El Cajon to Down Town

[davemw]

Can It be done as a commute on a MTB? Gas is killing me and I'd like to try riding to work a couple days a week.

Specifically I would be riding from N. Mollison Ave. to City College at the end of the 94 in downtown

Realistically how long of a ride would this be and how much of it would be road?

[bikeadict]

Yeah man, it can be done it just isn't easy... I ride from Cowels MTN area to the broadway ferry so it doable. go to mapmyride.com and try plotting a route.

[davemw]

The reason I'm asking is because I'm not to sure what the most "bike friendly" route would be. I could easily map a route that will take me on all the roads but I'm looking to find out if there are any connecting trails that I could take to cut some time off.

[bikeadict]

Sorry man, I don't know about any trails. I'd say you're best bet is buying a cheap commuter road bike and fightin the traffic. There is a good bike map floating around I'm trying to find the link..

[mealsonwheels]

Originally Posted by davemw

Can It be done as a commute on a MTB? Gas is killing me and I'd like to try riding to work a couple days a week.

Specifically I would be riding from N. Mollison Ave. to City College at the end of the 94 in downtown

Realistically how long of a ride would this be and how much of it would be road?

I rode from Santee to Sorrento Valley twice last week on a 37.5 lb Bullit, so it's possible to ride that distance. It took me 1:40 to go 21.5 miles there and almost 3 hours to ride 31 miles home through Poway.

Your route will be entirely road though...sorry. You can take University or El Cajon Blvd. but there are a lot of traffic lights. Maybe Friars is faster?

[sdyeti]

I'd try to go Mission Valley/Friars or Meade (parallel to El Cajon Blvd)...stop signs but no lights and it's a designated 'bike route'.

[ocd]

Top of my head I would say it would be ~13 miles on the shortest route (to la mesa Blvd and all the way out University or El Cajon into Balboa park and then downtown)

A few more miles if you go down to jamacha and head into town from the south( I believe this area has a bit more bike paths)

Neither of these routes are very bike friendly nor are the majority of the population along these routes, so keep that in mind.

Realistic expectations of commuting in traffic and obeying stop signs, red lights, etc is that 17MPH is a really good average, with 15MPH being more of the norm. (stop sign stop, go, red light stop, go, lady in the SUV on the phone with coffee in hand making a right turn, slow, go, gangster gangster rollin hard out of the 7 eleven at 2 mph into the bike lane, stop, go)

The highest pressure slicks you can put on your mountain bike will make a world of difference. Wear a helmet, ride cautiously, your life is more important than an extra MPH average or so.

After 2 years of long commutes (~18 mi each way) a few days a week, talking to many people on bikes along the way and personal experiences have led me to believe that there is no longer an "if" in having a bike/vehicle experience; it is more of a "when" it will happen.

Don't let that discourage you. I have seen the amount of commuters triple over the last 6 months, numbers and awareness are growing.

If you decide to commit to a couple of days a week, buying a used roadie from craigslist will improve the ride. (or I would say so)

[SnookDawg]

My riding experience is limited in La Mesa & El Cajon, but I would start with Navajo to College, head over to ECB, then down the ECB for a few blocks, cut over to Monroe through Talmadge down to 44th, cut over to Meade like SDYeti said, and take that to Park which will take you down to City College.

There really aren't any bike-friendly options. I stay away from Friars myself, if you decide to cut through Mission Valley you are much better off on Camino Del Rio N/S IMO.

The areas on Fletcher Pkwy and around SDSU will probably be the most challenging. You also have to watch for tourists through Balboa Park.

[davemw]

Thanks for all of the input guys, I'm goingto give this a shot this week. I plan to take the trolly into work in the morning and ride home. here's what i have mapped out

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...,0.085144&z=14

any better ideas? i was considering mission gorge to friars too.

Im going to take the advise to get a set of slicks for the road, lock out my shocks and raise my seat for the long ride

[dudevf1]

Don't know if there are any bike friendly paths for your route...This city is very bike unfriendly, so unless you are a tourist biking around Mission Bay they offer little in bike paths for commuting.