LA to SD: The Trip of Harrison, Dorn & Kitts, 1893
Cowan and Birdsall were not the only riders to make a trip from Los Angeles to San Diego by bicycle in the early 1890s, and not everyone was interested in testing the limits of speed and time. Short bicycle "tours" were popular ways for wheelmen to spend a weekend. Most such tours have been lost in the great shuffle of time, but every so often one was immortalized by being written down and printed, or published. Such was the case of one trip made by three "Los Angeles boys" in August 1893. The account, written by D. P. Harrison who, along with his companions known only by their last names - Dorn and Kitts - left Los Angeles "one cool, foggy morning, a trio of as light-hearted and sanguine wheelmen as ever scorned a header."
From the city of angels, they rode leisurely to Pomona where they supped with D. Howeth of the Weston Hotel, "who fed us so well that Kitts found it hard to leave the place." When the three finally did get underway again, "Dorn took a most beautiful header into a ditch," but were otherwise little delayed on their run into South Riverside. Their route took them via Chino and Rincon, and included the "pleasant novelty of being blown up a 5 per cent grade by the gentle zephyrs from the Santa Ana canon."
Arriving in South Riverside at 4pm, they were waylaid by Messrs. Joy and Jameson of the land and water company, but enjoyed their courtesies for an hour, or so, before pushing on for Lake Elsinore another twenty-two miles distant. Ten miles in they arrived at Temescal where they supped "sumptuously on corned beef and soda crackers." Most of the next ten miles, between Temescal and Lucerne, were spent walking. The reason, said in one word, but with a "volume" of meaning was sand. "It is doubtful whether the sulfurous blue clouds have dispersed from that desert yet." After a final two miles of riding they arrived at Elsinore, now about three hours behind schedule. The town was described by Harrison as being "very prettily situated on Lake Elsinore."
"Having by this time accumulated the appetite of the proverbial ostrich, we, after a night's sleep, ate everything the hotel had on hand for breakfast and departed for Temecula."
Besides the interest of latter day cyclists, the value of accounts such as these have long been considered to be the glimpses the provide into land use patterns of the past, uses which in many cases, particularly in heavily populated regions, disappeared long ago. Hence: "Our route lay along smooth, hard roads through the pretty towns of Wildomar an Murrieta, surrounded by extensive grainfields, where threshers and hay balers were hard at work cleaning up the crop." At Temecula they "devoured the [usual] extensive meal, and set out again toward our destination." Between they and their destination lay Veycitas Pass. After pushing their bikes to the top, the three remounted and "slid down the grade" which they described as rockier and more strewn with boulders than any seen, "they crop out like warts on the hand of a backwoods boy, and stand like giants on the ridges and summits."
At McComber's Ranch on the San Luis Rey River the met a "brother wheelman" returning from Oceanside. Lamenting that he had found it necessary to spend half an hour taking off and putting his shoes back on after fording the river, he advised them to ride to Oceanside via Mission San Luis Rey and cross there, but when they reached the river they found it "not over 40 feet wide, and only six inches deep at best." Naturally they rode straight across as they had all other streams encountered on their journey.
san luis rey river in 1906, by J. Walter Colligne, on the Calisphere
Pushing on for Escondido, they took the advice of the postmaster at Bernards who advised them to turn into Little Moosa Canyon instead of their planned route through Big Moosa Canyon. For a while it was a fine and nice route, but then they "struck a stretch of the most beautiful sand I ever looked upon. It was lovely sand... It certainly was exquisite, from a sandy point of view" - meaning it was not good for riding through. With the sky growing dark, and being tired and hungry they asked some passing "agricultural gentlemen" how much further the road maintained its sandy condition, and were informed "eight miles." Finding a nearby farmhouse owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid who fed them well and laid them out on a "mattress laid in the lee of a haystack." They thanked their benefactors by sharing a pipe of their "Yale mixture" and fell asleep. After breakfast the next morning they were on their way by 6:00 and only then discovered that their sandy trap came to an end three hundred yards further when the road began to climb out of the canyon.
The remaining eleven miles to Escondido was a smooth roll made "under the friendly shade of live oaks and sycamores." Again, Harrison provides a short description of the land use at the time: "There are many little ranches tucked away in those mountain canons, but extensive farming territory, such as we see around Los Angeles, seems to be rich." They rode into Escondido, "the cleanest and brightest town we saw after leaving Pomona. Situated in a broad open valley and surrounded by healthy looking farms, it looks as prosperous and solid as it probably is."
