Commitment and Political Courage...

Bike lanes, not parking.

Those are the words that came to mind for me yesterday as I rode through San Francisco and that is what is takes to truly change our roads to be more bike friendly.

It takes a commitment to cycling as a viable form of transportation that deserves to be encouraged by making simple changes to our streets. I saw this commitment displayed in San Francisco by the fact that on pretty much any street that did not have a bike lane, the right lane had been designated as a shared lane by painting the "Sharrow" lane designator.

It is amazing what this simple change to a street does for cyclists. It graphically informs both the driver and the cyclist that this is a shared lane and that the cyclist is expected to ride in the lane and traffic is expected to change lanes to pass.

After riding through most of San Francisco with a shared lane, it was an immediate shock to the system when I suddenly reached the City of Burlingame where the "Sharrow" lanes ended and there was no bike lane. Suddenly I had cars trying to squeeze by on the narrow lanes. You could almost feel the difference in the attitudes of the drivers as they suddenly saw you not as a fellow user of a shared resource but as an interloper on their turf.

Rumble strip separation.

The other idea I often propose is to add a rumble strip between the bike lane and traffic lanes on streets with a speed limit over 35mph. This lets both drivers and cyclists know when they are drifting out of their space. This is a great feature in today's environment of distracted drivers.
 
 This is where the idea of political courage came to mind for me because when I think of my own neighborhood, I'm not sure how much public support there would be for designating the right lane on every four lane road as a shared lane. Courage is doing the right thing even if it isn't the popular thing.

We've had quite a few cyclist deaths over the last couple of years in Orange County and I'm not saying that throwing some paint on the streets would have prevented any of them or will prevent any in the future. But, it is a simple and relatively low-cost way of showing a commitment to change and a commitment to making the streets safer for all users.

The "Sharrow" painted on the street makes an important statement to drivers that cyclists do have a right to share the road. There is no question about where the cyclist belongs, no varying interpretations of the vehicle code and no "cyclists should be on the sidewalks."

This would normally be a street I would avoid.

As we sit through the roundtables and meetings regarding cycling safety in Orange County, I think pushing the cities, CalTrans, OCTA, etc... towards more shared lanes should be one of our highest priorities. It makes a statement of commitment while at the same time educating everyone about our proper place on the road.

I think that the most important thing we can do to improve safety for cyclists is to change the attitudes of both drivers and cyclists. Both parties need to know their place and responsibilities.

Cyclists need to stop being timid in their use of a shared resource. Take the lane and assert your right to the road. As drivers see more and more of us where we are supposed to be, they will be less inclined to attempt to intimidate us off of our streets.

Edited to add:

CVC 21202 -

a)

Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle or motor vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

I added the section of the CVC that is relevant to the discussion as with the upcoming implementation of the "Three-foot Rule," every lane is now too narrow for a vehicle and bicycle to travel side-by-side. Because of this, every road without a designated bike lane should now have the right lane painted with the sharrow symbol. 

The Incredible Boredom of Touring...

It is hard for me to equate touring the Pacific Coast by bike with boredom but that is where I am and I have figured out the reason. The allure of traveling by bike is the mystery of finding out what is over the next hill or around the next bend.

It doesn't all look like this.

Unfortunately, I have traveled up and down the coast so many times, there really is no surprise or wonder to be found. I know which campsites I want at pretty much every State Park on the coast. I know where the best breakfast can be found and the only mystery for me is whether or not my regular restaurants have changed their hours. Yes, it kind of sucks.

Added to this is that to avoid the south-facing wind machine that seems to be turned on between 10-noon each day, I have been finishing my rides by noon which leaves me sitting around a campsite staring at trees until it is time to sleep. While that may seem relaxing, that only works for a day or two. After that, it just gets boring. This in addition to many of the Hiker/Biker sites seem to be the congregating spots for the indigent population of California so you have to stay within sight of your gear to prevent them from walking off with your stuff. Fun.

I have also been harshly reminded of why I despise traveling during the summer and through the typical tourist areas by the "seasonal pricing" that has been in effect for most of the trip. In a car, this is no big deal as you can get away from the tourist traps pretty easily. On a bike you are entirely at their mercy. I paid $18 for a two-egg omelette and some greasy hash browns yesterday. And that wasn't the worst gouging I've seen.

Lagunitas General Store

Added to the other things that have kept me pretty pissed off since somewhere back around Half Moon Bay is that that seems to be right about the time that the shoulder seems to have disappeared and the ride has been a pretty continuous stream of RVs, Logging Trucks and fairly discourteous drivers. Instead of maybe one driver in twenty getting a little close, now I am surprised by the driver that actually gives more than a few inches when going by. And I know it doesn't get any better going North. Especially since this weekend is generally considered the beginning of tourist season. Did I mention that my morning rides on the shoulderless roads, dodging vehicles are also done in the fog? Yes, the fog seems to burn off right about when the wind starts.

