And Then There Was One
Day 21 - 36 miles (San Francisco to Half Moon Bay)
Busy morning. Car, plane, train, bus, feet, bike. Brunch, 911 call and part 2 started.
Bittersweet day without Bo. Backtracked to cross Golden Gate Bridge. Lots of bikers. Felt odd getting on my bike. Bike feels different, smoother than I remember. Rode along and saw some pretty sand beaches along the way. My joints are aching (knee, elbows). I hope it goes away in a few days.
Steep and narrow hill opened up into a spacious tunnel which opened up into an expansive landscape. Devil's Slide was gorgeous. Saw a WWII Bunker too.
Staying at Francis Beach Campground at Half Moon Bay State Park and have met a surprising number of bikers who are headed down south like me! Some are stopping in Santa Barbara, others in LA, and others all the way in Tijuana. Tomorrow I bike to Monterey Bay: about 100 miles.
Day 22 - 57 miles (Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz)
I decided today that I would take the rest of the trip easy and really savor each area I bike to. As such, I only ended up going a little more than half the distance I initially planned today. It was a great ride. I passed some great state beaches and was able to cover 40 miles in 3.5 hours before lunch because the roads were so flat!
I stopped for lunch at Whale City and talked to a few locals who told me I should check out the Santa Cruz/Capitola area. This further confirmed my resolve to 'slow down'. I stayed in New Brighton State Park with two couples who camped with me the night before in Half Moon Bay. After setting up camp I headed into Capitola for din din: two massive slices of pizza and two pale ales.
Capitola seemed like it had a lot to offer. I could see spending the day there if I had more time. Today was a good day. After listening to ladies butcher 80s classic rock songs while men shuffled billiard balls around the table, I finished my drink and headed back to camp.
Day 23 - 45 miles (Santa Cruz to Monterey)
Wowza. What a day. I only went 45 miles but did and saw so much! I woke and chatted with my fellow bikers to find out we were all headed to Monterey today. I expected today to be fairly easy since I was going fewer miles over flat terrain. I suited up, scared away the crows (which swarm on your campsite if you turn your back on it for 45 seconds), and set off for Monterey.
I had the unexpected pleasure of starting the morning by passing through thousands of acres of strawberry fields. I had never smelled such a sweet fragrance while on a road. It totally made my morning. Even the occasional animal farm couldn't compete with the aroma. Pungent and pretty: my morning landscape.
Around noon I ran into a biker I hadn't seen since Oregon*! He was biking with his dad to Santa Cruz and continuing down to LA on his own. I was really surprised to see him considering I took 4 days off and he spent some time in Santa Cruz. He was also planning to stay at Veterans Memorial Park in Monterey so I knew I'd see him later that night.
After the encounter, I made my way to a local fruit farm and devoured two luscious plums. Not sure why I went with plums in strawberry country but they hit the spot. I started biking again and was mentally gearing up to go the remaining 25 miles when a wonderful surprise came along the side of the road.
Meet Paul aka Kermit aka Road Angel of Castroville. Every Tuesday from 10:30am to 2:30pm for the past 3 years he pulls his VW van off the side of Molera Rd and offers support for touring cyclists. He flagged me down saying "I've got food and water for you!" I was naturally suspicious of this strange man with his strange vehicle being NICE TO A COMPLETE STRANGER (who does that!?) but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. After talking to him for a bit, I learned he used to be a cyclist and is paying it forward. He's been on a number of tours; one of which took him from LA to Washington DC. Not only did he offer protein bars, cookies and water, he also had a bike pump, bike tools and maps of the local area. The guy was awesome. Although our time was brief, I could tell he had a good heart and am grateful to have met such a generous person. Had I not taken it easy the day before, I would have never known about Kermit...
After my second chance encounter of the day, I was greeted by another wonderful surprise. This time from Mother Nature: Monterey Bay. Biking into Monterey, I saw some of the prettiest colors mixed together. The reds, greens, oranges of the vegetation interwoven with the blues and greens of the ocean and the beige sand...its intoxicating.
I biked into Monterey on my way to camp believing the physical challenges of the day to be over when some evil city planner decided it would be funny to throw some massive hills in the way of unsuspecting bikers. To get to Veteran's Memorial Park, you must climb an 11% grade monster for half a mile. It's...hard. Just take my word for it. So difficult in fact, that I almost stayed at camp instead of going back into town and getting dinner to avoid having to climb the damn thing again.
I ended up going to Fisherman's Wharf which was a more cozy and culinary version of Chicago's Navy Pier. I had an amazing dinner an Abalonetti Bar and Grill, saw a beautiful sunset and headed back up to camp. As I pull into camp, I'm greeted by some familiar faces. It's starting to feel like we're all part of some bike club and I look forward to seeing these people at the next state park.
Tomorrow and the next day I face Big Sur: a curvaceous and scenic 70 mile stretch of highway with nonexistent shoulders and numerous hills. I look forward to the challenge and the views.
Until then..,
*Day 9 to be exact
