Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Deep Meditation and Other Side Notes for Bike Touring
Riding the Old Stagecoach Road, a bicycle trip along the California coast.
I was getting a little antsy around the house the other day and I decided to take off for a little ride down to Santa Cruz. My first step in preparing for my ride was a visit to Google Earth and a closer look at the trip I was thinking of.Being very familiar with highway 1 the main road between San Francisco and Santa Cruz I knew there are certain parts of the road that are nerve wracking in terms of car traffic. I wanted to avoid these areas and find an alternative route that was less dangerous and more serene. I noticed on the map a road that seemed to bypass Devil's Slide by cutting across San Pedro mountain. I searched Google for Old San Pedro Mountain Road and found this blogpost http://bikeit.tumblr.com/post/2803042928/old-san-pedro-mountain-road
I found the entrance to the road and made my way to the summit and down the other side to Montara. The road alternated between asphalt gravel and dirt and was unpredictable in where the paving would start and stop. The windward side was definitely in a poorer state and was almost entirely hard pack dirt. After Montara I picked my way south about 20 miles until I reached the Stage Road off of highway 1. This road winds back into the hills and makes another climb as high as the San Pedro mountain climb. I arrived in San Gregorio after a while and pressed on a second climb
to the town of Pescadero. I arrived at around 3 pm and ate an early dinner at the Pescadero Country Market. I stocked up on supplies at their country store and headed the last 7 miles to the Pigeon Point lighthouse. http://norcalhostels.org/pigeon
I arrived at the hostel just in time to see the sunset and passed out completely by 7pm. I had ridden 60 miles in about 10 hours. The next day I started out early and stopped of at Ano Nuevo to look for Elephant Seals on the beach. I didnt see any so I continued on the last 25 miles to Santa Cruz. I reached Davenport by 10 am and stopped for breakfast at the Whale City Cafe. After eating I climbed back on and pumped out the last 11 miles by noon. I arrived in Santa Cruz and got a cup of coffee at Cafe Pergolesi an hour later I was on the 17 metro bus heading to the San Jose train station. After leaving Caltrain in San Francisco I arrived back where I started at 3pm Sunday.
Want to do this ride? I can help, I am happy to answer any questions about the riding, equipment or logistics of this trip or any other you might be dreaming of. Let me know where you are planning on riding to.
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200 Reasons why I'm riding 100 miles for Cycles of Change
ReplyDeleteOver the past ten years, Cycles of Change has given away thousands of bicycles to youth and adults in the East Bay. What started as a dream and a pile of discarded bikes in a garage near Lake Merritt has evolved into an organization that is a model for creating healthy, strong communities connected to each other and the natural world.
In 2012 alone, just ONE Cycles of Change Program - the Bike Go Round - gave away 200 bicycles to low-income adults in the East Bay. That's 200 people who now have access to jobs away from major transit lines, 200 ways to exercise without paying a gym membership fee, 200 parents, immigrants, caregivers, workers, refugees, and Oakland natives who have discovered (or re-discovered) the freedom that comes from traveling by bike.
** Despite the high demand for the Bike Go Round, the program is in danger of getting cut, and we need to raise $15,000 by March 1st to save it. **
I've committed to raising $1,500 to help save the Bike Go Round. Can you help? A donation of $5, $10, or $20 will go a long way towards my goal.
http://www.razoo.com/story/Mark-Van-Fundraising-For-Bike-Down-Benefit-Ride