Banker’s Hill is a hilly, pretty neighborhood just North of Downtown San Diego and to the West of Balboa Park. It has a wide variety of old mansions, new condos, restaurants, churches, and everything in between. It has a quiet vibe but I would guess this will shift in the next couple of years as there are quite a few new housing units being built and one would expect supporting businesses – more coffee shops and restaurants, gyms, professional offices, etc. – to open to cater to the new residents.
I’m often in Banker’s Hill and have established a route I like to walk or run that has a good mix of nature trails in canyons, park space, and residential areas. I typically put a podcast on my phone and then go out for a break from work and listen to something interesting. I wanted to share my route with others that might be interested in exploring Banker’s Hill a bit more.
Here’s a map of the route I generally take although I frequently shift portions of the route. Start just East of the intersection of 6th & Laurel at the statue of Kate Sessions. Head north on one of the sidewalks (or walk on the grass) through the western portion of Balboa Park to Spruce Street and head West. This will bring you to the Spruce Street Bridge which you can cross and then take the meandering Curlew Street down to the bottom of Maple Canyon, which you can use to complete the loop and then cross the Quince Street Bridge to finish up. I finished this route today at the new James Coffee location at 2870 Fourth Ave, Suite 107, San Diego, CA 92103.
Overhead map and elevation chart
Following are a few photos from today, there are also a number of wonderful buildings (new and old) to look at. Hope you enjoy the area and this route!
Kate Sessions – mother of Balboa ParkSpruce Street BridgeA photo from the Western portion of Maple CanyonThis house is mostly hidden and located in Maple Canyon. It has a great assortment of plants and a rustic look.Quince Street Bridge crossing Maple Canyon. New construction underway in background.
2017 marks the 6th Annual Ride for the River Park, benefiting the San Diego River Park Foundation (SDRPF). This 2 day, 1 night tour begins at the Pacific Ocean in the neighborhood of Ocean Beach, and follows the path of the San Diego River from the ocean to the headwaters in the mountains near Julian. This is a challenging ride of 70 miles each direction, with about a mile of elevation climb on the first day. At the end of the first day we’ll enjoy camping at Lake Cuyamaca and a beautiful night’s sleep. The return trip on Sunday, October 22 is all downhill – a well deserved easier return trip.
2017 ride map
All participants are strongly encouraged to make a donation to the SDRPF at http://sandiegoriver.org/give.html. Please also send an email to organizer John Anderson at john.patrick.anderson.com. The event organizer and volunteers will provide snacks and water along the way and a support vehicle for carrying small overnight bags and gear. Food and drink are the responsibility of each participant as is accommodation in Julian on Saturday night. Julian is a popular tourist destination so reservations are recommended as soon as possible. There are a variety of hotels and other accommodations and many options on VRBO or Airbnb. There are also nice campgrounds nearby like Heise County Park and Lake Cuyamaca**. Please note that the campgrounds are a few miles from Nickel Beer Company where we will end the first day’s ride.
This ride is challenging and is on open roads, some with fast-moving automobile traffic. We welcome participants of all skill levels but please be aware that this will be a difficult ride for those not used to elevation gains or long-distance riding (more than 50 miles). Please note that the average group pace for the first day is 10 mph and 15 mph for the second day. If you’re not comfortable with this pace for a long day’s ride please bring a friend to ride along – we don’t want to leave anyone riding alone.
Starbucks Coffee – 10406 Friars Rd, San Diego, CA 92120 (Grantville)
7-11 – 10195 Riverford Rd, Lakeside, CA 92040 (Just before Highway 67)
Iron Mountain Trailhead / Parking Lot – Intersection of Highway 67 and Poway Road
Thai Time (Lunch Stop) – 2330 Main St, Ramona, CA 92065
Dudley’s Bakery / Santa Ysabel Grocery – 30218 California 78, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
Lake Cuyamaca Campground (Finish Line!) – 15027 Highway 79, Julian, CA 92036. We’ll grill out for dinner, have some drinks at the lake and enjoy some star-gazing and conversation. I’ve reserved Campground 26 and 27 at the Chambers Park area, which has showers and nice restrooms. Capacity is 8 per site but there are additional spots that we can get the day of event if needed.
