Monday, August 10, 2009

California Coast - Take 1






















Ah, cycling the California coast. I've heard the weather is much nicer in October.

In a fit of unusual ambition, I spent Saturday riding from Carmel-By-The-Sea (a real name of a real town) to Aptos, essentially skirting the Monterrey Bay on an adventure through every type of coastal landscape, from billion dollar real estate in Pebble Beach to the sand dunes of Seaside to the foggy/sunny/foggy again farmlands of Watsonville. The training ride epitomized what it is I love about California as well as what I've come to learn about bike riding. The diversity of landscape and people is intertwined and fascinating. The weather is anything but what it looks like in the movies. And there is just no better way to experience the nature of "place" and places than on two wheels.

I had the joy of experiencing Highway 1 for the first time on a bicycle. Big. Trucks. Lots of time to pedal and think about transportation. I pondered agriculture, the population of my home state, the population of the world, and all the land and water, not to mention diesel fuel required to feed us all strawberries in August.

Oh, and somewhere north of Castroville I came upon this little gem of a thoroughfare:



Keep your eyes out for our next Ride350 training session, coming soon to a(n unincorporated) town near you!

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