by Philip

Day’s mileage : 31*

*we’re not counting this as part of our total though as we got to the border yesterday!

A slightly different post today after a rather different day! 

We had a gentle, late start, leaving our excellent AirBnB at 11 with a total of 14 miles to go to our accommodation in San Diego. Shortly after leaving we bumped into the two bike packers from Canada we’ve met before – they were on their way to have lunch in Tijuana before returning home, all dressed up in their party shirts for their last day. We pootled up Coronado enjoying the ocean for the last time, had croissants sitting waiting for the ferry over to downtown watching dolphins playing, then spent a few hours trundling around the bike shops of the city to see if anyone would consider buying Liz’s bike. Eventually we found one – I had actually spoken to them last week but not had a response – so have now managed to sell both bikes which is a great relief. The shop was back out by the airport so we followed the same route as yesterday back into town, and then via a supermarket to our casita for the next two nights. 

Finding homes for the bikes was the biggest unsolved piece of the overall logistical puzzle for this trip – now that is solved, we can start to think about everything else to be ready for our flight home on Sunday. 

As a final comment for today, if you are able to support our charities we would be very grateful … you can get to our charity page here … and thank you to you if you have already donated!

Additional notes

Imperial Beach to San Diego, San Diego county, CA.

Left at 10.45. Arrived at 5pm.

Weather: Sunny. Warmer.

Landscape: Residential roads with terrible surfaces to begin with. The Bayshore bikeway around the southern end of San Diego Bay, on our right, which is a beautiful nature reserve. We left the path briefly to look at the beach on our left. That was our last sighting of the ocean. We will miss it, it’s been such a magnificent companion all the way. The sea was beautiful and blue with gentle waves. We were on Coronado Island and followed a bike path then sedate roads through very nice areas, residential, hotels, all very tasteful and pretty. The ferry area was attractive, tourist-y (but no donut shops). I spotted fins in the dark blue water, my first positive sighting of dolphins on this trip. Cycling in San Diego is super hilly, the hills short and very sharp.

Things we did: Enjoyed a slow start, messaging and writing up yesterday’s journal. It was sad loading up the bikes for the last time. Riding today felt bittersweet but more than anything I was just happy to be riding. We passed a bike shop early on and decided to stop on spec and see if they wanted to buy my bike. Before long we saw two familiar figures coming our way and sure enough it was Bethany and Kristen on their way to the border, in their party shirts for arrival day. At the ferry area we decided to have a pastry instead of donuts (as there were none) so we bought expensive fancy almond croissant and pain au chocolat and ate them on a bench overlooking the bay. We waited on the pier for the ferry and a pelican flew right overhead. Philip took a lovely picture of it and sent it to C. The ferry had hardly any customers so there was plenty of space for our loaded bikes. The crossing took about 10 minutes and avoided crossing the bay on the interstate bridge. On the other side we set about visiting bike shops to tote my bike. They were spread far and wide, mostly outside the city itself so we covered some miles. Eventually we went to E-bike Central, who Philip spoke to by phone twice previously, where Matt offered to buy my bike for $2,250. We paid $5,750 new. We thought hard about it then called it a deal. We tried to find a shady bench in a park for a late lunch but it wasn’t a friendly park and didn’t have any benches. While checking the map for alternatives, I heard a bird singing beautifully. I recorded it. We had tea and cookies at the house, Philip had a sleep, we had showers then Philip wrote the blog while I made dinner. We went for a dusk walk to the park at the end of our road which was similarly just rough ground. We were both very tired at the end of the day.

Towns: San Diego.

Trails: The Bayshore bikeway.

Breakfast: Porridge with pear and banana.

Lunch spot: Outside a dessert shop, on their forecourt, but no one asked us to leave.

Dinner: Yellow and green courgette and pepper cheesy pasta. After our walk we had a great pudding of strawberries, banana and rocky road ice cream and a tiny chocolate cheesecake to share.

