Originally Posted by ooga-booga

there is a more circuitous way heading north on pacific hwy just after heading underneath the 5 fwy. take the flat frontage rd that forks right vs climbing up the ramp to the left. it takes you to
an east side frontage rd alongside pacific hwy, cross over washington st, then a right on noell st and cross hancock (one way) st, going under the 5 fwy,
then a left onto san diego ave which drops you off in old town after a half mile. simple to reconnect with pacific hwy once past rosecrans/taylor and make a right/head north towards the bike path entry,
mission bay and fiesta island. there are some really old school, horrible railroad tracks to negotiate crossing over washington st heading north on the pacific hwy frontage rd so beware. also,
some really bad pavement northbound on san diego ave just after crossing old town ave (light) just as you're gently descending into old town. this negates the fast traffic but ups the ante on the bad pavement/railroad tracks. apples/oranges.

if you hated riding the fast part of pacific hwy, i definitely don't recommend india street from laurel street north to washington st. fast traffic, a tunnel, a tough offramp to negotiate
after a stiff little rise, no bike lane and possibly the worst half mile stretch of pavement on a major street in san diego county (altho 30th st has stepped up its game in two separate stretches
and midway along with ingraham and harbor from cesar chavez south to the rr crossing have sucked for too long). some cool places to grab lunch at the end of that stretch but there's no guarantee
you'll make it to said lunch.