However, I was trying to capture one of those incongruities that cyclists face on a daily basis. One of mine occurs right at the start of my commute as I ride west on Bobier Drive towards the Melrose Sprinter Station. While you may be thinking the incongruity in this first photo is "why is the Mormon Church wasting a precious natural resource by watering the sidewalk?", that was not my intent. Actually, this picture is just to note the bike lane on Bobier in the city of Vista, which is oriented to also allow curbside parking.
However, when one leaves Vista and crosses into Oceanside, the bike lane changes...abruptly. I hate being faced with the existential dilemma so early in the morning of where to change bike lanes. Oceanside is a "Bicycle Friendly Community", which you can tell by the road construction that begins as soon as you enter the city. However, while their bike lanes don't allow parking, it would be nice if they eased a cyclist over rather than absurdly launching him into the auto-type lane.
My camera batteries died after that pic, so I reloaded during the day, and being too lazy to go back across the street on the way home, I took photos on the eastbound side. Here, you see the converse: one enters Vista, and again one must change lanes--abruptly. However, in this direction, rather than being dumped into a lane of moving cars, one is dumped into a lane of parked ones, which I find much easier to avoid. Plus, existential dilemmas are easier to deal with on the way home since the pre-ride brewed beverage is usually relaxing rather than stimulating.
Finally, looking back to the west from Vista to Oceanside, one sees the construction (they're replacing a perfectly good open space with a "sports park" which will better organize "fun") and a wave of eastbound traffic about to approach the discontinuous bike lane. Perhaps they should mention this on the "Welcome to Vista" sign. Fortunately, my bike is legally parked!
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