Having grown up in central North Carolina — where 95° and 95% is a pretty typical summer day — I don't allow myself to use the word "hot" in connection with the weather here, right on the San Diego County coast. But today's unusually high temperatures and humidity were definitely approaching "hotesque".
And that meant staying as close to the water as possible on today's 17 mi ride. You can count on a cool sea breeze there between Santa Ana wind events. Such a lovely gift from the ocean on a day like this!
The only photo stop was atop the "cold water jetty" (CWJ) near my northern turnaround in Carlsbad.
The CWJ is the more northern of the 2 jetties bracketing south Tamarack Beach — the other being (what else?) the "warm water jetty" (WWJ).
Looking south, telephoto of the WWJ with the ultra-posh homes atop Terramar Head just beyond. Unfortunately for me, this jetty blocks low-tide beach rides coming from farther south.
Let me explain these odd jetty names with some satellite views. South Tamarack Beach is a narrow sand spit across the mouth of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The Coast Highway (red line) now runs its length.
The first Spanish explorers named the lagoon "stinkwater", as it was a near-stagnant salt marsh lacking a direct ocean connection at the time. The now well-flushed lagoon no longer stinks, but their Agua Hedionda put-down stuck.
The CWJ (red square) at the north end of the spit protects the strong tidal flows that connect the ocean to the main part of the outer lagoon. This tidal flushing keeps the calmer inner lagoon, a tourist favorite, clean enough for recreational use.
The WWJ at the south end of the spit connects the ocean to a relatively small holding pond that used to impound cooling water from a gas-fired powerplant once standing on this site. Careful mixing of the effluent in the pond with cold lagoon water cooled it enough to dump into the ocean via the WWJ. Not quite down to ocean temperature by then, but close.
Looking out to sea across the mouth of the CWJ. Surfers and paddleboarders often get swept into the outer lagoon here during flood tides.
Most just give up and haul out in the lagoon. Otherwise they'd have to wait for the tide to turn to paddle back out, and that could take hours.
This wave spat out a surfer just as it passed below my bike on the CWJ.