So here's the deal. I know I started this trip with a goal of riding to Washington, but quite frankly I've already seen everything ahead of me to the North and the idea of seeing the same towns (and getting stuck in them) that I usually avoid and riding through one boring beach town tourist trap after another is not how I want to spend my summer. Now, if I was raising a crapload of money for R2R, I might keep this going, but the paltry amount that has been donated doesn't really motivate me to bore myself to death.

The morning fog.

So tomorrow I'm going to wake up and point my bike in whatever direction I want. I have three choices from where I'm at: North - takes me farther up the coast into more wind, more wet, more cold and more boredom; West - takes me to the furnace of the Central Valley; South - takes me back down the coast at possibly a slower pace with some stops in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz for some pleasure riding. That's right, get a campsite, stay a day or two and do some local riding.

Now, just to make sure you all don't think I'm done with touring, I should assure you that I really do like traveling by bike. This is just not the route for me and anyone who knows me knows that I'm not good at doing things that I don't enjoy. I'm still interested in the Maah Dah Hey, Katy Trail, C&O Canal Trail, Kokopelli, etc... if anyone is interested.

14 days - Irvine to Fort Bragg

R2R Honor Ride: Four days down...

Santa Barbara morning.

After a fairly flat start to the first couple of days, I've started to hit a few hills and am definitely glad I switched cranksets at the last moment to give myself some better climbing gears. Yesterday's cat3 (with headwind) hill after already riding 50 miles finally put me in the small ring.

The wind hasn't been as bad as I was expecting as long as I finish up by 1pm. After that, it gets a little brisk and by late afternoon it is pretty much unridable so I'll be getting some early starts on the way north.

The route so far has pretty much been  coastal/urban beach towns so I haven't been taking too many pictures. That should change starting tomorrow as I pass Morro Bay and head into Big Sur.

I was dreading this all day.

I'll be passing the Amgen Tour of California Peloton sometime Wednesday. It should be pretty cool to see them come through. I just hope they don't clean out all the restaurants along the way or it may get a little dire between San Simeon and Monterey.

It should be nice to get out of the more urban areas. It seems that the transient population has taken over the State Parks anywhere near a town. Carpeteria SP was the worst and I don't think I'll be staying there on the way back. 

Four days down: Irvine to Pismo Beach

Road Ride Report: Mount Lemmon

The Mount Lemmon Climb is listed as the 33rd toughest climb in the United States in "The Complete Guide to Climbing (by Bike)." From start in the desert of Tucson at the bottom to the alpine forest at the end of the pavement you climb 6200' over 28 miles at an average grade of 5% through some of the best scenery in the Southwest.

Just past Windy Point.

I've had this one on my bucket list for quite a few years so I was pretty excited when I saw that the weather was going to cooperate and let me give it a go in March when it usually still has too much snow at the top.

I drove to the start with a great view of what was coming as Mt. Lemmon looms over the east side of Tucson.

As this was my first trip up, the only real goal I had was to be in the top half of the STRAVA leaderboard and pass more riders than passed me.

I ended up 110 out of 389 riders on the complete climb and passed 15 riders. The only rider that passed me turned around at the 5-mile mark so I'm not going to count him. It appears that quite a few people turn around at the ski resort and skip the last couple of miles (sissys).

The climb itself is amazingly consistent staying between 4-7% grade for most of its length. The angle does kick up at the end after you turn on Ski Run Road where it ranges from 8-10% with a couple of small ramps that went as high as 13% which is always fun after 25 miles of climbing.

The views were fantastic for the entire ride starting at 3000' elevation in the Sonoran Desert and climbing all the way up into the evergreen forest that starts around 5000' and goes to the top at 9100'. You will feel the elevation difference and thin air at the top.

This is easily in my Top-10 road rides in the U.S.. It's right up there with Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe and Big Sur and should be added to everyone's to-do list. Did I mention the 25-miles screamer of a downhill? Great stuff.

Mount Lemmon map and profile.

Ride Review: Moreno Valley

I spent the last week in the former foreclosure capital of Southern California. I didn't find any good deals on housing but the riding was pretty great.

I always go to new areas with the idea that I'll ride whatever is better between the road and the dirt. This week I found two pretty good road rides but spent the majority of my time exploring the trails of the Lake Perris State Recreation Area.

The better of the two road rides was the Oak Glen Loop, a 57-mile ride with 5300' of climbing with the cat 2 Oak Glen (east) climb. I've done this climb from the other side twice during the Breathless Agony Century so I wanted to give it a go from the other side. I managed to get into the Top-10 for the 15-mile climb starting at Live Oak so that went pretty well.

The other road ride I did was a loop that I spotted some local riders doing. Not bad but it seemed to be your typical shop ride loop that tended to avoid any good hills.

MRAP Downhill.

The real surprise for me was the mountain biking. I've been to Lake Perris on numerous occasions but have never ridden here. I always looked at the trail maps and saw that it was just a bunch of sandy horse trails. I had actually planned on making a couple of trips over to Sycamore Canyon while I was in the area but ended up riding at Lake Perris instead. I even managed to put together an 83.3-mile ride for the February Gran Fondo Challenge on STRAVA (Dirty Fondo).

