Otay Lakes Ride

Since we are so far south of Solana Beach, I've tried to do some of the southern and eastern routes I don't often get to. I've done a few rides into the Eastlake - Otay area, and thought I would take another shot at seeing the Olympic Training Center. After all, 2008 is almost here, and if everyone else is busted for doping, they may get down to my skill level...

I'm becoming a bit suspicious about Google maps and their interpretation of roads. Sara and I got snagged by them a few months ago trying to get to Dave and Linda's place in Valley Center (mapped road becomes private road with gate...), and they have taken a few other liberties with the term "pavement".


Anyhow, I mapped out a nifty route to go out Proctor Valley Road, only to be confronted by this nasty circumstance about a mile into it. Having been down here a few times and remembering the look of the map, I decided to do a reset and try to find a different way to get around the area.

Otay Lakes is just really nice. Beautiful terrain, not too many cars. Unfortunately, there is also not much shoulder on Otay Lakes Road, so after a few miles in that direction, I headed back to a shortcut I had discovered.

This route brought me to the Olympic Training Center, where I was welcomed (in my Team THAAD jersey) by the local official, who took this commemorative foto. The bad news is you can't ride around in there, so this was the extent of my Olympic experience.

On the way back, I found this artfully decorated dam, part of the system that created the Otay Lakes playpen. Not sure about the dip in the middle, though. All in all, a good day on the bike, nice roads, no flats.