So my plan was to go for a bike ride this morning, but not the usual route. I decided to ride towards California State Route 56 (SR 56) from my house, with the possible intention of taking the bike path along the highway all the way to the end. It was a six mile bike ride to get to the beginning of the bike path along SR 56, and I felt good, so I kept on going.
I had wanted to take the ride for some time, but never felt I was ready. I thought about bringing (on my car's bike rack) my bike to the starting point, but I really prefer riding from my home. What I liked about this ride was being able to ride without worrying about traffic or stopping. Well, at the very start you have to cross over Interstate 15, and the intersection there is very busy and I'd say dangerous. I waited for the cross walk but made sure the drivers turning right in front of me saw me, as they were looking to the left for on-coming traffic.I'll admit that a week before I come close to hitting a biker there, but to my defense, he was wearing all white and blended into the background.
The path at the beginning was a little narrow, with brush growing on either side that needed trimming. Then the path followed a road before the "real" SR 56 bike path began. Since the path heads west towards the coast, it is mostly downhill. Along the way you have to cross some street and wait for the cross-walk signal. There was also that point on the trail where a biker was kill last year. There was a nice memorial for the man, including a white painted bike attached to the fence.
As I got closer to the ocean, I wasn't quite sure how far the bike trail went, but my plan was to stay on the trail and not take any local streets. At one point the trail paralleled a private street where there were signs that indicated where the bike trail was and where the "private property" was. It was a nice, well kept neighborhood in Carmel Valley. From there the bike trail went over a small creek (yes, I had to ride through water), under some bridges and then joined up with a local riding/running trail. As I continued to follow the trail it came to an end, with a sign indicating the "END", as you can see from the photo. The mileage to this point was 16.5. At this point you are almost to Interstate 5. I stopped here to stretch my legs and eat a snack. After about 10 minutes I turned around and headed home.
The temperature at the start of the ride was around 55 degrees, but was slowly warming up. Also, the wind switched directions and was now blowing from the east, so I had a nice strong head wind riding back. I was doing fine for a while, but then my leg muscles really started to burn. I knew I could make it home, but each small hill felt much steeper that it was. It was a very good ride and I'm glad I went all the way to the end (well, the end would have been the Pacific Ocean if I'd taking the surface street - maybe next time). Once home I looked at the data recorded by my Garmin 500.
Distance: 32.92 mi
Time: 2:49:23
Avg Speed: 11.7 mph
Calories: 1,747 C
Moving Speed: 13.1
Max Speed: 34
| Elevation Gain: | 3,276 ft |
| Elevation Loss: | 3,270 ft |
| MinElevation: | -158 ft |
| MaxElevation: | 688 ft |
2 comments:
I didn't know you dropped below sea level on that ride.
According to the computer it shows me below sea level, but its accuracy isn't perfect as it uses barometric pressure to estimate the altitude. I think the actual altitude there was 15 feet above sea level.
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