I hope some of you North County slow twitchers can help me out here. I am spending a week in a rented beach house in Carlsbad this month. I would like to get in a bit of training while down there (if my wife doesn’t kill me first). Is the PCH safe to ride on around there? Where would you recommend for a short ride (< 2 hours) that I don’t have to drive to? Also do I need to bring a wetsuit to swim in or is the water plenty warm in Aug without one? Along those lines is the area around Tamarack Beach ok to swim at? I am thinking of just heading out past surf line and swimming along shore line. Are there problems with boats or jet skis in the area? What tri shops should I visit down there (Nytro, B & L)?
One last question…this one for my two boys (ages 7 & 9): Sea World or SD Zoo?
Just ride up and down the PCH, you’ll be right there and can easily get a two hour ride. Head South and you can climb Torrey Pines, La Jolla Shores and Soledad Road.
Bring a wetsuit if you don’t like cold water. A lot of people are swimming at the cove w/o wetsuites but I’m not sure I could handle it. I’d swim a the Cove or at Fletcher Park in Solana Beach - lots of people swimming there.
PCH is fine to ride on, a bit busy on weekends though. There is a bike lane both directions running south from Carlsbad all the way into San Diego. Worth doing once, and the ride will go right by both Nytro and B&L as well as several other smaller bike shops like Bike 101 which is a couple of doors north of B&L. It’s a nice easy ride, some small rollers. The real riding takes place inland though. There are several group rides, probably the easiest to get to without driving would be the Celo Pacific ride that leaves from the Grand Deli in downtown Carlsbad at 8:30 on Saturday mornings, about 50 miles inland with a couple of the shorter (3 miles and less) climbs. Decent pace and a couple of regrouping stops.
You can swim at Tamarack Beach, although I don’t like too. No Jetskis there or boats, but plenty of surfers. It is supposedly a surf beach (meaning no swimming) but we have never been hassled about going swimming as we usually go past the surfers and head south. I prefer to swim further south at Flethers Cove in Solona Beach (group swim at 7am on Fridays) or Del Mar (group swim at 8am Sundays). There are also group swims at LaJolla Cove just about every night during the week with the big group swim (about 50 people) on Friday nights at 6pm. BTW, I had my first ever shark sighting two weeks ago at the cove, I swam over two 3 foot long leopard sharks swimming along the bottom while I was in about 4 feet of water.
Lived in San Diego for 143 years…now in chiagao.used to do a lot of rides between Del Mar and Oceanside. This is on highway 101 which is the highway right next to the Ocean and next to Carlsbad. Soo…if you have limited time and don’t mind riding back and forth a bit you can do Carlsbad up to Oceanside, then return to Del Mar and back to Carlsbad. Of course you can go into Oceanside but be careful…close to Camp Pendleton and can get dicey with cars. Highway 101 is also used heavily so stay well to the side. For swimming, however, I would recommend driving into La Jolla and swimming at La Jolla Cove…its right on the heart of La Jolla, beautiful area, great shops and restaurants…The shops are touristy so beware of high prices. The restaurants are elegant as in George’s but also have bars which are more casual and even the hard rock cafe. There is a great sushi place there too…trying to remember the name. The reason I recommend La Jolla cove is the conditions are usually pretty good and there is a life guard right there and can talk with them about local conditions. Also, very very rare to get a rip current at La Jolla cove.Whereas at some of the other beaches rips may form and if you’re not used to open ocean swimming then I wouldn’t recommend Tamarack beach or what have you. La Jolla Cove has its share of waves etc but its usually not too bad. Also, there are marker buoys out there and you can also see the beach area across from the cove which is swimmable. And also see Scripps Pier as well. The marker buoys if still there were marked out at 1/4 mile. 1/2 mile and full mile…and if you want more swimming you can swim to Scripps Pier which makes it at leasst 2.5 miles give or take.
