Thursday, October 27, 2011

San Diego

I think I'm there. So ... that was it. Cool.

Didn't find a 'San Diego' sign when entering the city to take a Yeah-I've-made-it-picture. But then I bumped into this in La Jolla, northern San Diego:



It almost felt like being back in Frankfurt very suddenly, where the big brother of this statue is doing exactly the same in front of the Messe. Only that this one is really much smaller.



Some more words and pictures about Los Angeles. It was not as bad as I had expected, and I had really expected the worst, because everyone had warned me and recommended not to stop there at all. It is indeed not a bike city, but it's possible to bike there, just like in any other big city. There are actually some bike lanes, they are just not used very much.





City freeway, no bikes





In L.A. I stayed at a couchsurfing related place in Culver City and explored the urban infinity from there. To find my way around, I draw a map, which only I could read and understand, it looked like this:




I did pretty much all the touristy stuff.










Leaving L.A. was another challenge, and a contrast of 'scenery' and weather:

L.A. beach


This cloud was almost black, but it didn't rain


South of L.A. finally






It took two days from Los Angeles to San Diego. The last campground I stayed at on this trip (near San Clemente) was squeezed between railroad tracks and the ocean, not far from the highway, so it was pretty noisy. Most part of the campground was empty, but three tents on the small hiker/biker spot right behind the bathroom. But anyways, it was the last time, and it was warm, and dry. I met the first surfer/bikers who were cycling the coast and surfing wherever he waves were inviting to surf.




The last day to San Diego had the best bike paths of the whole coast. It was partly on the old abandoned coastal Highway 101, which is no longer used by many cars because there's the Interstate 5 right next to it, which is not allowed for bikes.





2 comments:

  1. Wow! I`ve read every single entry about your adventure and can’t wait to see more photos and to hear more stories when you visit us in Dresden! By the way, our university provides air-pumps in front of our central library now and is planning to install more “air-to-go-stations” all over the city. Truly a paradise for cyclists. :)

    Kristin

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  2. Hey Andrea,

    you're da man!

    Well done tour - thank you for all the interesting insights on traveling the westcoast by bike. I'd love to cycle there as well some day.

    See you soon somewhere around Frankfurt,

    Philip and Family

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