Cycling in San Diego for Beginners
There’s no better place to be a cyclist than San Diego. Year-round good weather and a diversity of terrain offer boundless cycling adventures. However, for a beginner cyclist, or someone who is new to the area, finding safe and reliable cycling routes in San Diego can be a challenge. You likely want a route that is off of busy streets, in scenic or quiet areas, and long enough to get an adequate workout. Other online resources will offer routes that only meet one or none of those criteria, and I found myself wanting a more comprehensive guide for planning cycling routes in San Diego. Here’s what I’ve found.
Leveraging Bikeway Maps and Route Planning Resources
The best tool to plan any route whatsoever is a map. Luckily for cyclists, San Diego Association of Governments has published the San Diego Regional Bike Map which is hand’s down the most valuable cycling route planning resource. It’s a map that shows the county’s bikeway infrastructure. That’s every bike lane, bike path, and bike route in San Diego county. Check out the Resources page to learn more about the map and how to read and use it.
Using San Diego’s Geography to Inform your Cycling Routes
San Diego offers cyclists a diverse range of options when it comes to the type of ride you want to have. When planning your route, choosing to bike along the coast or along river paths will give you a ride that is mostly flat and often quite scenic. If you’ve spent any time in San Diego you may have noticed that it is quite hilly and that you’re never far from a steep canyon or a high hill. Planning routes in these areas will give you the challenge you may be seeking. The point is to be cognisant of the geography in areas you plan to ride and to let it inform your decisions.
Embracing Urban Cycling Routes on San Diego’s Protected Bike Lanes
While cycling on designated bike paths is ideal, to truly explore San Diego you will eventually have to start sharing the road with cars. Luckily, there is so much bikeway infrastructure in San Diego that the odds of being on a road without any consideration for cyclists is rare. Don’t be afraid to use bike lanes and bike routes. They offer plenty of space from cars and most motorists are polite enough to give you space. Bike lanes are also the most common and interconnected type of path in San Diego, making them a must for route planning.
Harnessing Technology for Personalized Routes
There are numerous ways that technology has improved cycling and perhaps the most profound is the introduction of Strava. Strava is the social media for exercise. What makes Strava particularly great for cyclists is that it is a crowdsourced collection of data from the users in your area. It will show you where other cyclists ride and offer popular routes and segments that you can use to help plan routes in San Diego. You can also record and share your routes with others!
Check Out The Blog Page
If you just want a done and dusted route with a map, stats, and detailed step-by-step write up, then check out my cycling route blog where I do just that.