Originally Posted by
Bob Ross
Thanks for asking. We just got back from the trip I mentioned in the OP a week ago. My takeaway from road cycling in San Diego out of the Mission Hills area:
It sucks.
Between the crap pavement and the incessant traffic lights every ~2/10ths of a mile, it was quite possibly some of the worst cycling the missus and I have ever encountered on a vacation.
And I'm not even factoring in the 20% grade climbs to get back to the AirBnB where we stayed!
Hi Bob, well, you can't say I didn't warn you about the hill from Old Town to MIssion Hills.
As you now know, it is a doozy!
Concerning the traffic lights, you were in the middle of a city, it's almost to be expected. And yes, roads are crappy here, this is where 38mm tires and appropriate pressures come into play.
You didn't mention if you went to the north SD county coast. The stretch between Oceanside and La Jolla I would argue is the crown jewel of bike rides in San Diego County. I did mention taking the Coaster train up to Oceanside and riding south to San Diego.
Admittedly bike riding in San Diego can be somewhat gnarly, with the traffic, the hills and a lot of sheet road surfaces. But the weather usually is pretty nice. Like a lot of things in life, sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad.
I don't currently have a car so have been using my bicycles exclusively for both sport and utility riding. So I guess one just kind of becomes acclimated to the less than ideal conditions and unconsciously focus on the good stuff and don't even notice the not so good stuff.
I hope your visit wasn't a total bust. Good luck!