# Is San Diego bike friendly???



## k.buz (Sep 19, 2005)

My husband and I are planning to move to the San Diego area within the next 6 months. We've never been there, and are pretty flexible on where we live. Nothing to expensive, we're probably going to rent a townhouse, but we don't want to be downtown. So, is San Diego bike friendly?? Are there many bike lanes or paths? What about the areas/cities outside of SD? Can you get from one neighborhood to another by bike, or is it all connected by highways? The last big city we lived in was Chicago, and it was a nightmare trying to get out of the city by bike! Anyone have any suggestions?


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

I lived in San Diego for 8 years and found it to be very cycling friendly. Lots of bike lanes and great weather to cycle in. It seemed like there was a bike shop on every block.


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## chang100 (Aug 29, 2003)

*Great weather, plenty of bike lanes & paths*

I live across Balboa Park from downtown. There are bike lanes and posted bike routes everywhere in the whole county, and you can ride all year round. Getting to/from neighborhoods is easy, and there are plenty of groups to ride with if you choose. I think that the riding is better a little north of downtown, either along the coast (Del Mar to Oceanside) or through the rolling hills (Carmel Valley/Rancho Bernardo). Check those areas out before deciding where you want to live. Epic scenery, not as many traffic signals and stoplights, and the pavement's smoother. You'll get plenty of opportunities to ride no matter where you settle.


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## blurry (Mar 4, 2004)

San Diego has it's share of problems as far as cycling goes. we are over crowded with lots of cars, we have our share of dumba$$ drivers, and sections of crappy roads ect. but we do have bike lanes and a few good bike paths and if your willing to drive to spots we have areas of less traffic and rural roads. Are we bike friendly, it depends what you're used to, i think so


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## Cdubb (Mar 27, 2005)

Funny, I just did the Poway Century yesterday and I came across three dumb yeehaws in their trucks during the ride. One zoomed past us while honking and almost side swiped me. I think they kind of hated my spandex at that time. I don't know if it's just me, but I had a bad impression towards this location as a cycling venue.


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## k.buz (Sep 19, 2005)

Thanks!! Right now we live in Coos Bay, OR, which pretty bike friendly. Most of the main roads have bike lanes, tons of people ride as their main transportation, but very few businesses have bike racks. It's very odd...


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## A4B45200 (Aug 28, 2004)

*Did that too...*



Cdubb said:


> Funny, I just did the Poway Century yesterday and I came across three dumb yeehaws in their trucks during the ride. One zoomed past us while honking and almost side swiped me. I think they kind of hated my spandex at that time. I don't know if it's just me, but I had a bad impression towards this location as a cycling venue.



I think you just ran into a bunch of losers. They're not indigenous to SD. Alchohol is sold worldwide  I didn't have any issues with cars throughout the whole 104 mile route. 

As for the OP...the biggest problem you'll have in SD is buying a house big enough (or just any house) to store your bikes  $$$$


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## blurry (Mar 4, 2004)

i also did the tour de poway and had probably 3-4 people in their vehicles honk,yell or puposely drive dangerously close to me and other cyclists....so yeah we have our share of idiot folks. looks like a few of us did this ride


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

Try this link: www.sandag.org. You should be able to use the "Contact" link to request the San Diego Region Bike Map, which shows the bike paths, lanes and routes for just about the entire metro SD area (I know SANDAG published it, but I'm not sure anymore from what agency I requested it). I'm not a local, so the map was especially helpful for me. You'll be spending a lot of weekends just trying out the routes they've got on this thing.


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## HAL9000 (May 1, 2002)

PM any of us San Diegans for specifics about areas you think you are interestsd in living. Where will your place(s) of employment be? Outside of cycling, what other activities are you interested in? Got bucks? our beach areas are terrif! but don't tell anyone that I said so. 

Back to the bike front. Want flats, hills? we got 'em all. Well there isn't too much around here that is truely flat. 

S.D. is rather bike friendly. Though as said above we do have our share of knuckleheads. Depending on what you are used to, you really can ride from anywhere to anywhere in San Diego and most of Southern California.


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## HAL9000 (May 1, 2002)

*Re: Tour de Poway*

I was on the road (on bike) through Highland Valley Rd., Bandy Canyon & Pomerado as the tour was rolling. My impression was that here were 6000+ cyclists many of whom hadn't ridden in far too long, running stop lights & riding 2-3 abrest. 

I understand the time away from the bike but I do not understand the running red lights & stop signs & other blatant actions that are illegal, selfish and unsafe. Kids riding w/ adults see & then do just what the adults do. Car drivers see the same actions & are left with the perception(& rightly so) that bike riders think they are above the law.

Hell, I was waiting at H.V. Rd. for a green to head left(south) on Pomerado. The light turns green (for me) and half a dozen bikes kept buzzing through a red light. One (the last) on a nice road bike yells "Sorry!" as she plowed through. In no way was she sorry. 

I was wishing that the S.D. Police & Sheriffs could have been there handing tickets out left & right to these bozos. Part of the problem I'll wager, is that the organizers failled to stress the absolute importance in obeying all traffic signs and signals.

rant off

k.buz:  We have tons of cyclists here in S.D. & part of it is because it is so bike friendly.


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## rroselli (Jan 2, 2003)

*K.Buz*

lucky you. My gf and I vacation there when we can. Last three years had no problems with biking. We've biked the Mission Bay area. Downtown by the new ball park, and all about the Balboa area. While there is much more to San Diego than just these places, we had no bad encounters.