Day 2 Stops – Sunday, 10/22/2017
Breakfast – We’ll cook up some coffee and eggs and bacon at the campsite before heading off in the cool morning mist.
7-11 – 10195 Riverford Rd, Lakeside, CA 92040 (Just before Highway 67)
Mission Trails Visitors Center – 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego, CA 92119
Finish Line – Pizza Port Ocean Beach – 1956 Bacon St, San Diego, CA 92107. All are welcome (non-riders included) to enjoy some pizza and conversation at Pizza Port at end of ride, estimated arrival time is 3:30 PM on Sunday, Oct 22.
Hope you can join us for this great event and even if you can’t enjoy the ride you can support the work of the SDRPF by learning more and making a tax-deductible donation at: http://sandiegoriver.org/give.html.
We’ve had a couple of wood planter boxes in our sideyard that I made a few years ago for herbs and vegetables but have never had good luck with growing edibles. Yesterday, we decided to repurpose one as a butterfly garden, which is more in keeping with our lot flora in general and hopefully will be more successful than the tomatoes and basil were.
We went to a nursery in the Midway District of San Diego, Walter Andersen’s, which has quite a large selection and is on to the way to our favorite beach neighborhood, Ocean Beach. Our total purchase for the day was $77.49 for the following plants and one bag of bedding soil. I sprang for a couple of extra large choices rather than smaller pots, so the total cost could easily be closer to $50 for the same selections at a slightly smaller planting size.
Plant List:
Achillea Millefolium (Siren song angie)
Acelpias fascicularis (Mexican whorled milkweed)
Asclepias mix mojonnier (Milkweed)
Asclepias physocarpa (Hairy Balls / Family Jewels) – commonly named for the seed pods resemblance to the human testicle. Seriously.
All of these are butterfly friendly and pretty well suited to the San Diego climate. Some, like the cuphea and galvezia are also great for hummingbirds. Only the galvezia is a “true” California native plant but the asclepias mix is probably the most common milkweed you’ll see in yards around town and a great monarch butterfly attractor.
Wanted to share this project and plant selections in case others would like to easily add some habitat for butterflies at their own home. Cheers!
Mission Trails Regional Park is an amazing San Diego asset. It covers 7,220 acres and is located near Downtown and urban areas like North Park, Mission Valley, La Mesa, and others. There are a wide variety of activities available – running, rock climbing, bike riding, hiking, and more. To encourage more people to explore some of the less visited areas of the park the 5 Peak Challenge was officially launched on November 7, 2015 although it had been an unofficial challenge in the hiking community prior to that launch.
Cowles Mountain is the most popular hike in the park and has a constant flow of people. I had done Cowles a dozen or more times in the past 5 years and the Fortunas once or twice but had never been to Pyles or Kwaay Paay prior to attempting the 5 Peak Challenge. You don’t have to do all the peaks on one day and it’s probably not advised but a friend had told me about doing the challenge in under hours so I decided to make that my goal.
Using the park map (below, click for pdf copy) I decided the shortest total route from the Visitors Center would be: South Fortuna, North Fortuna, Kwaay Paay, Cowles Mountain, Pyles Peak. I hopped on my bike in North Park and about 35 minutes later was at the Visitors Center and ready to go.
I used the Strava app to record the time, elevation gain, distance, and route for my 5 Peak Challenge. Including a few breaks for lunch and to register the kids for swimming lessons it took a total elapsed time of 4 hours and 57 minutes. I was scrambling up Pyles Peak to get under the 5 hour mark but managed to do it. I hiked at a moderate pace for the most part but did jog some of the descents and a bit of the Junipero Serra Trail that is a flat, paved road from the Old Dam to the Visitors Center. I also rode my bike from the Visitors Center to the Cowles Mountain base after the first 3 peaks.
