From sea to shining sea – we’ve made it! Alpine to San Diego

Well this is it! Our final day of cycling the Southern Tier, a journey which has seen us cycle more than 3,000 miles over the last two months and pass through eight states – Florida, Alabama, Mississippii, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally California. 

There have been highs (Mardis Gras in New Orleans, our amazing hosts in Phoenix and Austin, Bubba’s outstanding welcome, the incredible scenery, Southern hospitality ) and some lows (the Florida roads, headwinds, some dodgy overnights, bad drivers, the Florida roads) but now it is all coming to an end and this evening we dipped our wheels in the Pacific Ocean.

“Bizarrely we seemed to begin the day with a complete role reversal”.

But we still had 40 miles to do today and we somehow managed to drag these out to last almost all day.  Bizarrely we seemed to begin the day with a complete role reversal. Normally the reason we are late getting out of the proverbial farmyard is because I stand around chatting for hours, trying to avoid the inevitable.

This morning though it was Terry doing all the talking at breakfast, nattering to a couple who had down-sized to travel around the world and were talking about how much this had freed up their life and their minds. We imagined they’d opted for bicycles like us – everything you need in just five small panniers. It turned out their idea of cutting right back was an RV – and an ocean-going yacht. That’s America for you. Even minimalism is huge. 

By the time we left Alpine it was already hot and sunny – a beautiful day for cycling and finishing our journey. Although there were a couple of short climbs, the overall gradient for the day was downhill, dropping 2,000ft to the sea. Thoughts were still on my damaged back wheel, but we’re pretty sure if it was going to go bang the last two days would have finished it off.

“Before long there appeared to be a Starbucks on every corner, so we thought it would be rude not to stop and pull in”.

Shortly after Alpine we started passing through the San Diego suburbs of Lakeside and Santee. There was a lot of light industry which although not particularly attractive, seemed to be thriving, unlike so much of the US we’ve seen over the past few months.  Soon industry gave way to retail, and before long there appeared to be a Starbucks on every corner, so we thought it would be rude not to stop and pull in.

Since we were negotiating the suburbs of a major connurbation there was a lot of stopping and starting at junctions and some of the roads and paths took us through areas very few tourists get to see. But it’s always interesting to get a taster of a city’s raw underbelly before emerging into the glittery skyscrapers, trendy bars and restaurants that most visitors start with. As with so many things, a bicycle gives you a unique perspective on life.

Just as we were passing through Lakeside, Dennis, a warmshowers host in the city, stopped in his car and gave us some alternative directions into the city which would avoid a few hills and should be easier on my back hub. Dennis was full of useful information and proof that, just occasionally, the locals know what they are talking about.

“We’d been told numerous times over the past few weeks that there were two female riders just ahead of us”.

At one point, as we were passing a retail park we saw two women on fully loaded tourers pull out onto the road and then take the next turn back into the park. We’d been told numerous times over the past few weeks that there were two female riders just ahead of us. Could this be the elusive duo? Sadly we’ll never know.

Then, as we were chatting to Dennis, we were joined by Nancy, a lady who it’s fair to say was most probably in her seventies and had been leading a group of thirteen east to west. She was also on her final day. She didn’t seem to think what she had achieved was particularly remarkable and we thought back to Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers who were also making the crossing with an average age of 65. It just shows you are never too old to discover the joys of cycle touring.

By the time we reached the coast it was around 6 o’clock. Before heading to the finish we diverted to our Holiday Inn nightstop to dump our remaining kit and don our Adventure Cycling Association Southern Tier Jerseys. I had hoped we’d have received them earlier in the journey, but they’d been playing pass the parcel from state to state and through various hotel lobbies.

Then it was the final ten miles or so, south through Mission Bay City Park and then along the Ocean Beach Bike Path which follows the San Diego River Floodway to the sea.

I’d like to say we were elated when we arrived, but the emotional was probably nearer to relief.  The Southern Tier, although nearly 1300 miles shorter than the TransAm, had proved itself to be a far harder ride and it’s fair to say it has taken it toll on both of us. 

Watching the surfers skimming on the waves lit by the sinking sun we asked a couple sat on the beach to take some photos of us at journey’s end. Then it was into Ocean Beach for beers and an oversized pizza. We topped off an extraordinary day with a night time ride back through the park. The traffic looks so much better as lights reflected in the water.

Tune in again in five years time for more adventures, as Terry and Paul witter and bicker across another continent. Job done!

Today’s miles: 44.8 miles

Total and final miles since Anastasia State Park: 3,084.40

Postscript: We celebrated our acheivement with a couple of days of R ’n R in San Diego before flying home. We used a combination of public transport and our bikes to get around and during that time we took in the sights including visiting the aircraft carrier, USS Midway.

It was a particular honour to meet 94 year old WW2 veteran Jack who served aboard USS Maloy at Omaha Beach on D Day, followed by patrols around the occupied Channel Islands. What an inspiration!

We also spent time quite a lot of time at Balboa Park. The Park is well worth a visit, not least to see its gardens and extraordinary Spanish Renaissance architecture, which was created for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition. We were also met a fellow Southern Tier cyclist there and heard the famous Spreckels Organ – one of the world’s largest outdoor pipe organs.

Incidentally my back wheel never did collapse and even made it all the way to the airport, fully laden with panniers. It was Terry’s bike that came to a grinding and sudden halt on that same journey after a bungee rope slipped from his backrack and wrapped itself around the rear wheel. Fortunately there was no damage done. Our Trail Angels really were looking down upon us.

USS Midway

Balboa Park

San Diego

Mission Bay Park and hotel