Enjoy


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## tkavan01 (Jun 24, 2004)

I'm thinking about the move to san diego as well,
just got flown out for an interview with the wifey, 
absolutely loved it, now i just have to hammer out numbers
with the company, from what i'm told i need a 60% raise
from my current salary to keep the same quality of life,
I hardly think i'll be getting that big of an offer so it's all for naught i guess,

I stayed and rancho bernardo bc thats where the company is located
and couldn't stop thinking to myself how much fun it would be to hit
up the hills on my bike!


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## kjohnso3 (Oct 3, 2005)

Take the job and move to SD. You won't regret it. I commute everyday to work on my bike rain or shine. I live in the downtown area and work in Carlsbad. I use the Coaster/bike for my commute and log in about 125-150 miles per workweek. The ocean views are wonderful to look at during your evening ride home. This is like wonderful therapy at no charge. 

Also an added bonus is that you will meet wonderful cyclist with great advice during your travels. I always look forward to my rides. There are numerous group rides all over the county. I also took part in the 2005 Tour de Poway (Metric Century) and had a wonderful time. I did break a spoke with only 2 miles from the end. No problem because my LBS was opened and fixed my spoke that afternoon. 

The only disclaimer to all this wonderful sales pitch is that San Diego has way too many cars on the road. And they all like to speed beyond the posted limits while talking on their cell phones. So be extremely cautious when entering any intersection or traveling along highly congested vehicular roads.


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## tkavan01 (Jun 24, 2004)

kjohnso3 said:


> Take the job and move to SD. You won't regret it. I commute everyday to work on my bike rain or shine. I live in the downtown area and work in Carlsbad. I use the Coaster/bike for my commute and log in about 125-150 miles per workweek. The ocean views are wonderful to look at during your evening ride home. This is like wonderful therapy at no charge.
> 
> Also an added bonus is that you will meet wonderful cyclist with great advice during your travels. I always look forward to my rides. There are numerous group rides all over the county. I also took part in the 2005 Tour de Poway (Metric Century) and had a wonderful time. I did break a spoke with only 2 miles from the end. No problem because my LBS was opened and fixed my spoke that afternoon.
> 
> The only disclaimer to all this wonderful sales pitch is that San Diego has way too many cars on the road. And they all like to speed beyond the posted limits while talking on their cell phones. So be extremely cautious when entering any intersection or traveling along highly congested vehicular roads.


i'd have to agree with the speeding part, but i din't think traffic was any worse then DC area traffic...
on a side note i drove down this road where the speed limit was 50mph, it was super twisty and windy and the full size crown Vic the company rented me was all over the place, but people still felt that 5 over wasn't fast enough for them in their 1986 ford tempo...
that road in NJ would have had a 35 mph speedlimit tops, and must be undrivable if it ever rains...


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## k.buz (Sep 19, 2005)

Thanks for all of the info!!! Right now, we're waiting for my husband's transfer (he's in the Coast Guard) to go through. He's really pushing for SD, but technically he can be transferred anywhere in the country. But it seems like he's got a good shot at SD. We both mountain bike (any race series' nearby?), road bike, and commute, so we're really excited about the move. We're in Oregon now, and the rainy season is fast approaching, so we really hope to be out of here soon!!!


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

k.buz said:


> Thanks for all of the info!!! Right now, we're waiting for my husband's transfer (he's in the Coast Guard) to go through. He's really pushing for SD, but technically he can be transferred anywhere in the country. But it seems like he's got a good shot at SD. We both mountain bike (any race series' nearby?), road bike, and commute, so we're really excited about the move. We're in Oregon now, and the rainy season is fast approaching, so we really hope to be out of here soon!!!


C'mon down! The weather's a bit dicey at the moment with clouds and fog, but little actual precip. SD has two seasons: dry and wet. We're going into the wet season. It'll last thru about Mar, then prolly won't rain again (maybe a stray T-storm or two the whole summer) till next Oct/Nov. Last year was particularly wet. Hopefully, this year won't be! (knocking on wood)

There's ALL KINDS of riding down here: road, mtn, cross, TRACK! (woot!) and more group rides than you can shake a stick at. www.socalcycling.com and www.socalcyclocross.com are a pair of sites that'll get you jonesin to ride/race around here. 

The dirt's loose stuff over hardpack and requires some adjusting to. In the 9-ish years I've lived here, I still can't ride it as well as I did the East Coast crud I grew up with. Oh well. I do better on the cross bike than the mtn bike when off-road. :shrug

There ARE bike lanes and paths going most everywhere you want to go. Problem is that he drivers around here are A. driving like lunatics (the unofficial speed limit is ~75-80 on the freeways) and B. are somewhat clueless especially about the speeds bicycles can acheive. The combo can be dangerous if yer not paying attention. There seem to be fewer '********' around vs. other places I've ridden, but they ARE here. 

It takes some getting used to... After you do, I hope you'll like it as much as I do.

M


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## Litespeed2 (Oct 22, 2005)

A really good internet site to check out is www.efgh.com and if you click on bikes, it will give you all the bike paths and bike lanes in San Diego, even some pictures. Then you can choose where you want to go -- have fun!


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## k.buz (Sep 19, 2005)

Those links are great! Thanks!!! One way or another, we will be in SD within the next year or so. I'll keep you guys updated!!! Thanks again!


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