Freeways and Forest Fires

From Laura – 2008 rider

We woke up this morning, left Freewheelin’ Farm and rode into the city of Santa Cruz. Some of us stopped to get coffee, others went to the Boardwalk in hopes of catching a ride on the roller coaster only to find out that it wasn’t open yet. We then rode through the city and tried to get on highway 1, which we’ve been riding on throughout northern California, except there were signs on all of the onramps saying “Pedestrians, bicycles and motor-powered bicycled prohibited.” Since our directions today were “ride on highway 1 until Monterey,” we all felt a bit lost. Some of us got directions from locals to follow backroads, a few of us didn’t see the signs and got on the freeway (resulting in a run-in with the police…).

After an extended stay at our first lunch stop at The Farm Bakery and Café in Aptos, we made our way through the farmlands, back on highway 1 on the parts where it was legal to ride, and then into Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world. This was our second lunch stop, where we discovered the amazingness of fried artichoke hearts. We then continued on the Pacific Coast Bike Route (which pops up periodically throughout our rides) and rode into Monterey, got lost again, asked for directions multiple times, and made our way to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church. It was a long day with lots of detours and setbacks, but I think we all appreciated the bike paths and local routes. Our next challenge: avoiding the fires… Laura Reed, 2008 rider Pictures! Isaac in a U-Pick strawberry field, Golf Course Short Cut, Alain Taiko Drumming, Bike Mountaineering x 2 (another short cut!), off roading (Dave’s alternate route…also led to the mountain climbing and golf course), and the bandits (protection from somewhat smokey air).