Two Wheels in Transit: Cycling the Left Coast: The Sun Shone Upon Us

Monday, October 27, 2014

We had a really good day off. We were re-charged for our ride today. We were on the road...I will re-phrase that...we were on the streets by 8:20 and starting to climb out of the downtown area. The climbing went on for more than 4 kilometers to get back 'up and out' and 'over' to the coast. We were at 15 kilometers riding through urban Daly City and industrial Pacifica. Shortly after popping onto Highway 1 some spectacular views re-appeared. We were truly grateful to finally leave the San Francisco 'mess' behind.

We were able to 'stop and smell the roses' today. We had planned a short day. The sun shone and better yet, the wind was favorable...not directly behind us but it sure made riding easier.

After leaving Pacifica Beach where we watched surfers riding the waves, we came upon a tunnel. Usually tunnels are dark, narrow, and scary things to ride through. Not this one! It was a brand new, 1 kilometer long, well lit, wide and fun to ride through. Did I mention that it was also down hill? We were able to coast along at 35 kilometers per hour without a peddle stroke...what fun! This tunnel was opened in 2013 to replace a dangerous section of highway called The devil's Slide Area. The area was prone to rock slides from the hills above. We were having such a good day we actually decided to ride back 'up' the old highway...yes we rode voluntarily up a hill in the wrong direction for more than a kilometer to see the views. The old road is closed and has been turned into a pedestrian/bike path. It was just opened this past summer. The views were spectacular.

The rest of our ride was 'wind assisted' and seemed like it was all downhill. The ACA elevation map begged to differ. It is amazing how easy things seem when you are having a good riding day! We are checked into the Coast Side Inn in Half Moon Bay. There is a story behind this and I will try to be nice to the California State Park System...if I can. We have heard rumours for a few days now of the water being shut off in some State Parks and the outright closure of others. So last night we looked up Half Moon State Park our intended destination. No sign of it having water restrictions or of it being closed on their website. When we rode in we were informed that the campground had been closed since late September and they said that there was another one 60 miles away...that is 100 kilometers down the road. Clearly the young lady had never ridden a bicycle in her life. I pointed out...fairly directly...that they might want to update their 'bloody' website to inform people of the closures. As a result we are in a motel that is not exactly cheap. It appears like we will be unable to trust the State Parks to be open so will have to adjust our plans on the fly. I know that they have a drought but really!!!

Trip Distance = 43.81 km. Time on the Bikes = 3 hours 17 minutes. Average Speed = 13.33 km. Maximum Speed = 52.42 km. Wildlife Sightings = Great Blue Heron, Surfers.

P.S. We did enjoy a walk through the historic main street of Half Moon Bay. It is a trendy tourist trap with all kinds of 'high priced' shops. We went into a woodworking/art shop...beautiful workmanship but my credit card limit would have had a tough time in there!