New Bike, New City, Old Issues

It took me almost 4 months after my bike crash to finally get comfortable and confident on my bike.  Now I have a new bike, and I am riding in a new city, San Diego, and I feel like I am right back at square one! Today Karin and I went for a 15 mile ride.  It was supposed to be almost all on a bike path, but at the point where the path splits and you have to rejoin it from a side street, we lost it.  So then we were just riding on streets without bike lanes with no idea where we were going.  But worst of all, the bike path itself was a wreck!  The asphalt was so sketchy, I was afraid to clip in because there were so many huge bumps and holes and cracks that I was almost tossed off my bike repeatedly.  And a lot of the bike lanes are between traffic on one side and parked cars on the other, any of which could open a door in your path at any time.
So I was back to my old nervous riding self.  I was afraid to ride fast or clip in for fear of every car and every crack in the sidewalk.  Karin said she had a great ride, but I can honestly say that at no point in the 90 minutes we were out there did I enjoy myself.  Not at all.  It was hugely disappointing; especially considering that I have this brand new bike that should make riding so much more comfortable and efficient and I have been looking forward to long rides in San Diego for months.  I feel like I spent 4 months getting used to my old bike and my old routes, and now I am starting from scratch.  But I don't have 4 more months to get comfortable!  Seriously, I thought those days of frustrating, scary rides were behind me!

What a bummer.