There were still thirty-five miles to ride before reaching San Diego so they pushed on, only stopping once, to eat a watermelon at the Merton post office. At the mile and a half long Poway grade they again pushed their bikes up the hot ascent, reveling in the cool Pacific breeze upon reaching the summit. "Being the most reckless of riders on a grade," Harrison quickly gained a mile on his companions. Stopping to let a mule team with buckboard pass, he waited for his fellow travelers under the shade of some trees. When the other two arrived, a few minutes later, they told him how they too had moved off the road, but that the mules had become scared anyway, "spilled out the driver and his wife and tore off up the canon, scattering groceries and dry goods in their wake..." Harrison regretted "that was the only very exciting incident the trip contained and I didn't see it."
After twenty more miles of steady riding they coasted "down the track of the defunct cable road into town." Reflecting back on "two and a half days on the road, and 28 hours in the saddle, we felt like resting." The trio spent another four days living in "royal ease" in San Diego, and "shall always look back to it with pleasure."
"Having by this time accumulated the appetite of the proverbial ostrich, we, after a night's sleep, ate everything the hotel had on hand for breakfast and departed for Temecula."
Besides the interest of latter day cyclists, the value of accounts such as these have long been considered to be the glimpses the provide into land use patterns of the past, uses which in many cases, particularly in heavily populated regions, disappeared long ago. Hence: "Our route lay along smooth, hard roads through the pretty towns of Wildomar an Murrieta, surrounded by extensive grainfields, where threshers and hay balers were hard at work cleaning up the crop." At Temecula they "devoured the [usual] extensive meal, and set out again toward our destination." Between they and their destination lay Veycitas Pass. After pushing their bikes to the top, the three remounted and "slid down the grade" which they described as rockier and more strewn with boulders than any seen, "they crop out like warts on the hand of a backwoods boy, and stand like giants on the ridges and summits."
At McComber's Ranch on the San Luis Rey River the met a "brother wheelman" returning from Oceanside. Lamenting that he had found it necessary to spend half an hour taking off and putting his shoes back on after fording the river, he advised them to ride to Oceanside via Mission San Luis Rey and cross there, but when they reached the river they found it "not over 40 feet wide, and only six inches deep at best." Naturally they rode straight across as they had all other streams encountered on their journey.
Pushing on for Escondido, they took the advice of the postmaster at Bernards who advised them to turn into Little Moosa Canyon instead of their planned route through Big Moosa Canyon. For a while it was a fine and nice route, but then they "struck a stretch of the most beautiful sand I ever looked upon. It was lovely sand... It certainly was exquisite, from a sandy point of view" - meaning it was not good for riding through. With the sky growing dark, and being tired and hungry they asked some passing "agricultural gentlemen" how much further the road maintained its sandy condition, and were informed "eight miles." Finding a nearby farmhouse owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid who fed them well and laid them out on a "mattress laid in the lee of a haystack." They thanked their benefactors by sharing a pipe of their "Yale mixture" and fell asleep. After breakfast the next morning they were on their way by 6:00 and only then discovered that their sandy trap came to an end three hundred yards further when the road began to climb out of the canyon.
The remaining eleven miles to Escondido was a smooth roll made "under the friendly shade of live oaks and sycamores." Again, Harrison provides a short description of the land use at the time: "There are many little ranches tucked away in those mountain canons, but extensive farming territory, such as we see around Los Angeles, seems to be rich." They rode into Escondido, "the cleanest and brightest town we saw after leaving Pomona. Situated in a broad open valley and surrounded by healthy looking farms, it looks as prosperous and solid as it probably is."
There were still thirty-five miles to ride before reaching San Diego so they pushed on, only stopping once, to eat a watermelon at the Merton post office. At the mile and a half long Poway grade they again pushed their bikes up the hot ascent, reveling in the cool Pacific breeze upon reaching the summit. "Being the most reckless of riders on a grade," Harrison quickly gained a mile on his companions. Stopping to let a mule team with buckboard pass, he waited for his fellow travelers under the shade of some trees. When the other two arrived, a few minutes later, they told him how they too had moved off the road, but that the mules had become scared anyway, "spilled out the driver and his wife and tore off up the canon, scattering groceries and dry goods in their wake..." Harrison regretted "that was the only very exciting incident the trip contained and I didn't see it."
After twenty more miles of steady riding they coasted "down the track of the defunct cable road into town." Reflecting back on "two and a half days on the road, and 28 hours in the saddle, we felt like resting." The trio spent another four days living in "royal ease" in San Diego, and "shall always look back to it with pleasure."
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