Southern California - south bay bike path

is so much better in the fall winter than summer.

You got that right. I can ride on the weekends again. :)

In the summer I avoid it completely except to cruise in to use the bathrooms. So many scofflaws use the "Bikes Only" path for walking, skating, etc.

+1 to what everyone else said. Weekends during the summer on the path is even too packed for going out for an enjoyable cruise...

I haven't ridden on the bike path in a while. Probably the only part I take is that little bridge in Marina, which usually doesn't have too much foot traffic.

The south bay bike path is best ridden early in the morning or late afternoon; mid-morning to mid afternoon should be avoided whenever possible!

I use the early morning principle... but, yikes. Some Sunday mornings, even at 5AM, there are people out mindlessly wandering around. They stare at my headlight like transfixed deer until I'm close, and then scatter like confused chickens, every which way. Fortunately there aren't many of these.

On the way home from the mountains, sometimes I just don't want to put up with the mix of skaters, walkers, fast bicyclists, slow bicyclists and bovine wanderers. So, I ride up the hill to Ocean Av... and one day almost hit a jogger who simply ran right at me.