I didn’t include any scenery shots on this post, other than the background on the selfies at bottom, which are required to officially complete the challenge and submit for a certificate. If you haven’t been, Missions Trails Regional Park is basically Southern California natural scrub habitat – some trees in the low lying areas but primarily short bushes and shrubs. The peaks provide wonderful views in every direction, from Mexico to the Pacific to inland mountains to the east. The day I hiked was overcast so the view distances were greatly reduced but I was grateful for the less intense sun and heat.
I’d highly recommend doing the 5 Peak Challenge or simply visiting the park to have a picnic or go for a casual hike up one of the peaks. It’s a great asset to the region and one well loved by many.
My daughter Eva is currently in Kindergarten and we recently had an event in her classroom where all the kids got to read a book they had created to a group of parents. I really enjoyed Eva’s book and wanted to post it here so that family could see it (and of course for the eventual inclusion on her college applications as a sign of prodigious intellect).
A few years ago when I started biking to work it was primarily due to a desire to improve my fitness. I was working a lot of hours and found it difficult to find time to get to the gym. I figured that a little moderate exercise (like walking) to start and end the day would be a good way to ensure at least a nominal amount of physical activity each day.
I’ve continued to bike since that first trial and now bike for most of my daily tasks – groceries, meetings, work, etc. I’ve been pondering the exercise impact of the biking I do and wanted to do a rough estimate.
This online calculator is pretty handy to ballpark the calories burned biking. There are many others but the few I tried out gave similar results.
For a typical 3 mile ride in the city I burn about 200 calories so a round-trip would yield 400 calories burned. For a daily commute and with 2 weeks off for vacation that’d be an even 100,000 calories in a year.
If you’re looking for a way to get a bit of exercise each day, trying out bike commuting might be worth a try. Bonus: it’s really fun.
Recent used bike purchase – hybrid mountain bike purchased for $90.
CORRECTION: After posting this I received feedback from a couple of people with more knowledge than I that calculators like the one used above overestimate the calories burned biking by quite a bit. Per their estimates, including a tracked ride, the rate per mile for biking should be around 25 calories.
Based on this number, the total for the 3 mile ride, 6 miles round trip would yield a total of 150 calories burned and an annual total of 37,500 (not 100,000).
I’m leaving the original post and this edit in case others have a similar issue regarding online calculators for this purpose.
This weekend, Oct 1 & 2, 2016 – hope to see you there! Sign up via following link and please pass on to anyone that might be interested in having a great time this weekend.
2016 marks the 5th Annual Ride for the River Park, benefiting the San Diego River Park Foundation (SDRPF). This 2 day, 1 night tour begins at the Pacific Ocean in the neighborhood of Ocean Beach, and follows the path of the San Diego River from the ocean to the headwaters in the mountains near Julian. This is a challenging ride of 70 miles each direction, with about a mile of elevation climb on the first day. At the summit in Julian we’ll enjoy dinner and craft beers at Nickel Beer Company. The return trip on Sunday, October 2 is all downhill – a well deserved easier return trip.
Registration cost is a $30 donation to the River Park Foundation but please feel free to make a larger donation if you’d like! The event organizer and volunteers will provide snacks and water along the way and a support vehicle for carrying small overnight bags and gear. Food and drink are the responsibility of each participant as is accommodation in Julian on Saturday night. Julian is a popular tourist destination so reservations are recommended as soon as possible. There are a variety of hotels and other accommodations and many options on VRBO or Airbnb. There are also nice campgrounds nearby like Heise County Park and Lake Cuyamaca. Please note that the campgrounds are a few miles from Nickel Beer Company where we will end the first day’s ride.
This ride is challenging and is on open roads, some with fast-moving automobile traffic. We welcome participants of all skill levels but please be aware that this will be a difficult ride for those not used to elevation gains or long-distance riding (more than 50 miles). Please note that the average group pace for the first day is 10 mph and 15 mph for the second day. If you’re not comfortable with this pace for a long day’s ride please bring a friend to ride along – we don’t want to leave anyone riding alone.
