Active travel: San Diego

by Mollie Millington | Mar 16, 2022 | cycling, outdoors, running, travel, water sports

Have you heard a rumor that California weather is perfect year-round?  I certainly had so when I touched down in San Diego in late February of this year, I was expecting sunshine and warm temps.  There were big plans to play outside and on the water while working on my tan.  Unfortunately, the rumor is not true and winter comes to California making the air temperature cold when it is cloudy and rain showers inevitable.  Don’t get me wrong, it was still warmer and sunnier than London at this time of year.  Luckily, I never leave home without a raincoat and Gortex shoes so I was ready for this surprise (sunscreen and sunglasses were also on hand at all times, just in case).  In the end, it was a mix of weather and a mix of outdoor activities while I was in San Diego for ten days.  Most of the time was dominated by a work conference but I snuck a few fun activities in and around the jam-packed schedule.

Wildlife watching

My number one priority while on the West Coast was to go on a whale watch (closely followed by running a California race to tick the state off my list).  While spending way too much time on Instagram during Covid, I discovered Dolphin Drone Dom who runs Gone Whale Watching in San Diego. Being the marine biology nerd that I am, I have a whale species bucket list (currently, North Atlantic right whale is still top of the list).  On this trip, I wanted to see gray whales, a sperm whale, and if possible, a blue whale.  Ironically, my uncle had sent me a sperm whale lapel pin as a surprise and it turned out to be a lucky totem.  Tally for the day: eight hours on the boat, one Diet Coke, one sperm whale, five gray whales, two humpbacks and hundreds of dolphins.  While it was very chilly (even before we left the dock), the sun was out for a fantastic day at sea.  The seas were fairly swelly farther out but we were able to stay closer to San Diego due to the gray whale migration patterns.

If boats aren’t your thing, La Jolla is about a 20 minute drive north of downtown San Diego.  At this time of year, the resident sea lions and seals have pups.  Because of this, the beaches are closed to allow the animals some peace and quiet.  Unfortunately, people still climb over barriers and approach these animals for a selfie.  It is very important to stay at least 50 feet from marine mammals, so please enjoy them from afar and bring binoculars.  Babies can be crushed if animals are scared into the water.  In addition, sea lions and seals can spend up to half of their time on land so it is perfectly normal for them to dry out while on land.

For the kids who like to get their hands dirty, we tried tide pooling in La Jolla too but weren’t able to see many critters.  I am sure there are better places (perhaps with a smaller tide or in a more protected area).  Be sure to check the tide times before heading out to ensure you are safe.  If you know a better tidepool spot near San Diego, please leave a comment below and let me know.

Cycling

San Diego has many cycling lanes built into their roads, but I didn’t see too many people using them (electric scooters were everywhere but most people ride then on the pavement (sidewalk)).  There was a designated cycling and walking path near my hotel that ran along the Metro line towards Mission Bay.  San Diego was a much smaller city than I thought it would be.  Everything was within a 10-20 minute drive.  With the infrastructure already there, I hope that more people will start cycling in the city as it is much more ecofriendly and helps you stay fit too.  My friend, Haley, and I rented bikes at Stay Classy Bike Rentals.  If we had planned a bit more ahead, they would have dropped the bikes off at our hotel and collected them too.  In stead, we drove to their shop where Haley picked up her fancy road bike.  I opted for a commuter bike because I can never reach the brakes on road bikes.  We road about 10 minutes from the bike shop before we reached the promenade along the bay.  Haley was happy to take it easy on me, so we kept a casual pace weaving amongst the tourists, stopping whenever we saw something cool.

While in San Diego, I also attended my first spin class since March 2020.  Up until the pandemic, I was an indoor cycling instructor and taught weekly classes at my local gym.  When the gyms closed up during lockdown, not all were able to open again, including my local one.  I discovered Cyclebar Hillcrest while buying some groceries for my long stay.  It was a short drive from my hotel and the studio offers a $10 introductory class.  The class reminded me why I love indoor cycling so much.  The music.  The energy. The people.  The lovely personalized welcome note on my bike.  This was exactly what I needed to get me out of my fitness slump.  Unfortunately, I unceremoniously fell off my bike at the end of class to stretch, which left me with a huge bruise on my arm.  This became a big talking point as the week went on and the bruise further developed its colors.  I am refusing to believe this is an omen of some sort and am actively looking for studio positions back in London.

Running

Not only were there lots of parks and paths in San Diego and along the coast, but I found there were lots of races to sign up for too.  Initially, I was going to sign up for the T9 Mermaid Series Half because of the mermaid theme (omg the medal was gorgeous!), but it clashed with my daylong whale watch.  The Mermaid Series is about inspire women from all backgrounds (men are allowed to join the races too) to experience joy as they cross the finish line.  Accomplishing the goal of completing a race will hopefully inspire participants to pursue new goals in fitness and in other areas of their life.  If I ever get back to California, I am going to check their race schedule before booking flights.

If you want a race series that is more about trails and PBs, I recommend Endurance Race Series (ERS).  They are now sponsored by Salomon (congrats guys!), and have events that offer a range of terrain, distances, and locations in Colorado and San Diego.  They kindly offered me a spot in their Coast to Crest 5K trail race #gifted on the day I was due to fly home to the UK. Unfortunately, it rained heavily two days before the race, so the event was postponed by a week to let the trails dry out and avoid long term damage.  ERS gave me the option to go virtual, so I did.  Originally, I was going to run around Fiesta Island but was worried that my little rental car would get stuck in the mud.  Instead, I drove to the Mission Bay area and wound my way through some parking lots and along the shore to hit my 3.1 miles.  Having looked at the social media posts about the postponed event, it looked like a perfect day for a run (check back next week for a race report).

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list for stay active while in San Diego and California.  Surfing, kayaking, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, and even hot air ballooning are within two hours drive. There is roller skating, skate boarding, beach volleyball, golfing, rock climbing and more.  I even managed walking over 4.5 miles at the San Diego Zoo.   If spectating is more your jam, there are many amateur and professional sports teams located in San Diego.

Clearly, I need to visit San Diego again and explore the outdoors a bit more with a few other activities (and hopefully run another race with ERS).  What’s your favorite way to spend time outside in San Diego?