Day 2 weather was perfect, cool and sunny, although in spots a little warmer than I liked. The marine layer was hanging off the coast doing its job being attractive and keeping things cool. Just like I planned it for this tour. Ahhh.
Today was Learn Your Vegetables Day. The first half of the day was through miles of acres of Brussels sprouts, lettuce, kale, broccoli, artichokes, and, for dessert, strawberries. The second part of the day was through sand dunes into Monterey.
The other lesson for today was: never ride on West Beach Road west of Hwy 1. Ugh. Two lanes. No shoulder. Busy with tractor trailers, pickups, SUVs. I ended up riding in the farm track in the strawberry fields parallel to the road until my turnoff. Very bumpy and slow but better than the alternative. When I first did that I was followed by a farm implement of some sort which had to get out of traffic too. Moved out of his way, then bumped on down the track behind him, going about the same speed.
When I turned off Beach, I turned on to the official Adventure Cycling Association Pacific Coast route which I'll be on the rest of the way. And pretty soon after I did that I met my first other touring cyclist riding the Pac Coast. It was Nick from Richmond, CA, who started up in Portland a while ago. He said he was behind me on Beach, which he called a death-defying ride, and also rode on the farm track to survive.
Once I was sufficiently recovered from that ordeal (the riding on Beach, not meeting Nick), I pedaled slowly amongst the fields and enjoyed the rest of day. The Pajaro River valley is very fertile, hardworking land. I stopped to take a picture of every leaf and fruit and vegetable, but you’ll be spared most of them.
The hardworking farm workers are a friendly bunch, giving a big smile in response to a little wave from me.
The route goes back and forth across Highway 1 and sometimes even on it. The shoulder is wide so the heavy traffic was not an issue. Crossing the bridge at Elkhorn Slough I couldn’t see but I sure could smell the bachelor sea lions that took over one of the docks at the Moss Landing harbor.
I lunched at Phil’s Snack Shack in Moss Landing where I had a funny little experience. I ordered a snapper sandwich, which comes grilled and breaded, but asked them to forget the bread. The gal taking my order said they can’t do that, it comes already prepared that way, I’ll just have to pick it off myself. I thought that was rather odd but went along with it. Later I realized she thought I meant I didn’t want the breading, not the sandwich bread. How funny. And yes I picked off the breading anyway because it was a huge piece of fish and I wouldn’t have finished it. And I ate some of the bread anyway. Since I wasn’t eating the breading. Oy. In hindsight I should have gone to Phil’s Fish Market further in town which is worth the extra mile.
A trio of locals lunching nearby were curious about the loaded trike. “What do you call that bike? Recumbent? Yeah, that’s right. You can go really fast on those.” I disabused him of that for my particular circumstances. He told me a story about trying out a recumbent trike and rolling it down the road in traffic — rolling over and over that is. Ooookaaay.
Soon enough I was out of the fields and into the sand dunes of Fort Ord Dunes State Park. Great bike paths through here, and lots of military history. I’ve been here a few times before on day rides.
The hardest part of the day, despite Beach Road, felt like the last mile uphill to the motel. It was a long day time-wise, and I was beat. Luckily there’s a Whole Foods across the street at an upscale mall, so there was dinner. The motel was comfortable enough but struck me as weird. No lamps, just recessed ceiling lights (which I’m not a fan of). No towel rack or even hooks. Free coffee available in the lobby during certain hours because no coffee makers in the rooms. I unplugged the clock radio (OMG! An amenity!) because it was playing something very staticky even though it was turned off. Another tight fit for Pokey but we made it work. I slept well and so that’s all right.
Start the day with a stop at a shopping center, right? Pokey waits patiently while I get some sbux time.
Salvation along Beach Road: riding the farm track. Very busy road with tractor trailers, pickups, SUVs, and no room for trikes. Or bikes. Up ahead is a tractor I'm following at about the same speed. Rather bumpy ride.
No pesky birds bothering the outdoor diners at Phil's thanks to this guy. Much friendlier face than this photo shows. Dining off fish dinners -- can a cat's life be much better?
Out in the distance is Mulligan Hill. Only about 60 feet high, it used to be the most prominent landmark along Monterey Bay until the Moss Landing power plant towers were built in the 1950s. I always look for it when I'm down this way because I don't want it to feel neglected.
The Army dug through the dunes for this big horsehoe turn. Probably brought munitions out to all the firing ranges. There's a people and dog down there for scale.
