Sunday, August 24, is your one chance this year to ride a bicycle over the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. It’s part of the 18th annual Bike The Bay event sponsored by the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.
No surprise: In 2024, the SDCBC did a survey of riders and found that 25% rode e-bikes (Class 1 and 2 are permitted). That number is expected to rise each year.
Since 2007, roughly 2,000 bikers of all ages (and calf muscle sizes) have participated each year in this fundraising ride for the SDCBC. It’s not just a jaunt over the bay. The 25-mile course begins in downtown San Diego, goes over the bridge and follows the Bayshore Bikeway south to Imperial Beach and back to downtown.
“Our motto is ‘Go slow and say hello,’” says SDCBC Executive Director Chloé Lauer. “It’s a ride, not a race, with a party at the end of the ride. We’re celebrating the joy of cycling in San Diego County.”
Lauer says she’s seen folks dressed as Mario, Luigi, Elvis and other costumed characters out riding the course. There will be dogs in backpacks and in bike trailers. And riders of all ages – though the youngest cyclists must be 10 years old, and training wheels are discouraged.
Doing Bike The Bay as a group is popular. In 2023, more than 100 members of Black Girls Do Bike participated. Every year a contingent of Friends of Major Taylor (America’s first Black cycling champion) does the ride. And more and more corporate teams are adding into the mix.
Look for tandem bikers who belong to the San Diego-based Blind Stokers Club. The rear cyclist on a tandem bike is called a stoker. Visually impaired stokers are paired with a sighted captain who pilots the bike.
Former SDCBC Executive Director Andy Hanshaw, who’s still Bike The Bay event director, has enjoyed seeing the event progress over the years. He says before it started in 2007, nobody had biked over the bay in 25 years.
“We worked through the permit system with Caltrans to go over the bridge, and the city of Coronado was helpful in getting this going,” Hanshaw says.
He says the Bayshore Bikeway has improved every year and is nearly finished. The course goes through the cities of San Diego, Coronado, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, and National City.
On the morning of the ride, cyclists start in waves, beginning at 7 a.m. The last wave leaves at 8 a.m. Helmets are required. For crossing the Coronado Bay Bridge, half the roadway is blocked off for bikes. The other half allows two-way traffic for cars.
There are three break stops along the course: Glorietta Bay Park in Coronado; Bikeway Village in Imperial Beach; and Bayside Park in Chula Vista.
Extra: For those with fat tires or anyone wanting to do some dirt-trail riding there’s an additional 8.5-mile-loop Off Road Option in the South Bay. There’s an extra registration cost.
A post-ride party is planned in Embarcadero Marina Park South (the start/finish line). There will be vendors, food trucks, a beer garden and a VIP section. A new highlight in this year’s VIP area will be bakery treats from Adore Coffee House.
For more information on the ride and to sign up for tickets, go to: Bike The Bay. SDSun
Note: The San Diego Sun is a media sponsor of this event.
