Cycle Eastlake Chula Vista, CA - May 18, 2003

Five skaters participated in the event: Dana Eads, Linus Harth, and me from San Diego, as well as Bob Mirabel and Elliot Gordon from Orange County. Bob Hirsch, Pat and Cathy McCormick, and Donna Davanzo joined us on their bikes. (Tara Yee biked the 25.)

A police motorcycle escorted us on the first five miles as we wound through neighborhood streets. The next five miles went along the shores of the Otay Lakes reservoir.

Leaving the reservoir on Otay Lakes Road, we travelled into rural San Diego county. The roads became just two lanes, with a shoulder that frequently disappeared. The rest of the course was open to traffic, but that was not a problem at all because of the early hour.

We turned east onto Highway 94 towards Tecate, which was also a two-lane road. The gradually rolling hills progressed into longer, moderate hills. The highest point on the ascent was a couple miles before the turn-around at Barrett Junction.

The following downhill was similar to Torrey Pines in nature, but on a winding road. Dana bombed it confidently. Bob and Elliot used a Batman-style cape to effectively control their speed. Linus and I used a combination of the cape and a cyclist to brake with no problems.

We rested for a few minutes at the fruit stand in Barrett Junction before returning. Of course, returning meant going back up the same long hill we had just descended.

The return was mostly the same as the outbound route until we reached the Eastlake community. Then we progressed through a series of turns on neighborhood streets. Unfortunately, Linus and I and a group of cyclists missed a turn. We ended up adding eight miles to our tour finding our way back to the finish. All turns were marked with signs, but in a suburban setting they were easy to miss.

Linus and I finished our 58 miles in 4:15. Dana finished well under four hours and Bob and Elliot closer to five. This was a great event which warmly welcomed skaters. Throughout the tour, we received many comments of amazement from cyclists. We look forward to next year's event.

Howard
SDSE-IR