Riding to Del Mar Powerhouse (again)

This ride is almost the same as the ride we did on June 4. We left Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and rode along the Coast Highway until we reached the Del Mar Powerhouse beach. The only different thing was that all 3 of us rode together, as Rob had the day off work. And we took a nice, long break at Del Mar to get an ice cream cone and play at the playground there.

Rob pulled Eliza in the Weehoo today. We are going to try to alternate who pulls her on whole family bike rides! Here's a sweet picture of us as we were beginning the ride back towards Encinitas.

As far as beach bike rides go, this one is really nice! Here's our Strava summary:

Balboa Park

Today's ride had a mix of urban street riding, off-road trails and on-road bike paths/sidewalks. We parked near the tennis courts at Balboa Park, and rode to Panera Bread in nearby Hillcrest. We ate outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Here's a cute picture of Eliza enjoying her grilled cheese sandwich.

After lunch, we rode back to Balboa Park in search of the fun mountain bike trails I've heard about. We found one short, steep trail that led us to a fun playground. She loved this play structure so much! I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was busy talking with other parents there. Here's the one picture I did take.

After prying her off the playground area, I got her back in the Weehoo and continued in our search for the mountain bike trails. It didn't take long! The trails were nice. Mostly smooth and easy, with little climbs and descents thrown in for fun. I only saw a couple other mountain bikers along the trail. The majority of people using the trails were walking dogs or running. We even found something really cool that I didn't know existed - a velodrome! We stopped off to watch some riders practice, and ended up talking with a woman who was in charge of the Junior Development Team that practices there. She was very nice. She talked about the history of the velodrome and the famous people who have ridden here. Then she allowed us to ride a quick lap! This was a nice gesture since normally they do not let just anyone ride on the velodrome. They require you to sign a waiver and participate in a velodrome safety class first! I have done a track race before (at the Kenosha Velodrome), so I knew what to expect with the super banked turns. We had fun! I wish I could've taken a picture. Another reason why I want a GoPro camera someday.

After the velodrome ride, I could tell that Eliza was getting very sleepy. I continued riding the off-road trails and before I knew it, Eliza had fallen asleep! I couldn't believe it. She's never fallen asleep on a Weehoo ride. At this point, I found the quickest way back to our car. I let her sleep until she woke up. Here's a couple pictures I took of her sleeping.

Here's our Strava summary. I really liked this ride and hope to do it again soon.

Ride to Oceanside Harbor

Today we rode with one of Eliza's cousins (Payton). She's 13 years old and she enjoys riding her new Trek mountain bike that she bought last Christmas. She was excited when I invited her to come along on our bike ride.

Since we had checked out some of the San Luis Rey River (SLRR) Trail a couple weeks ago (but didn't finish), I really wanted to try to finish it today. The trail takes you all the way out to Oceanside Harbor, where I knew there was a good ice cream place we could try out. I chose to start the ride from Fireside Park where Google Maps showed me that I could access the bike trail from a dirt trail just south of the park. I didn't know that accessing the trail from this point would be so difficult! It was only difficult because there was a steep hill with loose gravel we had to take to get on the SLRR trail. Doing this by myself would be possible, but with a Weehoo and all that extra weight? No way I'd make it up riding! Payton pushed her bike up and waited for us at the top. So I unloaded Eliza and walked her up the steep hill, then I pushed my bike up the hill to meet them.

Just as I was loading Eliza back in the Weehoo, we saw a woman riding her bike and pulling one of those red carts with wheels that you see at flea markets. (like this one) She approached us from behind, wanting to pass us. We moved over on the trail to give her room to pass by. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough room, and her red cart tipped over, spilling almost a full load of aluminum cans and water bottles all over the trail. She muttered some expletives under her breath, got off her bike and began collecting her recyclables. It was obvious that she was mad at us because we made her cart crash, so I quickly finished strapping Eliza's feet into the Weehoo pedals and jumped on my bike as quick as I could. I looked at Payton, wondering if she was scared, but she seemed okay. After we had pedaled a short distance away, I said "I feel kind of bad, like we caused her cart to tip over." And Payton responded, "We moved over and gave her enough room. Oh well, things like that happen sometimes." True. But I still felt kind of bad.

We continued our ride, pedaling at a nice pace. I kept asking Payton if I was going too fast or too slow, and she kept saying the pace was fine. I was impressed! We had good conversation about her love of all things summertime, mostly sleeping in! We made it to Oceanside Harbor in about 23 minutes.

Here are a few pictures of our ice cream stop at Nana and Pop-Pop's Sweet Shop. As you can see, someone got a little messy from her ice cream!

Here's our Strava summaries for the ride:

Looking back on it now, I think we could have ridden farther. I underestimated how far Payton could go. I bet we could've easily parked at Mance Buchanon Park and ridden all the way to the harbor. Oh well, maybe next time!