California - Cycling in Carlsbad & San Diego

Hello all,

I'm about to start a new job, which will have me over in Carlsbad for some week-long stints a fair bit.

Now, while I realise that car is pretty much king in this part of the world, a Google search reveals that there is a fair amount of promotion of cycling as a method of commuting. This piqued my interest, as I'm a keen cyclist, and will travel everywhere in London (where I live) and Amsterdam (where I work a lot) by bike.

OK, Southern California is not the Netherlands. But if anyone has any experience of cycling in this part of the world (including bike hire), I'd be interested in hearing it!

Hello all,

I'm about to start a new job, which will have me over in Carlsbad for some week-long stints a fair bit.

Now, while I realise that car is pretty much king in this part of the world, a Google search reveals that there is a fair amount of promotion of cycling as a method of commuting. This piqued my interest, as I'm a keen cyclist, and will travel everywhere in London (where I live) and Amsterdam (where I work a lot) by bike.

OK, Southern California is not the Netherlands. But if anyone has any experience of cycling in this part of the world (including bike hire), I'd be interested in hearing it!

Wear a helmet! :) And don't ride so closely to parked cars... we have no idea how to look behind us before opening the door.

It's very disconcerting to see bikes on the freakin' I-5! There's a section around Camp Pendleton where they are allowed to ride on the shoulder. It only takes one blowout....

I don't know about where you're from, but bikes are allowed on commuter trains, and most buses are equipped with bike racks, which make it that much more easier to commute with a bike. But you'll have to buy two locks or a steel cable... bike theft occurs quite often, and you need to lock up both the bike frame and the front wheel.

A lot of California also has specific bike lanes marked off on main roads.

As for renting a bike, unless you're going to do hardcore riding, it might be worth it to buy a lower-mid quality bike (Costco usually has decent bikes), and locking it up somewhere while you're gone.

Good luck... you'll need it :)

Thanks for the info, IceTrojan!

I live in London, and really, if you can survive cycling here, I suspect you can survive cycling anywhere... No way am I cycling on a motorway, though :eek: And yes, a D-lock and steel cable (actually, two of them, as I have a quick-release saddle) is usual for me over here, too. Sounds actually pretty similar conditions. (I doubt you have quite so much rain, though...)

Good to hear about the commuter trains and buses, thoughbut. Over here, you need a folding bike if you want to take it on in peak commuting times (otherwise there simply isn't enough space).

Not planning on doing any 'hardcore' cycling, just pottering about and commuting, so would be after a basic town bike or hybrid (I hate riding MTBs on the road, it's so spongey and your legs go twice as fast). Will have a look for cheap options: the extended stay place they're putting us up in apparently has lousy food, so I suspect I'll be out at the shops pretty soon after getting there...

You might want to also check with some of the local bicycle advocacy groups, clubs, or bike shops about places to ride and best routes. You can find listings for most US cities at the website of the League of American Bicyclists (http://www.bikeleague.org). Here's a link to the search I did for San Diego: http://www.bikeleague.org/cogs/resources/findit/?city=San+Diego&state=CA&zipcode=&submit.x=21&submit.y=10&all=all&groups=1&clubs=1&events=1&shops=1&rides=1&range=miles&miles=20
.