The riding did have some sand as I expected but I also found a bunch of singletrack trails that were similar to those found at Sycamore Canyon and Southridge. The climbs are mostly moderate with the exception of the climb up to Terri Peak. There were two sections on this that weighed in with a grade of over 30 percent. Yes, it is that steep. I managed to get the KOM riding up the MRAP DH to the top of the peak. This was probably one of the steepest grades I've climbed but the surface was solid so it is ridable (shut-up legs).

The view from Terri Peak.

The trails are mostly decomposed granite over hard pack with some rock obstacles thrown in for fun. The soil type means that this place would be a good choice after a rain. It rained twice while I was here and it pretty much just made the conditions better as it packed down the sand.

There are plenty of other things to do at Lake Perris so this would be a great place for a family weekend. There is fishing, boating, hunting, hiking, etc...

The campground is huge with 100+ RV sites and 100+ tent sites. Everything is well maintained and the staff is pretty friendly.

Sunset at Lake Perris.

 


 

10 Days in the Desert

Morning in the desert.

I've spent quite a bit of time in Anza-Borrego over the years camping, bouldering and mountain biking. It's interesting that in all that time and with the proximity to where I live, I've never really come out here specifically to shoot. I've collected a few shots along the way but weekend trips were usually for some other purpose.

I spent a couple of days shooting the badlands then moved up towards Borrego Palm Canyon where I spent the rest of my time. I was able to get what I consider adequate shots but nothing spectacular. Unfortunately, I've been blessed with clear skies, which for a photographer means boring skies. So I've spent most of my time looking for interesting foreground elements to put in front of the mountains to the west.

I was hoping for a few wildflowers but the drought that is keeping California dry has definitely dried out the desert areas as much if not more than everywhere else in the state.

Over the last few years my visits have been restricted to the Rodriguez/Oriflamme Canyon area during the Julian Death March so it has been nice to do a little exploring while I'm out here.

Ten days of riding at Borrego Valley.

For mountain biking, I started out with a cruise around the Grapevine Canyon Loop followed by a cruise through the desert badlands of Ocotillo Wells and then an out and back ride up Coyote Canyon about half way. All three rides were your typical desert riding with lots of rocks and sand. Call me crazy but I really don't mind it that much and just love the isolation of the desert.

Ocotillo Riding

I also had some plans for the road bike. I've been wanting to ride Montezuma Grade (cat 1) for some time now so staying right at the base gave me a chance to give it a go more than once.

The rest of the riding around the valley is mostly flat or false flats on pavement that ranges from rough to really horrible and by horrible I mean that suspension might be required depending on which road you're on.

One thing I learned pretty quick is that you have two choices when it comes to road riding from Borrego Springs. You can ride around the valley in which case you're going to ride some rough roads that will wear you down, or you can ride up Montezuma Grade to better pavement.

Since riding up Montezuma every day would be pretty rough, I did a number of rides around the valley. The east side of Yaqui Pass (cat 4) is another good climb I found in my exploring and actually had good pavement. The rest of the time I did out and backs to the 78 and down S22 towards Salton Sea.

About half way up Montezuma Grade.

The best two rides I did were the loops up Montezuma Grade. These were both excellent rides that are as good as anything I've ridden in San Diego.

On the first, I rode S22 up to San Felipe Road and turned left and followed San Felipe all the way to the 78 where I made another left then came back into Borrego Valley via the west side of Yaqui Pass. This was right at 50 miles and was a good 3-hour ride if you keep your pace up.

The second loop turned right at San Felipe Road and went through Santa Isabelle and Julian for a 75-mile loop with 6000+ feet of climbing.

Overall, I would rate Borrego Springs as a pretty good destination for riding. Montezuma Grade is pretty much the highlight for the road. The scenery is great wherever you ride though and the weather can't be beat.

Camping is also easy. You can stay at the State Park CG or camp for free on the BLM land east of town or at Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. There is gas and food available in Borrego Springs along with a couple of small motels.

There is also a new bike shop at the mall. He mainly deals in rentals for the tourists but has some emergency parts if you find yourself needing a tire or tubes.

Sunrise in the desert.

 

Road Ride Review - Sunrise Highway Loop

What an awesome ride. Good climb, good downhills, spectacular views throughout. This ride takes you from desert to mountains on good roads with not too much traffic.

Sunrise Highway Loop

I started at the Paso Picacho Campground in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and did a counter-clockwise loop. I think the route would be just as fun in either direction.

The route ended up being 45.4 miles with just under 4000' of climbing so be prepared for some hills. The longest was the climb from Pine Valley up to Mount Laguna, a Category 1 climb that gains 2200' over 11 miles. The rest of the climbs are easy compared to that one.

The views along the way are fantastic and I would say this is as scenic as anything you'll find in Southern California. At one point as you descend the ridge coming down from Mount Laguna, you can look to your right and see far out into the Anza-Borrego Desert. You can also see the Pacific Crest Trail below you as it parallels the highway for a few miles.

Directions: Take the I-8 east out of San Diego to Pine Valley, start here or go west on Old Hwy 80 to the 79, take the 79 to Paso Picacho CG. 

High up on Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains Recreation Area.