(Written from UC-Santa Clara Library)
Miles biked: 62.8 (1,437.9 overall)
Roads taken: Santa Cruz: Front Street, Soquel Avenue, 41st Avenue, Soquel Drive ... Freedom Boulevard, Bonita Drive, San Andreas Road, Thurwatcher Road, McGowan Road, Trafton Road, Bluff Road, Jensen Road, SR 1 South, Molera Road, Nashua Road, Monte Road, Del Monte Boulevard, bike path (for about 15 miles), 17-mile Drive in Pebble Beach.
Places stopped: Moss Landing (to buy cherries; the lady gave me $1.62 worth for my 97 cents), Pacific Grove (to eat lunch by the bay), inside Pebble Beach (to take pictures and watch a little golf), Carmel beach (to meet Toad, who took me, and the bike, back to his house).
This day of riding had an interesting dynamic.
I began the day later than I wanted because of an uncool act by a person -- yep, the stealing of the bike seat.
I enjoyed several miles of my ride and took a good route because of two friendly, local bicyclists -- good guys.
In the morning, I walked my bike about half a mile to The Spokesman bike shop in downtown Santa Cruz. A man there fitted the 520 with a new seat post and seat, and I got out of there after dropping a moderate $69.
The guy also hooked me up with a biker hat, which I initially didn't think I'd ever use. But, after using it a little the past couple days, I've found that it's comfortable and gives me a cool European look. (It's also extremely compact and, thus, easy to pack.)
As soon as I got on the road, I wanted to get out of Santa Cruz quickly. That wasn't easy, as I followed busy Soquel Avenue. But once I got out of town, the riding was easy and calming.
The back roads I took were flat, and the traffic was light.
I wouldn't call the ride scenic, but it was interesting and new to me. I passed dozens of strawberry fields in which hundreds of migrant workers fielded berries. I'd never seen so many strawberry patches in such a concentrated area.
I was tempted to stop and buy some berries, but all I had to spend was $0.97, including a Canadian dime. In Moss Landing, I asked a lady what kind of produce I could get with such a small amount of money. She pointed to the cherry bin, so I grabbed a few handfuls and bagged them.
When she put the bag on the scale, the price showed $1.62 and I cringed. But she smiled and said to give her what I had. She was the first of many helpful folks I'd meet throughout the day.
The second person was a local cyclist named Fred, whom I met as I was about to turn onto the bike path along Del Monte Boulevard by Marina. I was excited about the path, on which I would ride for roughly 15 miles all the way into Monterey.
Getting to ride with a partner, for the first time on the trip, was an added bonus.
Fred was from Pacific Grove, which is in between Monterey and my destination for the day, Carmel, and he led the way for 15 relaxed miles. He showed me a few nice spots overlooking the ocean and a long stretch of sandy beach. He gave me a little history lesson of the area, talking at length about the military base right by the bike path that had shut down.
That was fine with me, because the riding was fairly peaceful and not difficult. There were only a few intersections to go through and a couple spots where we had to briefly stop. The path was also, for the most part, flat.
My map told me to cut over to Carmel from Monterey via a couple roads that, Fred said, would take me over a huge hill. He suggested, instead, that I bike west through Pacific Grove and then through the large Pebble Beach community, which is the home of four golf courses, a couple of them famous for hosting tournaments such as the U.S. Open.
The route would be more miles, Fred said, but it'd be much more scenic, avoid traffic and not be too difficult. I didn't hesitate -- I had plenty of time, with Toad at work all day. I could do a few extra miles.
And, boy, was it a good call.
The road through Pebble Beach, 17-mile drive, took me past golf courses on my left and the beautiful ocean and cool rock structures on my right. At one point, I stopped and watched a group of players tee off at a par-3 nestled between the curving road and the ocean.
That's a hole that'd be enjoyable to play. I would feel some pressure, though, considering that several tourists stand and watch the players.
Not only was it enjoyable looking at the golf holes and ocean as I cruised along, it was also neat checking out the huge, million-dollar houses. When Toad and I drove through the next day, he showed me the house owned by Clint Eastwood and another that, he believed, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt used to own (you know, when they were together).
After about 7 miles, a biker named Larry came up behind me and started riding alongside. At first, I thought he might zoom right past on his road bike. But when I sped up, we started chatting and he led me the rest of the way to Carmel.
I chilled at the Carmel beach for a few minutes, and then got a little life-is-easy service. Toad drove down from his house, which was up a huge hill from me, and picked me -- and the bike -- up.
No, I don't think it was cheating. I still biked to Carmel, and he didn't take me any farther south. Plus, I did the extra riding through Pebble Beach.
It was a solid day on the bike. I was ready for a relaxing weekend in and around Carmel.
Friday night, Toad and I ate "chowdah" out of sourdough bread bowls on Monterey's wharf and then hit up a local pub. Despite the huge flocks of tourists, Monterey is a nice, medium-sized town with great views of the harbor and sand beaches to the north.
Saturday would bring even better sights.
No comments:
Post a Comment