Notes and Itinerary:
Ground Rules
Show up early so we can depart on time – we roll out at 7 AM on Saturday, 10/1/2016
Bring needed gear – sunscreen, helmet (if you want), lights, spare tire tubes, WATER, bicycle, human body, snacks, cash, phone. If you have clothes, camping gear, etc. you can put in support van to take for you.
Book your accommodations in Julian in advance of the event or secure a camping site at Cuyamaca
Great attitude, smiles, be ready for a great time!
Route Map – Click image for dynamic Google Maps version.
Day 1 Stops – Saturday, 10/1/2016
Starbucks Coffee – 10406 Friars Rd, San Diego, CA 92120 (Grantville)
7-11 – 10195 Riverford Rd, Lakeside, CA 92040 (Just before Highway 67)
Thai Time (Lunch Stop) – 2330 Main St, Ramona, CA 92065
Dudley’s Bakery / Santa Ysabel Grocery – 30218 California 78, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
Nickel Beer Company (Finish Line!) – 1485 Hollow Glen Rd, Julian, CA 92036. All are welcome (non-riders included) to enjoy a pint at Nickel Beer Company from 6-8 PM with a portion of each sale going to the River Park Foundation.
Day 2 Stops – Sunday, 10/2/2015
Breakfast – Location TBD – Alpine, CA 91901
7-11 – 10195 Riverford Rd, Lakeside, CA 92040 (Just before Highway 67)
Mission Trails Visitors Center – 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego, CA 92119
Finish Line – Mike Hess Brewing (Ocean Beach Tasting Room) – 4893 Suite A Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107. All are welcome (non-riders included) to enjoy a pint at Mike Hess Brewing at end of ride, estimated arrival time is 3:30 PM on Sunday, Oct 2.
Hope you can join us for this great event and even if you can’t enjoy the ride you can support the work of the SDRPF by learning more and making a tax-deductible donation at: http://sandiegoriver.org/give.html.
Here’s a horoscope for everyone Aquarius, you’re gonna die Capricorn, you’re gonna die Gemini, you’re gonna die twice Leo, you’re gonna die Scorpio, you’re gonna die f**king
Happy birthday (to me)! Amid the well wishes of friends, family, and strangers – and thanks to all for the kind words – a birthday ever makes me contemplate death, what the point of life is, etc. As Chris Rock excellently reminds in his classic “No Sex in the Champagne Room” we’re gonna die. No need to be sad about it, and no need to try to hide from it. Death comes for us all – some earlier than others.
I’ve been very fortunate in many ways in life, most of which were in no way in my control – family, health, luck / fate. Celebrating my birthday makes me feel self conscious and guilty. I have received far more than my fair share, I scarcely need another reason to celebrate. So I try to refocus and remember to be grateful and to think and work for a better world. It’s an effort that will never end – learning, adjusting, striving – and good to take a moment to take a fresh look and re-energize for the next year.
Whether you read this today or at some point in the unknown future I hope you’ll also take a moment to count your blessings and contemplate the larger world and how we can move toward a better future. Humans have had a really good few hundred years and I’m confident we’ll continue to progress and create a better world. Cheers to the work before us today, and to the many (or few) days to come.
Going for a run on a Saturday morning in San Diego is a great joy. This is an undeniably outdoor town and seeing people out enjoying the sunshine and each other while I lumber by brings a smile to my face. The past couple of Saturday mornings I’ve taken a few photos during my runs through Balboa Park and wanted to post them here.
I hope you enjoy your Saturday mornings as well, and sharing and enjoying the beautiful place in which we live.
Lawn bowling area with symmetry and cool drinking waterPeople gathering and strolling along the main East-West corridor in Balboa Park museum campusCactus garden overlooking Florida Canyon, featuring dragonblood treesThe Plaza de Panama is a great place for sitting for a picnic or coffee with friends.An early morning shot (approx. 6:45 AM) with the plaza still in the glow of morning.Florida Canyon typically has a small stream flowing, supporting large trees.A view from the lower portion of the cactus garden.Along 6th Avenue is a popular area for volleyball, frisbee, baby strolling, and napping.The Museum of Art recently installed a number of sculptures on the Plaza de Panama. A terrific idea and I love this piece.The botanical building is one of the most popular place for a group photo in the park.Spring is in bloom along Park Boulevard. (This shot is a bit better than the one with lots of pavement and cars)Running the trails in Florida Canyon is a great place to enjoy the outdoors in the heart of the city. Thanks to SD Canyonlands for working to protect our urban open spaces.
