word you read first is the one nearest you, but is equivalent to reading up a page – I always find myself reading it “normally” and then having to re-read. What, after all, does “lane bike” mean?

The route took us for several miles through a state beach campsite, some way away from the beach itself, with the road we were in and parking spaces all along for RVs – each space with its own barbecue and picnic table. From the state park we went onto a lovely cycle path which took us into military land – this was fine to start with but then took us to a control point at Camp Pendleton. The military policeman there began to ask us for ID to get us a day pass to allow us to continue until he realised we weren’t US citizens and said “before you get all that [our ID] out, I suggest you turn around otherwise you’ll be here for hours.”  Humph. That forced us onto the hard shoulder of the i5 (bikes are permitted on the i5 here, I should point out). After a couple of miles riding as fast as we could we stopped at a rest area and sat overlooking the sea for lunch, pestered by a family of ground squirrels and at one point covered in dust from the neighbouring military road as three army trucks went past. 

We had another 5 miles on the i5 – which had 4 lanes in each direction – compare it to riding on the M25 around Heathrow! We emerged unscathed and turned off into the marina at Oceanside, and then wound our way along the beach before turning into town to find a supermarket. From there we retraced our steps past the town library and went to find our AirBnB for the night before our last full day of cycling to get to the Mexican border.

Additional notes

Dana Point to Oceanside, Orange and San Diego counties, CA.

Left at 10.30am. Arrived at 3.30pm.

Weather: Warmer again, no down jacket at all today but still in my winter cycling kit. Overcast.

Landscape: Residential roads of Dana Point, nice seaside homes on gently sloping hills. When we passed the sea front it was overcast and the sea was jade in colour. Bike paths near the noisy I-5. The coastal state park that was meant to be closed to e-bikes. An old road that ran parallel to the I-5, mountains to our left and coast to our right. A long road with camping places and picnic tables almost deserted on the right, the sea beyond, and the I-5 and mountains to our left. The Camp Pendleton military zone with bike path through it where a sign informed us that entry indicated agreement to be searched if requested. A military road that went through a tunnel then became more like an airstrip (long, wide, straight and no cars). Several miles on the I-5, four lanes in each direction, heavy traffic travelling at high speed. We stopped at a rest stop (like a service station) after two miles for a break and lunch. More miles on the I-5. At the Oceanside turn-off we were relieved to get out of the danger zone and head to the sea front where people were surfing, swimming and playing beach games, the waves fairly rough but lifeguards were on duty. Into Oceanside with its cool public library with a courtyard of palm trees, pools and fountains and their liveried library van.

Towns: Dana Point. Oceanside.

Trails: A network of bike paths south of Dana Point.

State roads: The I-5 😱

Breakfast: Waffles, banana, strawberries and mango and ice cream.

Lunch spot: On a bench at the service station with a view over the sea on the other side of more military land.

Dinner: Salmon, mash and vegetables. Fruit salad and yogurt. Half a tiny key lime pie.

Wildlife: While Philip made a phone call to Cathy’s brother Bob about the bikes, I enjoyed a long sighting of two hummingbirds flying about together, one making a clicking sound, apparently a sign of courtship or territory defence. In the coastal state park we saw a dark butterfly with creamy edges, possibly a mourning cloak butterfly.

Plants: Palm trees. Eucalyptus.

Things we saw: In the past few days we’ve seen quite a few bikes with an attachment to carry a surfboard.

People we spoke to or saw: We chatted to two people with the surfboard attachment on their bike. One of them and his partner were very friendly and we chatted about their surfing and our trip. Two friendly ladies came at separate times and found us at the rest area off the I-5 and had a chat, both had cycling connections and were interested to know what we were doing. One asked for a photo of us and took one for us too. It’s not unusual for people here to treat us like celebrities when we tell them about the expedition.

Incidents: The first hurdle to navigate was how to get out of the gated community as the sensor didn’t register bikes (just like the one at Port Orford). There had been no warning signs or diversion provided for e-bikes blocked from entering the state park for safety reasons due to the surfing competition. After asking how we could escalate our complaint, the official allowed us through with the bikes in off mode. We toiled up the hill with no assistance. Arriving at a military check point, we were unable to continue on our route as we were not US citizens, necessitating several miles on the high-speed interstate I-5. It was unpleasant and unnerving. The shoulder (which was marked as a bike path) was strewn with shredded tyres, large bits of wood like fence posts and all kinds of significant obstacles on it. At the rest stop three military vehicles drove past on the other side of the rest area boundary sending clouds of dust our way but the soldiers waved cheerily. Summoning our courage we set out again on the I-5 and this time I was the lead pelican, intrepid, focussing 100% on what was in front of my tyres and what was coming up behind me (at 70mph minimum). It was very noisy, the lorries just sped past us, no slowing down or passing wide. Tristram wrote about this exact same experience, on this same stretch, in his blog. We went for a walk around the block this evening because despite being in California for three weeks now I haven’t yet found a pinecone to go with my cones from Washington and Oregon (the Oregon one is tiny and I love it! I love them both) but there were no pine trees. It was the penultimate day. How was that possible? We felt like we were about halfway.

Shopping: Walmart, Oceanside. No one spoke to Philip. People seemed more likely to speak to us outside supermarkets further north.

Accommodation: A converted garage, nice and light with plenty of windows, but furnished from a garage sale or similar so it wasn’t very comfortable.

Today’s sound: Cars and lorries screaming past on the I-5.

Today’s smell: A barbecue along the campsite road.

Special moments: The official letting us through the surfing closure. Being alive at the end of the I-5 stretch. Seeing the Oceanside library. Finding I loved starting to re-read The Importance of Being Kennedy, having finished it and not having another book, I started it again, though at the middle as I cut off the first half in McKinleyville.

Positive experience from my journal: The pair of hummingbirds.

Appreciation from my journal: Successfully putting gentle pressure on the surfing competition official.

Blog comments from Juliet and Cathy H. Juliet: ‘You are nearly there. Incredible to think of all you’ve been doing. What an adventure. You’ve done amazingly well’. Cathy Hingley: ‘Love the nature video. I should have warned you that you might have a stretch on I-5. People do watch for bikes, but it is a major thoroughfare for sure. Nerve wracking even in a car. You did well! Imperial Beach, the British are coming!’

Social media replies from Sarah Robson and Sandy Gillett. Sarah: ‘What an incredible time you are having’. Sandy: ‘Gosh, it seems over so quickly’.

Video: Hummingbirds (8s + 1m4s). Through the military zone (15m55s).

Mementos: Walmart receipt, Oceanside.