Coronado Riding - and the Bridge.

I hear a lot of buzz about "The Strand" and riding in Coronado. Whats it all about? What makes it such good fixed gear riding territory?

I've been to Hollands - is that street the strand, or is there a boardwalk type of strand.

Also - does anyoen know if bicycles are allowed to ride over the Coronado Bridge - I didnt catch any No Bikes signs on my drive over. I would love to ride over to Coronado from Hillcrest and check it out.....

Thanks - PB

The strand is the long stretch of highway that connects Coronado to Imperial Beach. If you're at Holland's, then the strand would be directly south of there, if you follow Orange Ave.

Coronado, in general, is a nice place to ride your bike, because the community there is a lot more accepting of cyclists than others in San Diego. The cars won't honk at you or try to pass you in the same lane.

I don't think bicycles are allowed on the bridge, though that would be awesome.

EDIT: forgot to add that the strand is a great place to ride, because there's a dedicated bike path along the entire stretch.

Coronado is a fun place to ride. The bike path down the peninsula is nice - long, flat, and mostly uninterrupted. Also the general area on Coronado proper is just a nice pretty place to be on a sunny day - especially if you don't have to drive through and find parking along with all the other people who do.

My fiance and I like to take the ferry that goes from embarcadero area of downtown to Coronado and back. There's also one that leaves from near the convention center, but it doesn't leave as often and we haven't ever tried it. It's about 14 bucks round trip I think, so it's not super cheap, but its a nice way to get over there to ride around and enjoy the atmosphere. Some times the ferry is packed with bikes. We've done it twice - the first time actually had a big bike rack in the middle of the ferry, and about half of the people were families with bikes heading over. The second time for some reason had neither a ton of bikes nor a bike rack, but there was plenty of space.

I don't think bikes or pedestrians are allowed on the bridge, from what I can see. It's pretty much a freeway at that point and there doesn't appear to be any sort of sidewalk or non-65mph lane way to get across. That's kind of a shame, and says a lot about our car culture that, aside from paying for a ferry or going all the way around the bottom of the bay, there's no way besides driving to get across the bay, even when we've built a bridge. Riding that bridge would be an amazing ride - the view is awesome.

Hmm, speaking of views, maybe we ought to organize a ride out to Cabrillo Monument some time. Although it might be cheaper to drive in... from what I recall, the entrance fee for cars vs bikes meant it actually cost more for two bikes than for one car with two people with two bikes on the roof.... kind of lame.

mattamatta wrote:

Coronado is a fun place to ride. The bike path down the peninsula is nice - long, flat, and mostly uninterrupted. Also the general area on Coronado proper is just a nice pretty place to be on a sunny day - especially if you don't have to drive through and find parking along with all the other people who do.

My fiance and I like to take the ferry that goes from embarcadero area of downtown to Coronado and back. There's also one that leaves from near the convention center, but it doesn't leave as often and we haven't ever tried it. It's about 14 bucks round trip I think, so it's not super cheap, but its a nice way to get over there to ride around and enjoy the atmosphere. Some times the ferry is packed with bikes. We've done it twice - the first time actually had a big bike rack in the middle of the ferry, and about half of the people were families with bikes heading over. The second time for some reason had neither a ton of bikes nor a bike rack, but there was plenty of space.

I don't think bikes or pedestrians are allowed on the bridge, from what I can see. It's pretty much a freeway at that point and there doesn't appear to be any sort of sidewalk or non-65mph lane way to get across. That's kind of a shame, and says a lot about our car culture that, aside from paying for a ferry or going all the way around the bottom of the bay, there's no way besides driving to get across the bay, even when we've built a bridge. Riding that bridge would be an amazing ride - the view is awesome.

Hmm, speaking of views, maybe we ought to organize a ride out to Cabrillo Monument some time. Although it might be cheaper to drive in... from what I recall, the entrance fee for cars vs bikes meant it actually cost more for two bikes than for one car with two people with two bikes on the roof.... kind of lame.

Me and a couple friends biked around Cabrillo maybe an hour or half an hour before they closed and didnt charge us. Maybe we got lucky, or maybe they just don't care to charge anymore since it was going to close soon anyway.

jeffshmeff wrote:

Me and a couple friends biked around Cabrillo maybe an hour or half an hour before they closed and didnt charge us. Maybe we got lucky, or maybe they just don't care to charge anymore since it was going to close soon anyway.

Hmm, good to know. I just thought it was funny when looking at the sign about prices for cars and bike, and thinking it wierd that it could be cheaper if you take your car too and put the bikes on the roof to drive in.