Saturday, April 5, 2008

Redland, CA to Costa Mesa, CA. 2977 to 3039. 62 miles total.

The path along the Santa Ana River was very nice. No road crossings, and even a little remote at times. There were a lot of people on the path, not only on bikes but on roller-blades, walking dogs, and that sort of thing. I felt fairly safe on the trail.

After about 15 miles on the trail, though, there was a missing link. I had to get out on surface streets and try to follow the path of the river. This was a real challange, to say the least. I hear that the local parks authority is trying to complete this trail, and once it is completed, it will be great, but right now, I wouldn't try riding it unless you had a really good map!

I picked up the trail again at Green River Golf Course, and from this point on to Hunnington Beach, the trail was very easy to follow again.

I was hoping to camp one last time on the bike trek, but I just couldn't find a decent place to put my tent. This is a fairly urban area, and I just didn't feel safe in a tent.

I was about 3 miles away from the beach, and it was starting to get dark, so I decided that I should get off the trail and find a motel. I stayed at a Vagabond Motel about 1 mile from the bike path, and had a nice dinner.

In the room next to mine was a Travel Rep from Alaska, and he had a booth set up at a local travel expo in Costa Mesa. We had a nice time talking about travel. I'd love to go and visit Alaska some day soon.