coiptic’s bike adventures

When I moved into my apartment, I had several goals in mind. One was to write more music. Another was to get in shape while I still could. The most urgent one, however, was to shorten my commute time. I succeeded in cutting it down from 40-60 minutes to 20-30, but even so, time spent in the car doesn't contribute much to my fitness.

A few months ago, I resolved to begin biking to work before my 26th birthday. I sold my heavy Pacific mountain bike and bought a nimble Giant TranSend W commuter bike, outfitted with a rack and lights for starters. I'll pick up some panniers, a bell, and possibly some fenders a little later.

My neighborhood has many good qualities, one of which is that it is entirely walkable, and easily bikeable. I have no problem zipping around my mostly flat neighborhood. However, my commute from Normal Heights to the tip of Point Loma has two steep hills: Balboa Park to Old Town/Midtown, and Cabrillo National Monument down to the tidepools. I guess that's what happens when you live on top of a hill and work at the seashore.

Anyway, I've scoped out a few bike routes to try:
This route passes through Normal Heights and University Heights, travels south across the 163 pedestrian/bike bridge to the Upas Street bike path, then heads west through Bankers Hill to the Harbor Drive bike path. It connects to Point Loma via Scott Street, and snakes up the hill through the Navy base to work.

This route passes through Normal Heights and University Heights, travels south across the 163 pedestrian/bike bridge to El Prado, then heads west on Laurel to the Harbor Drive bike path. It connects to Point Loma via Scott Street, and climbs up through neighborhood streets overlooking San Diego Bay to Cabrillo Monument Drive.

This route passes through Normal Heights and University Heights, travels south across the 163 pedestrian/bike bridge to Washington Street. Travelling west across Mission Hills on Fort Stockton Drive, it descends through Park Presidio to the Ocean Beach Bike Path off of Pacific Highway, then continues along the San Diego River almost to the ocean. It then cuts across Ocean Beach on Bacon Street, heads up the monstrous hill, and connects to Catalina Blvd at Coronado Street, where it continues down to the tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument. Alternately, I could follow the ocean and cross to Catalina via Hill Street.

It seems that biking adds three or four miles to my commute--by car it's approximately 13-15 miles, whereas by bike it's around 17 miles--so while I won't save time (a conservative estimate tells me that it'll take about an hour each way while I'm not in shape), I just might save my heart before it succumbs to my genes.

We shall see. I can't wait to hop on my bike.