2016 begins with San Diego looking at some pretty major changes. Downtown San Diego is experiencing a building boom and has community groups pushing for it be a walkable, bikeable city center. Awesome. The San Diego City Council recently unanimously voted to adopt a Climate Action Plan to ensure our city is a leader in moving to renewable energy and reducing emissions. The plan includes a goal to make biking 6% of commuter mode share by 2020 and 18% by 2035 (in select “Transit Priority Areas”). Currently the city is around 1% bicycle mode share. Aim high – great. Last week SANDAG held a meeting for public input regarding a bicycle / pedestrian bridge above Florida Street to connect Hillcrest and North Park. This week SANDAG holds a meeting for public comment regarding Pershing Drive and creating a high quality bike route from North Park to Downtown. Good stuff.
Biking is fun.
The tough bit about all these goals and plans – and there are many more great projects being proposed – is in making them a reality and backing up words and PowerPoints with actions and improvements on the ground. Roadway and infrastructure projects changes happen over years, if not decades. It is not a fast nor easy process and without consistent oversight and public pressure many, if not most, changes and projects will be scrapped a few years after being proprosed or passed. To see long-term, meaningful progress in making San Diego a world-leader for bicycling is why I support Bike San Diego.
Today I doubled my existing monthly contribution to the organization and I hope you’ll join me and make a recurring donation today.
I have found no organization in San Diego that more strongly and consistently is pushing for real, positive change on our roadways than Bike San Diego. If you want representation at public meetings, in meetings with elected officials and community groups, and ongoing leadership on the public stage I think you’ll find the same.
2015 was a tough year for biking in San Diego. The SANDAG Regional Bikeway Projects, announced in September 2013 with $200 million of funding, have yet to paint a single foot of bike lane more than 2 years later. The first project under this program, in Uptown, had the most critical portion – an East-West connection from Mission Hills to North Park – gutted despite many hours of meetings, and input from the communities to be improved. I attended many of the meetings for this project, and for a paired project in North Park, and have since wondered why I spent so much time, stress, and effort to see a unanimous vote against bike lanes by the Uptown Planners group. It has left me pondering if my time would be better spent elsewhere – if the “public outreach meetings” seem intentionally designed to give cover to the pre-ordained outcome as being community supported perhaps attendance is even counter-productive. Across the bay Coronado was widely panned for ludicrous commentary regarding bike lanes (video below).
My solace comes from the growing bicycling community in San Diego, and the support and leadership shown by Bike San Diego. We may have lost University Avenue (for now) but we showed up, spoke up, and connected. At the next set of meetings we’ll be bigger, louder, and more insistent on the outcome of public meetings truly reflecting the content of those meetings. When 70% of meeting testimony is strongly in support of a project the outcome should not be unanimous in the other direction. Such disrepect for the public can stand temporarily but over time will not.
Biking is critical to the future of San Diego, if we desire to be a city succeeding in the future. Look at world-class cities like London, Paris, New York City, Vancouver, Copenhagen, and others – they are embracing biking and walking and reaping immense economic rewards. The backwaters are not those that walk and bike – they are those that are tripling down on freeways and levelling neighborhoods to pave even more. Would San Francisco be more successful if four freeways were rammed through it or was the city right to demolish the freeway that long blighted the famed waterfront on the bay?
San Diego has no excuse to not be a world-leader in biking. We have the best weather in the United States. We stand to benefit economically, socially, and in health from increased levels of biking (and decreased levels of driving). We are a major city and should stop pretending we’re a congolmeration of suburbs with a mall as a city center. We need to get serious about real change on the ground. Bike San Diego will be there every step of the way but can not do it without support.
