Monday, November 18, 2013

Around Town: Sunday Pink Encounter with the Susan G Komen San Diego 3-Day

So, a few friends and I went on our usual Sunday morning casual bike ride yesterday to Cabrillo National Monument. It was quite neat! Three of us had our Cabrillo Park Annual Pass with us, and so all 9 riders got in for free (if you plan to visit Cabrillo National Park more than 3 times in the next year, you should consider getting the pass. It's only $15 and allows you to bring 3 other guests with you into the park as many times as you'd like for 12 months. Just ask the ranger at the park entrance kiosk).
Two of my riding buddies at the bottom of Cabrillo tidepool hill.
A few of us gluttons for punishment went down to the tidepool and then back up, while the rest went and hung out at the visitor center. It was quite a gorgeous day to be outside! Of course, Cabrillo Park is gorgeous in just about any sort of weather, but some days are more photography-friendly than others...
Cabrillo National Monument, with Coronado Isl and Mt San Miguel in background.
We were making our way back along Ocean Beach Bike Path to the uptown mesa where we started when we popped up from the W Mission Bay Dr/Midway Dr underpass to find ourselves staring at a pink wall.



It was the generous folks walking the San Diego 3-Day event to help the Susan G Komen Foundation raise fund to find the cure for breast cancer. We were rather trapped! We had taken OBBP on our way out and didn't notice any sign about the event, and there was no surface road nearby to easily detour to (we didn't realize that the group was so big, else I might have suggested turning back to take W Mission Bay Dr bridge to the north side of the river instead). Our group leader decided to try to pass through the crowd, though, so we started tapping our bells and calling to the walkers that we were passing on their left side.



It worked pretty well, and the walkers were very friendly and accommodating. A few even yelled out for the people ahead of them to scoot right to let the 'bikers' pass. Of course, some of us weren't as patient and got a bit snazzy with the 'ON YOUR LEFT!' yelling, but hopefully the rest of the group was gentle and patient enough that we didn't leave too bad an impression.

I'm telling ya. Pink is the new black!!!
Hey, there were even bicycle cops there riding with the crowd and docked up in the coolest shade of pink! I like cops... especially when they're on bicycles! Never mind the 'us vs them' mentality that like to paint cops against cyclists or anybody else. Cops are people just like us... and just as I don't like to get lumped in with the inconsiderate light/stop-sign running idiot bikers, I'm sure good cops also don't like always being lumped in with their worst minority in just about every conversation. I sure would love to see more cops on bike on the road... especially the ones with the 'We♥You' license plate on their bike!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Morgen

Getting up early in the morning almost always feels sucky to me... especially when it's cold out. And, having been acclimatized here in Southern California for a full decade now, 'cold' is really anything cooler than 68F or so. This is when it's nice that many of my friends are reading what I say on a computer screen rather than hearing it from me face to face since by this time of year they would probably regard 68F as something downright summerly!

But, early rising only really sucks for a few minutes after I've gotten out of my warm bed, pulled on my cycling kit, and ride out into the cold morning. Once I've warmed up a bit and gotten used to the punch of cold wind in my face I get to enjoy the nearly car-free roads, quiet streets without the humming background freeway noise, occasional raccoons running across the road from one drainage grate to another, and some really cool morning vistas... like these:

Sunrise over Downtown San Diego from Shelter Island.
Torrey Pines lagoon in the calm morning before the wind picks up.
Gotch bridge over Rose Inlet.
Sunrise in Chula Vista.
Sunrise in North Park.
Sunrise in Rincon.
Cold weather... It's mountains cycling season again!!!