Distance, elevation: 52 mi, +1230/-1227 ft.
Detailed route.
What route is shown in the embedded map above may depend on Google's mood. So here are snapshots of the route we took: Google Maps, PDF
7 am. Alarm goes off. Snooze, snooze, snooze. So tired. Sore in places you didn’t even know could be sore.
8 am. Up. Make breakfast of oatmeal and apples with peanut butter. Ate half of the pork jerky.
10 am. Last minute clothes drying with hair dryer, water bottles filled at the hotel counter, heading out. What is the price of beauty? 10 miles, apparently. We opt for the longer but more scenic route today. Riding along the coastline is foggy and a bit chilly so we put on our jackets. After a couple of hills, jackets come off and we hit our rhythm. As we round the bends and cut through the fog, we start seeing bits of ocean peek through. Surfers dot the waves. Occasionally, we catch a whiff of seawater or damp, sweet pine. Looks like an impressionist dream. Going inland towards Watsonville, the landscape changes into wide, verdant farms dotted with tractors and groups of farmers, busy with the summer harvest. Sounds of wind rustling through trees, distant waves, and the smooth whirr of chain on gear.
12:25 pm. Look for a place to stop for lunch.
12:30 pm. Route to Watsonville. Surprisingly there is a bike lane for parts of it. Once you get into the town, it’s sharrows.
12:45 pm. Lunch in Watsonville. Chinese bento at May’s Garden Restaurant. Sometimes, you just want a really large meal. Went to eat at the park, but every time we spotted a bench and started towards it someone else would take it. Then we found some nice picnic tables at Cabrillo College. Lunch was a bit heavy. But we’ve got at least 2 more hours on the bike to burn it off.
1:45 pm. Watsonville Library. Nice restrooms and got a library card. The librarian also got J a parking permit because… maybe one day we will drive here and decide to spend up to three hours at the library.
2:30 pm. Off to Salinas. Mystical mist, barbecue smoke, collard greens, artichokes, and strawberry fields forever. Resisted the temptation to pick some. Nice paved trail leading up to Castroville. In Castroville, there is one dodgy intersection where we crossed onto the 101 ramp for five nerve-wracking minutes. Once on 183, the cars go pretty fast but thankfully the shoulder is wide enough at most places for cars to pass safely. Pretty flat this afternoon, mostly feels like zone 2 effort.
5 pm. Arrived in Salinas. Today was pretty easy compared to the killer hills yesterday. Speaking of killer, saw some road kill today — a bird in the woods and a cat in town. Just laying off to the side, looking asleep. Life: precious, ephemeral.
6:30 pm. Dinner at Los Pollos Locos. Surprisingly yummy and clean meal considering it is marketed like a fast food chain. Chill walk home. J ruminates on John Steinbeck.
7:30 pm. Relax at hotel. Book hotel in King City for tomorrow. Room says “no cooking” and that they monitor for it with sensors. Roast pork jerky over Jetboil. Teehee.