Nothing Like the Wheel Thing

BALBOA PENINSULA TOUR

Distance: 7.0 miles

Terrain: Flat

Riding time: 1 hour

Road conditions: Bike paths and residential streets

Traffic conditions: Light to moderate auto traffic; heavy bicycle traffic on paths

Level: Easy

On a sunny summer day, this ride is very likely Orange County’s slowest. Thousands of pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, surfers, Frisbee-tossers and sun worshipers clog the sandy oceanfront and bike/walking path along Balboa Peninsula.

If the erratic movements of walkers and cyclists aren’t distracting enough, there are plenty of head-turning goings-on over on the sand to keep you from riding in a straight line and maintaining cadence.

A good place to begin this short tour is near the foot of 32nd Street in Newport Beach, just south of where the oceanfront path begins. Ride south toward Newport Pier, one of the busiest spots along the Southern California coastline. Beyond the pier the crowds thin for a while, the beach gradually widens, and the homes fronting the path become more opulent.

You pass an elementary school with a playground smack-dab on the beach, then come to Balboa Pier/Peninsula Park, another congested tourist spot. Here you can turn away from the beach and reach, in just two blocks, the Balboa Pavilion and the ferry terminus.

The path ends about half a mile beyond Balboa Pier. Go left on F Street toward Balboa Boulevard. Turn right, then immediately veer right again on G Street to join Ocean Boulevard. Continue around the east end of the peninsula by following Ocean Boulevard, Channel Road and Balboa Boulevard. Beautiful West Jetty Park, at land’s end, overlooks Newport Bay’s entrance channel, the sparkling coast of Corona del Mar and the dangerous bodysurfing area known as the Wedge.

To return to the starting point from the east end of the peninsula, retrace your route on the oceanfront path or simply ride along Balboa Boulevard--a faster but less interesting alternative.