San Francisco – Monterey: City Sprawl and Sumptuous Strawberries 26th - 29th October

We chose our route to King Street Station very wisely the following morning, and managed not to have to cycle up any of the frightful hills (Lombard Street was tempting, well, no it wasn’t - but we’d already walked down it anyway). After strapping our bikes into the very impressive special bicycle car of the Caltrain, we very much appreciated seeing the sprawl of southern bay area to San Antonio from the train. After a brief but pleasant reunion with Ruth (N’s step-grandmother), who donated some lovely biscuits and apples to our food panniers, and a somewhat unsuccessful search for a map of Santa Cruz county, we did not really enjoy seeing the sprawl of Silicon Valley from the bikes because it simply took so long to get anywhere.

By the time we located a bike shop to get a recommendation for the best route to Santa Cruz, it was already too late in the day to cycle up the ‘pleasant’ but very long and arduous way they recommended so we had to make do with the most direct route we could see on the map, which meant going for a few miles on the notorious Highway 17. And just as we got through Saratoga, with three hours left of daylight and a mountain range to cross, it was then that a whopping six inch nail decided to make its way into Naomi’s tyre. So we were delayed by at least 20 minutes to change the tube and the tyre, and then another 20 minutes to fix the resulting bump bump bump. Could things get any more rushed and chaotic? Yes, Highway 17 was a murderous road – at first the shoulder was lovely and wide, but it narrowed to two lanes and no shoulder to speak of, and the cars going past were not happy to be sharing any space at all with the likes of us. And all this on a Friday afternoon (with a good percentage of Bay Area residents making their way down to Santa Cruz and Monterey for the weekend). So with the adrenaline rushing and grateful our lives had been spared, we were very very relieved to get off this horrendous road after a couple of miles, where we now faced a big climb, the statistics of which we knew very little. With an hour and a half left of daylight we started sweating our way up, but with little battery life left in the bike lights, we panicked somewhat about having to cycle down the other side in the dark. Pulling up at a confusing junction to consider our options (these were less than a few), a friendly guy in a pick up rolled up and we asked him the way. When he realised we wanted to get to Santa Cruz before sundown, he very kindly offered us a lift to the top of the hill and up the summit road, an offer which of course we could not possibly refuse. After quite a fiddle to get the bikes in the back, Glenn cracked open his Friday afternoon sixpack for us (the beer was possibly the most delicious we’d ever drunk) and this most fortunate rescue meant that we could cycle down the mountain in twilight, and got to the outskirts of Santa Cruz just as the sun went down and the street lights came on.

Unfortunately, we did not get to see the sunset there as we were too late, but we did get to see hundreds of sea lions sleeping, barking and fighting under the wharf the following morning. A stint at the bikeshop took longer than usual so once again we were delayed in leaving, however this time the terrain was relatively flat and mainly agricultural. According to our cycling guide, it was boring, but we beg to differ as the powerful smell of strawberries teased our noses so much along the way, that N could not resist pinching a few, but not without great fear of someone turning up with a gun and and arresting her for grand theft strawberry, or even worse, shooting her for trespassing. They were well worth the threat, and utterly delicious!

In Monterey, Miriam, a long lost friend and work colleague from Seville, welcomed us into her warm flat and, with wine and pasta in our bellies, we made our plans to see Monterey. The next morning we persuaded Miriam to take a couple of hours break from her Masters work to give us a bike tour of the Peninsula – more sea lions at the pier and then on to 17 Mile Drive as it wound its way through golf courses made famous by the PS2, rocky coves, sandy beaches, the famous Monterey cypresses and lots and lots of stupidly large houses. We ended up at the Pebble Beach Lodge and Spa for a sniff around the fancy toilets and a quick look at the 18th hole.

Our original plan had been to leave Monterey on the Monday morning but with rain and possible thunderstorms forecast, and arguably the most scenic ride of the trip so far coming up, we decided another day in Monterey was merited, as was a visit to the famous aquarium. We were very pleased indeed to have this extra day. The $25 entrance fee at first seemed excessive, but the excellent displays revealed many a fish we had never set eyes on before and we learned lots of new things about marine life, among other things what the birds and the bees of jellyfish, how different types of pollution affect animals in the ocean and what kind of fish it is recommended to buy to avoid species going extinct. It took us hours to see everything and we were exhausted by the end of it all but it was worth every minute. Photos for this day are a must see.

We once again persuaded Miriam to neglect her studies, and met her for Happy Hour at the Crown and Anchor, one of at least four very English pubs in Monterey. On our way to the pub, we crossed paths again with Eric, who did not need much persuasion to join us either. However, our last night in Monterey was an early one, as yet another big and challenging day awaited us.

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