Coffeeneuring Ride No. 3: Brickyard Coffee & Tea (San Diego, CA)

Where: Brickyard Coffee & Tea

• Address: 675 W G St., San Diego, CA
• Website: https://www.facebook.com/Brickyard.Coffee.Tea
• Bike friendliness: Didn't find any nearby bike racks, though the outdoor seating allowed people to keep their bikes with them (as I saw one patron do), and one of the staff kept a bike in the back. I was able to lock up to a lone parking meter.
• Other notable information: Open daily from 6am to 2pm. The 2pm closing time is weird to me, though I remember seeing this in one neighborhood when I was visiting Baltimore. The vast majority of the coffee shops in my life have been open at least until the evening.

Date: Sunday, October 19, 2014

Drink: Latte

Total Mileage: ~5.5 miles overvall (~3.9 meandering miles from The Bike Revolution to Little Italy to Brickyard Coffee & Tea)

Photo Verification:

Also easily accessible by the Green Line. In fact, I found the place
because I saw it while I was passing by on the way to my conference

Ride Notes:

I knew I was going to be in San Diego for a conference over one of the coffeeneuring weekends, so I considered bringing my Brompton with me. However, I decided against it because I had never traveled with my bike, and successfully managing it seemed to depend on the airport/TSA agents/airline/staff. I also wasn't sure if it would be worth the attempt since I didn't really know if San Diego was bike friendly. 

Of course, within five minutes of leaving the airport I saw that there were bike lanes and people riding around on bikes! I had been looking into bike rentals anyway, and I knew I would have Sunday afternoon off, so coffeenuering seemed like the best excuse to see some of San Diego by bike.

There were several rental shops in the area, including one a couple of blocks from my hotel in Little Italy. I went with one in the Gaslamp District because they purported to offer commuter/hybrid bikes (online they advertise the Giant Cypress), and sent you off with a helmet, patch kit, and U-lock. These things were all true in theory, but I have to say that they didn't set me up with the best bike, nor did they do anything about checking the fit of the bike. I think they gave me the "small" of whatever bike I did end up with, but it just seemed like the wheels were too big while the seat was too low. I was able to raise the seat, but for some reason I was having a really hard time getting my leg around and get off the bike. (I usually ride a step-through, but even when I take out D's road bike, I don't have this issue.)

I am a good bike renter, I lock the frame and the front wheel

That said, getting around on almost any bike is better than no bike at all, and it was still worth it. I got the bike and started tooling around the Gaslamp District, then tried to figure out the best way to get to the waterfront area where I had walked earlier in the week. I took part of some protected lane (see below), ended up by the waterfront area that wasn't actually accessible by bike, gave up and did some transportation cycling, then finally found the waterfront path again. This experience reminded me that I don't actually like multi-use paths that involve dodging walkers/joggers.

I did eventually get to Little Italy, stopped to get some lunch, then proceeded to my coffee shop of choice, Brickyard Coffee and Tea by the Seaport Village stop on the Green Line trolley. I had seen it as I was passing by on my way to the conference center, and thought it looked interesting. Lucky for me I made it right before closing, which I wasn't anticipating because what coffee shop closes at 2pm?? But the outdoor seating remained open, so I got my latte, took a seat, and watched the trains go by.

Route Notes:

My ride may not have been very long, but it was circuitous, and I got to try bikes paths, lanes, shared paths, and shared road in the process. The best option was probably this:

I just followed some other dude on a bike and ended up on this path
(runs alongside the Trolley for a few stops)

The path was completely protected, though every few blocks it was interrupted by an intersection that requires a biker to go around some bollards and cross some tracks? I wasn't completely sure what was going on. It also didn't go very long, but it was a reasonable stretch from the conference area to my hotel. 

In my meanderings I also found that there was a very easy way to get from my hotel to the conference area by taking a shared road. It wasn't too busy for a Sunday afternoon, though I did have one hairy moment with a bus driver who went around me and then didn't pay as close attention when trying to change back into my lane.  Still, it's good to know possible routes in the future, as San Diego seems to be a popular conference destination given the easily accessible airport and the huge conference center--it seems inevitable that I will find myself there again for work. What I would do differently next time:

• Stay at the Kimpton hotel in Little Italy, because they have bikes available for guests to use. In fact, I think I saw one parked at the convention center (red Public Bikes mixte with white wheels); or
• Bring my Brompton.

Observation: It feels unusual to be a vehicular cyclist while wearing a poofy linen skirt.