Going to San Diego

[Artkansas]

Siggraph is a major computer graphics conference August 5-9. I finally got cleared to go. All the conference hotels are outrageous in cost but I managed to find a place a little out of the way in Hillcrest and rented myself a hybrid bike to get around on for the duration of the conference, no rental car. :D That's the way it should be, right? ;)

[Roody]

You are so cool. You stay carfree even when you're on a business trip. You're walking the the walk and talking the talk! :)

I lived carfree in San Diego years ago. Parts of SD are real hard for walking or cycling because of the high speed roads that connect the various neighborhoods. Geographically, it's one of the largest cities in the world. In fact, I believe San Diego County is bigger than a couple states! If you stick to Hillcrest and the downtown area you should be fine. Another nice thing is that the airport is very close to downtown SD.

[Artkansas]

I don't forsee any problems. I used to live in San Diego. I wasn't car-free, but sometimes car-light. You're right, it can be a hostile place for not having a car.

I lived in Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa and Kensington. I spent 6 months even living in Hillcrest after my ex-wife moved out to the desert. So I know the area fairly well.

I can't give my self that much credit for ecological living though. After all, I am flying there. ;)

[Ekdog]

I was born and raised there, but have lived abroad for about twenty years now. Public transport was terrible when I was a kid, but there is now an efficient trolley system that covers most of the city. You can take your bike along on the trolley, and there are bike racks on some of the city buses. Hillcrest, as the name implies, is at the top of a hill. It will be smooth sailing on your way downtown, but you'll get a bit of a workout riding back to your hotel.

[Nachoman]

Enjoy the conference! See you on the road!

[Artkansas]

The conference was great. I rented a 2007 Specialized Crossroads from Bike Tours San Diego (http://www.bike-tours.com/). They were about 3 blocks from the convention center on 5th. It cost $60.00 per week and included a helmet, lock and a map. I had a helmet and had lived in San Diego for 8 years so I just took the lock. I had brought my light and blinkie along, so I attached them and started out. No sooner had I gotten on the street than the Giants/Padres game let out. Bonds had hit his record homer the day before, so crowds were thick. It snarled traffic so I was glad to be on bike.

The convention center was a different story. I asked about bike racks and personnel only knew of one rack. It was small and already on a Sunday 100% overcrowded. Staff seemed to think that there might be another rack at the other end of the building. I looked and yes, I found two racks, each larger than the one that was known. But there was a large pile of sand dumped in between the racks for some unknown reason. No construction nearby. There were 3 bicycles indentical to mine in the rack during the convention, so Bike Tours was doing business with Siggraph attendees.

Pedaling around worked great. I could sample the restaurants in the gaslamp district. I had to go with a favorite, KC Barbecue, though. I tried a Green Flash beer from the tap. I thought it must have been flavored with aloe vera, or pickles.

The second night, I met with a fellow I had met through Bike Forums. That was fun. I pedaled over to Venice Pizza House a number of miles away, and he was there. Unfortunately, Venice Pizza was closed so we had to go elsewhere.

Commuting was nice. It was about 3.5 miles between my hotel and the convention center. On the way in it was a little flat riding and then a long downhill slope to downtown. The bikes gearing and suspension made this a fun ride. In the evening, however it was a long slow climb with lots of traffic signals.

My third night, I had free. I pedaled through Balboa Park and noticed that the Velodrome was busy so I detoured there. Morley Field Dr. goes straight across Florida canyon. It was fun going down in the dark, but the hill up out of Florida canyon was very steep. The suspension of the bike crunched down with each pedal stroke making it very hard to climb. But I was rewarded at the top when I finally found the Velodrome and got to spend time just watching the races.

My fourth night was the only night I came straight back from the convention. It was my night to see the Electronic Theater so I didn't get back till late.

One of the nicest parts was just being able to get around the neighborhood near the hotel. Lots of restaurants, drug stores ect. to visit.

Thursday morning, I took my heavy luggage into town on the bus and then came back and got the bicycle. I rode it in and turned it in to Bike Tours and then walked the 3 blocks to the convention center.

That afternoon, going to the airport on the bus, one fellow from the convention noticed my helmet and allowed that he was an active bicyclist and wished he had rented a bike for the convention. I pointed out Bike Tours when we passed it.

It was fun.

[Roody]

Hey thanks for the great account of your carfree holiday. One of my dearest friends lives in S.D. Maybe it's time for a visit!

:)

[Artkansas]

One of my dearest friends lives in S.D. Maybe it's time for a visit!

:)

I agree. :)