Pretty nice beach at the cove so your wife can hang at the beach, while you swim and then take a walk further down to the Children’s Pool and check out the seals. Used to be able to swim there but no more. Closed to swimming etc. Also seals are protected. Used to SCUBA dive those areas a lot so know em very very well.
Is the PCH safe to ride on around there? Where would you recommend for a short ride (< 2 hours) that I don’t have to drive to?
**I’d get on the PCH and ride between LaCosta Ave and Tamarack Ave. This is basically the carlsbad tri course but you would probably have to loop it 4 times to get in a 2 hour ride. **
You could also keep going south past LaCosta and head down to Torrey pines (get in a decent hill climb!) and then come back which should be around 30-35 miles ? You have to go through some crowded areas but plenty of people ride through every day on this route.
Also do I need to bring a wetsuit to swim in or is the water plenty warm in Aug without one?
**Water temp has been 65-70 … **
Along those lines is the area around Tamarack Beach ok to swim at? I am thinking of just heading out past surf line and swimming along shore line. Are there problems with boats or jet skis in the area?
That’s not my favorite place to swim. When it’s calm it’s great but for I’ve had a few experiences with rough conditions at that beach. I’m not sure if it’s the reef or some other factor but the waves and currents can be rough… There are also inlets to the lagoon just south of the beach to consider if your swimming past them… The beach south of tamarack in front of the power plant seems much more calm… There are some buoys for something about a mile out that I know people swim to but I haven’t been brave enough to do it myself.
If you go down to fletcher cover in Solona Beach (loma sante fe and the PCH,maybe 10miles south of carlsbad) the tri club has 3 orange buoys in the water which I think make up a 750m loop but I’m not 100% sure on that distance.
*What tri shops should I visit down there (Nytro, B & L)? *
You’ll pass nytro and B&L if you ride down to torrey pines. I personally prefer Nytro. They matched a price on a Orca wetsuit from an online store and saved me a bundle =)
One last question…this one for my two boys (ages 7 & 9): Sea World or SD Zoo?
I’ll put a vote in for the Zoo, but I’m not sure which one kids will have more fun at.
they have swims at la jolla that you can join in on as well as solona beach… I’m not sure when you’re coming but they also have aquathons and sprint races they put on for members (I don’t think they mind people who show up for a single race even if they aren’t a member) . if you take the family with you la jolla shores is a great beach for them while you swim. La Jolla cover is in the same area which is great for snorkling and there are kayaks you can rent as well.
pch = pacific coast highway = 101 , all the same thing basically =)
everyone hit the training question with good answers -
as for your boys - both sd zoo and sea world are good - really depends on what they are into - animals that swim or land based - the zoo does have a sea lion show also - Sea World has a new rollercoaster type splash down ride. I would go for the zoo but the younger ones might like sea world - there is also Legoland right near where you will be staying – trishop? I like B&L
Don’t forget that a day at the zoo is a lot cheaper than seaworld, your talking an almost $20 difference in price. Seaworld is much more of an amusement park than the zoo so it might appeal to the kids more than the zoo, but will be a little bit less interesting to adults. I live in south Carlsbad and if you want a good 10-13 mile run you can park your car at the beach at the base of la costa ave and run North to downtown Carlsbad and then back. It is a good, almost flat, run that has a nice breeze off the ocean to keep things cool. As for rides, it is mostly flat along the coast until the torrey pines hill, which isn’t very difficult, but is about 20 miles from carlsbad. I would probably head inland to get some hills. I live off of a road named Alga which is a hill of the same caliber as the Torrey Pines hill, but a little closer to where you are staying. As for swimming I would probably swim in Solana beach or at Cardiff beach just north of the reef.
Thanks for all the great advice and ideas. This is a great help. As to question re why am I vacationing in Carlsbad, my wife grew up in Orange County and misses the beach. We live about 60 miles north of San Francisco so our coast is pretty cold. I could think of worse places to spend a week…