Good news: PCH in south Carlsbad is being resurfaced today.

Good, my bribe of high powered city officials did the trick.


(disclaimer: joke)

OK...the "Chips & Salsa" route is more or less official.

Rose and I are going to catch the train from Irvine to Oceanside and try to get the timing right so we can hook up with the group for lunch in Solana Beach. We'll ride to San Diego from there and catch the train back to Irvine. I think the total mileage will be just over 40.

Anyone looking for a shorter ride is welcome to join.

Sounds good. BUT....(hope this doesn't mess things up).

Last year the lunch was later in the ride than many people (myself included) expected. This was due, in part, to the mileage on the route slip being a bit off.

Options:

1. We still shoot for lunch in Solana Beach, knowing that it's about 75 miles into the ride. If people know this, they can be prepared by eating more along the way.

2. Eat lunch earlier in the ride (say, in Oceanside).

Any thoughts? My inclination is option #1, but I'm flexible.

My inclination is option #1, too.

#1.

It doesn't mess us up at all. We can make either way work.

#1 for me too.

Anyone that prefers #2?

OK. #1 it is. Perfect.

#1 is perfect, I was dieing for food all day last yr.

Note that #1 calls for doing the same thing this year as last....

yah but if we stop in oside, I won't want to ride any farther due to food coma

In

Dan,

Do you have room for one more bike?

Ian in SD

Nice. I'll add you to the list.

I think so. In a minivan we should be able to fit in 4 bikes with front wheels removed in the back and still have 4 seats.

Count Ian in too?

OP updated with lunch info.

Im in. Anyone riding or driving from pasadena or glendale area? What train are you guys planning to make on the way back?

Good deal. I'll add you to the list.

Not sure what train we'll make. Looks like there's one at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:20pm. Would be nice to make one on the early side, since there is a Chargers home game (lots of football fans will board at the Old Town station, one station north of the San Diego (downtown) station where we're boarding).

The good news is if we have 10 or more riders (or something like that) we can get a group fare -- saving each person a couple bucks.

NFL.com says the game starts at 2:15PM... that means that we should be in the clear for the train ride if we get on at the 3 or 4PM options... the 5:20 option means that we will have tons of fans boarding at the next station...

We will want to ask about having the bikes put into the cargo car instead of leaving them in the normal spots...

Good idea.

Last time the game didn't create huge problems. Hopefully we can make it by 4pm.

** Post-ride dinner suggestion added to OP **

So where is the route slip?

Route slip added to OP. Note that it's dated 2006. I'm too lazy to change the date.

Also, note one tricky turn that flummoxed us a bit last year. It's the right turn onto bike path at mile 94.5. It's easy to miss that quick right turn onto the bike path.

Finally, a word of caution regarding the mileage. The overall ride mileage is correct, but there are legs that are a bit off. The thing is the distance to the lunch stop is underestimated -- it's really around mile 78.