We had a nice evening in the campground culminated by a beautiful sunset within steps of our site. We never did get talking to the other touring cyclists in camp.
We were on the streets by 8:00 this morning retracing our route back up to the other side of Highway 1. We were unable to ride on 1 through this area as cycling on the expressway is illegal. ACA might want to point this out to touring cyclists. We were 11 kilometers into our day before we finally rode out of Santa Cruz (population 54,593)/Soquel (population 5, 081)/Aptos (population 9,396)...urban sprawl at its worst.
ACA gave us a real treat today. The route took us off Highway 1, partly due I suspect to it being illegal in places, and through Southern California fruit and vegetable growing areas. I had read some blogs that talked about the large strawberry farms and thought, oh ya, how big can they be? Well they are 'huge'! There are hundreds and hundreds of acres of strawberries and they are still in season...maybe they are always in season here...we do not know. We at first thought these would have to be picked by machine but soon saw that the are not. We saw hundreds of people in a field picking. Would that be back breaking work or what? We saw strawberries being mowed down and removed as well as being re-planted. This is a huge business. So the next time you see strawberries in your grocery store they might well be coming from this area. We stopped at a roadside stand and devoured a box of berries. Interspersed with the strawberries were large acreages of artichokes, brussel sprouts, and romaine lettuce. All were being harvested.
Today was a right - left tour. It brought back memories of days past while gravel running. We spent hours riding on deserted roads watching the strawberries and other crops being harvested.
The day was topped off when we found a bike path that followed along beside Highway # 1 from just north of Marina to where we are tonight in Monterey. It was just under 20 kilometers of riding. We saw the odd cyclist but it was primarily deserted. Other than a 'minor glitch' as we entered Seaside it was reasonable to follow. Most importantly we were not 'playing in traffic'.
We are staying at the Munras Inn in Monterey. We had intended on camping but when we stopped at the Visitor Information Office we were told about this motel. It is the lowest price we have paid for a motel on this entire trip and it is nice. We suspect that there is a 'price war' going on at the start of their off season. I hope this continues further south...not holding my breath on that one!
Trip Distance = 68.76 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 52 minutes. Average Speed = 14.08 km. Maximum Speed = 44.56 km. Wildlife Sightings = Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Red Tailed Hawk, some kind of burrowing squirrel, Coots, Sea Lions, small lizards on bike path.
Strawberries At All Stages
Spraying Strawberries
Bike Path Along Highway 1
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