Sunday Ride To The Bay

I decided to check out the new section of bike path that was opened in April, 2009, in the south of the Big Bay.

Once again, Philip Erdelsky has an excellent web page about the Bayshore Bikeway.

Fortunately, I put on plenty of sunscreen before I left, because my decision was not made until AFTER I left. I used the spray sunscreen I bought the other week. I found out that it is not a good idea to spray it on in the bathroom. Sunscreen all over the place, including my lungs! Seems to cover well, though, but I don't think a spray bottle is very environmentally friendly. I know later today how well it protected me from the blazing sun!

One thing, I goota get some lip balm, I think my lips got burnt.

I headed over to Spring Valley and took the Quarry Road bike path down to Sunnyside and Bonita. Over by Plaza Bonita I got on the Sweetwater River bike path and headed to the sea. Well, the bay, anyway.

Two guys coming out of the eastern terminus of the new bike path. The old bike path is on the left.



Here is a fellow using the old bike path.



Nice view of the salt ponds when the path rises above the fence.



Some of the path travels on the old railroad roadbed. It looks like they built the bike path bridges right over the old railroad trestles.



Coming back the other way, heading east, a purty sight awaits. Reflections in the salt pond.



You can see some rails from the old railroad sitting there.

Now we have a little model railroad moment. Here's a little bridge, a prototype you can model. The handrails attracted me, as it is such a little bridge.



And the obligatory shot down the rails.



I may have used this comic idea before, but... It's a one-way bike path!



Ha haaa!

I remember walking the Schwinn across this trestle, once. Never again!



That COULD be Gunpowder Point out there. Or there abouts, anyway.

I saw a bunch of shopping buggies in the Sweetwater River. I thought, here is where the shopping trolleys go to die. I should take a snapshot. But, I didn't. Coming the other way on the bike path was a family group. One of the kids, a boy, shouted, "Hey, mom, it's the shopping cart dead zone!"

I noticed a little-bitty bike path along Plaza Bonita Road. I thought this was cute.



Had a nice tail wind going east, homeward-wise.

Did I mention there were LOTS of cyclists out today? Yes, there were!

I was feeling pretty good, but it was getting warmer as I got easter. Climbing up and over the Quarry Road hump kind of took it out of me.

Since I had to climb said hump, maybe I should have stayed on Sweetwater Road and kept going that way. Avoid the swap meet hassle.

And when the swap meet is in session, it is almost impossible to safely cross Elkelton Place.

But that was pretty much the final hurdle, the crossing of the Elkelton onto the little bike path, then on to the big Sweetwater Road through Spring Valley, and home again.

Sweating like a pig, what ever THAT means!



Uhhh, I'm all aglow!

And you can see I wore the pink fat cyclist jersey. (Man, it's hard to read that blog. Morphine seems to be a hell of a drug.)

So the trip mileage is near enough to 42 miles.

Mileage for the week totals 94.21 miles, plus ten or twenty (thirty, forty?) for that day I forgotted the odometer.

The odometer is on 8,067 miles, just case the batteries die.

I think my tongue is sunburned, too.

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Oh, and I added this piece of hardboard to keep the pannier from hitting spokes in my violent thrashing standing-up hill-climbing technique.



Ain't that classy?