Wildlife: Egrets, pelicans and terns at the southern end of the bay. Dolphins wheeling past casually in the northern end of the bay. In San Diego we heard a thrush-like bird singing on top of a telegraph pole and discovered the next day it was a mockingbird. A Monarch butterfly flew past as we had lunch. We saw a hummingbird as we put the bikes away round the back of the house. We had our own mockingbird where we’re staying.

Plants: Palm trees. Lots of purple jacaranda in flower.

Things we saw: We could see the salt works on the other side of the bay, the ones we passed yesterday. At the end of the bay the houses all had steps heading straight down into the water. Swimmers! We passed a large area of matching tents and later found it’s a project for homeless people. In an area of San Diego called Adams Avenue the posters on the lamp posts had images of wildlife, both plants and animals, and the English and Latin names for them. A great idea!

People we spoke to or saw: The owner of the bike shop at Imperial Beach didn’t want to buy my bike but he did want to come out and look at the bikes we’d done such a cool ride on . Bethany and Kristen. We had a long chat and hugs as we said goodbye. They’re going for lunch in Tijuana and flying home to Canada on Monday.

Incidents: We planned to finally find donuts along the way, the only donuts we’ve had in the US were the two left in the fridge at Lea’s Redway Cottage which I ate (because I have no standards, as Cathy pointed out) which looked terrible but were amazing! But after passing a donut shop much too early on in the day, we couldn’t find a single one later. Cycling through San Diego on busy roads we stopped at a traffic light and a plane surprised us passing low over our heads.

Shopping: Ralph’s, San Diego.

Accommodation: An AirBnB in Golden Hill which has nice old homes and architecture. Ours is old and has its original windows and doors and a leafy garden front and back. The Colombian owner’s mother is a mosaic artist and there’s a lot of her work on the walls.

Today’s sound: Booming of the floating pier at Coronado ferry. The mockingbird.

Today’s smell: Summer jasmine in flower outside the house.

Special moments: The bed at the AirBnB in Imperial Beach was super comfy and even better to sit up in, like sitting on a cloud. Waking up to numerous messages of congratulations from family, friends and work colleagues. As I’ve done each morning, I remembered to savour the first mile in particular as the milometer records it in feet before it reaches the first mile – after that it’s in miles only. Through Coronado Island Philip was ahead, riding at a lovely slow pace. I wondered what it would have been like to have had the time to go at that pace all the way and take everything in. Seeing dolphins. Selling my bike.

Positive experience from my journal: Greatly enjoying our last day of riding.

Appreciation from my journal: Not losing any enthusiasm for the trip even at this end point, and managing a variety of emotions.

Blog comments from Debbie, Cathy H, Juliet and Marshall Johnson. Debbie: ‘Congratulations! You made it! What an achievement – and what a pleasure it has been to follow your progress! Though I’m half a world away I feel I’ve been there with you every step of the way, and unexpectedly, your experiences have brought back many long-forgotten happy memories of my American life. Thank you so much for sharing your journey so beautifully’. Cathy Hingley: ‘Looks like you made a great day of it yesterday. It’s always exciting to watch dolphins swimming close by. Some things never grow old. Thank you for sharing your adventures along the way. You two are inspiring’. Juliet: ‘Well, you should both be soooooo proud. What an achievement. I’m tickled pink to have followed it. And it sounds like it has all gone amazingly smoothly. Which must be down to fabulous planning (and a following wind some of the time). Sending love and congratulations’. Marshall Johnson: ‘Congratulations my friends. Our paths have been surrounded with bicycles, haven’t they, and I have not had to sit on one or move any leg muscles in the process. Dad’s 1928 bike tour of the gardens of Wales, England and Scotland, Luke’s tandem travels and now the E-Bike coastal tour that both of you have just concluded. Now you can enjoy the memories and the well-orchestrated accomplishment’.

Any video: Philip riding on Coronado Island (35m22s + 31m39s + 14m5s). Pastries (9s). On the ferry (30s). Riding in San Diego (36m2s).

Audio: Mockingbird song in San Diego (1m11s). Level crossing bell (6s; we were hoping to record the blare).

Mementos: Ralph’s receipt, San Diego. Parfait Paris business card, Coronado Ferry Landing.