diphthong

so for those of us bothered enough to get the (renew it) yearly pass from the office next to the southern base entrance near oceanside....
is the base open currently to cyclists with yearly passes between the southern main gate and the las flores gate? it is occasionally closed for maneuvers and whatnot.
distrustful of the official marines website-updated for cyclists. share the open/closed status for either here. you just may save someone a 17 mile backtracking + freeway ride...

rode through a few months ago with current id, north to south, pre-covid-19 ramifications.

and supposedly, the base will reach out on facebook to local cycling groups in regards to base closures but i'm not on facebook and guessing there's a other few cyclists
in the region that aren't in a local club or on facebook.

diphthong

and for that matter...san onofre state beach i assume is closed currently. so regarding freeway miles, those that are travelling coastally between orange county and san diego county
are (at the least) doing it for 7-8 miles. if both san onofre state beach and camp pendleton are closed to cyclists, it's approx 17 miles o' freeway riding.

TrojanHorse

Yuck. Although "closed" seems to be an easily circumvented thing based on what's going on in Santa Monica.

diphthong

^let's just say that both camp pendleton and san onofre state beach have a lot less entry points for cyclists than santa monica...

bikeme

A friend who lives in SC did some recon the other day (roughly 4/29) and said the trestles path is closed to all traffic. San-O Bluffs Campground is also closed for camping and all traffic. I was hoping it was at least open to riding a bike through as many parks are. This means getting on the freeway at Christianitos and exiting at Harbor Drive if you must get to O-side, 18 miles on the 5 fwy.

diphthong

been there. done that. can live without doing it again. might be a good opportunity to recalibrate heart/power numbs tho...

TrojanHorse

The freeway can be pretty tolerable on weekends but then the cars aren't going much faster than bikes. In today's environment, there are fewer cars and they're going faster than ever. 18 miles would be pretty nerve rattling I imagine.

diphthong

rode through camp pendleton (with current base-issued id) twice today. no issues. rode to the northern/auto entrance for san onofre state beach as well.
plenty of cyclists riding through the long stretch of state beach parking lot. northern entrance gate closed and staffed with park ranger but cyclists could
enter/exit through the exit gate which was open. restrooms are all closed. didn't check water availability.

adamhenry

This morning I went to the visitor center at he main gate and attempted to get the new cycling pass. My app was taken and I was told to wait outside. They called me about 20 minutes later and told me to return to the window. I was told they were no longer issuing bicycle passes. I asked if that meant I wasn't allowed to access the base and he said that he didn't have anything to do with access. ????


ETA: I just googled and found this: Effective 08 May 2020, the issuance of new and renewal DBIDS passes for the Recreational Bike Route has been suspended

Elvo

Damn, thanks for saving me a trip

Lemond1985

I thought it was "Camp Henderson"?








Sorry, I will let myself out ....

TakingMyTime

How many bike passes do you think they issue in a year?

diphthong

^guessing about 1,500-1,750 a year or 4-5 a day on average (closed weekends and assuming holidays). at least they're free.
hoping they're back up and running soon...

diphthong

rode through today with new id (north to south). no issues except for a couple of gnarly, tree roots bumps on the rightmost, southbound lane in the shade at the start of the family housing (before the school) on the base.
they are gnarly enuff to cause a crash if you're not paying attention, riding one handed, et al. they are not currently spray-paint flagged so watch out. saw two, 6+ riders group rides within the camp today.
could be a bad situation since all the bumps are within ten yards.

adamhenry

I know exactly what you're talking about. I use the traffic lane to go around them. How bout that big hole under the cones on the downhill to the river? Good thing those cones are there. Going northbound, there's a nice square edge onto the last bridge just before Los Pulgas that will rattle your fillings. There's a nice downhill to gain some speed just previous. Yesterday I stood and unweighted the saddle but still had to look to see if my bottle was still in the cage.

diphthong

and much of the route got repaved recently. still, we as cyclists, need to remember/realize that there is a lot of heavy machinery rolling down/across segments
that are designated as the only permissible bike route through the base and be vigilant. that main bridge across the santa margarita river on the southern end strikes me as being
at least 6 decades old...if not older. much of its architecture is eerily reminiscent of the fdr new deal projects executed in socal. i'm not here to rip on the marine corps but curious about
the bridge/road maintenance (as far as it concerns we cyclists on the only route) and wondering if the authority for budgeting/repair/maintenance falls to caltrans, the federal govt or some mixture of both.
i may be banned from riding through for even raising such a query but hopefully not. safety benefits everyone.

on the plus side, the marine that checked me in at the las pulgas gate yesterday around 10:30am was super-friendly and respectful. nicest marine i've come across in maybe 50 trips through the base.
if i came across him in a social food/drink setting, i would pay for his (and date/buddies) bill/tab in a heartbeat.

MikeEckhaus

Are they back to issuing passes again? Mine expired last month. If not, are they honoring expired passes?

adamhenry

They are currently issuing/renewing passes. The time required varies. It was only 30 minutes for me.

doubravsky 

Has anyone completed this process recently? Ideas about time it takes from the application to getting the pass? I'm in Riverside and looking for access for a June 14th bikepacking trip... and do I just need my RealID driver's license to get it?

Thanks in advance!

EvilEuro

First and foremost - Be prepared to arrive at opening and to wait!! There is no reservation system for the visitors office and it's first come, first serve. I'd say the minimum amount of time you'll spend overall is one hour unless you're one of the first three persons to arrive.

Second - Call the base visitors office to verify things with them (760) 763-8435). Their hours are 0730-1530, Monday through Friday.

Third - Your Real ID driver's license will be sufficient. It was for me. I did take my passport as a backup, but it was not needed.

Other than that, it's pretty easy and straight forward.

doubravsky 

EvilEuro Thanks so much! I'll plan to be there early... which works given traffic in the morning from riverside. I did try calling and saw somewhere online that they're closed until Monday, so I'll verify with them then. Appreciated!

diphthong

renewed my pass today. took almost exactly 30 mins between standing in a short line, filling out the two-sided form and having a pic taken. they are no longer issuing the drivers license-sized, laminated id card anymore. a yellow, 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper (with all the info on the top half of one side having all the info) is the new medium. works much better for automobiles but not the best format for cyclists. went through the main gate afterwards for the yearly "trust but verify." it worked and hung a u-turn.

SkinGriz

Tell the bison I said hi.

doubravsky 

Thanks ooga-booga for the update! I'm headed down Thursday morning to get mine...

diphthong

bring the bike and mix in a ride if you can. camp pendleton + san onofre state beach and san clemente...or the opposite direction through o-side, carlsbad down to leucadia/encinitas is worthy as well. would recommend riding through the base
to familiarize yourself for the future trip(s) tho.