Monterey to San Francisco
I decided to stay an extra day in Monterey. The weather was great and I had the opportunity to watch the start of Stage 4 of The Tour of California.
This race has become a major race in the cycling calendar. While a number of the teams had their top riders competing in the Giro Italia (eg. Cadel Evans for BMC), the Sky Team had Bradley Wiggins riding in this race. The start was held in the main street. It was a bit of a carnival – I suspect not a patch on the Tour de France- but pretty good. I got some good pictures of Wiggins et al and the support vehicles.
In the afternoon I rode back towards Pebble Beach. The scenery is very impress will lots of seals and sea lions lounging on the beaches and rocks. This is great to see.
Inland through Salinas
I decided to head inland for a bit. The route took me through Salina and Castonville. This is a pretty bleak area. Check out the pictures. At least I know the location of the ‘Artichoke Capital of the World’.
Problem with the Rear Wheel
As I headed down the road I heard a loud ‘crack’ and the bike started to wobble. The thought ‘WTF’ was that. I hopped off the bike and looked down at the wheel. It had cracked and the outside of the rim was bent upwards. Of course the tyre was completely flat.
I started walking down the road until I ran into an exit. This led me to a Service Station. I asked the manager if there were any buses into Santa Cruz. He said there he was no aware of any. A customer, overhearing the conversation, said that he could give me a lift into Watsonville, which was about 10 miles away.
We loaded the bike and my panniers into the truck. The bloke dropped me off in Main St and I headed off looking for a place to stay. At an intersection, I ran into a cyclist and asked him it there was a bike shop in town. He told me that the one, and only, bike shop was two blocks away.
The owner, Hugh, was amazed at the state of the wheel. “I have never seen anything like that before”, was his comment. He also said that “he had never worked on a wheel with a Rohloff before, but would like to give it a go”. I left the bike with him and headed to the nearby Best Western Motel.
In Watsonville things move a little slowly. The bike shop didn’t reopen until 11.00 am. When I turned up, Hugh’s assistant had half-finished the job, leaving the tricky bit to the man himself. I headed off for a Chinese meal. I should have tried Mexican.
The wheel was finally finished about 2.00 pm. It seems that it was a pretty good job. It you ever find yourself in Watsonville CA and need something related to cycling, this is the place to go: http://www.watsonvillecyclery.com/
New Brighton State Park (lesson in USA geography, economics and politics)
Hugh from the bike shop gave me some tips for the rest of the trip to San Francisco. This included a great camping place – the New Brighton State Park. I headed there for the night.
Like of other State Parks I had stayed at, this New Brighton is great spot. After a meal and a nearby ‘Deli’ I returned to the park. I struck up a conversation with a fellow cyclist. This bloke is a Geography lecturer at California State University, currently on a sabbatical. He had a lot to say about the current economic and political situation in the USA. I won’t attempt to describe his views here, but they were very interesting.
One point he did make was that the USA can be divided into 8 distinct regions that are as diverse as most separate countries. These include the ‘liberal North East’ and the very conservative ‘Deep South’. He said that many individuals migrate to the areas where they “ feel comfortable and they are with like-minded people”. He wouldn’t be surprised if “one day in the future”, some of these regions formally separate from the Union”.
Santa Cruz
Next day I headed in to Santa Cruz. I was bit of a disappointment. It is a tacky tourist town. However, I did find a great Italian restaurant for a late lunch.
I ended up deciding to stay the night and found myself in an overpriced motel. The place was near to capacity due to it being a Saturday and the running of a Half Marathon the next day. This was a classic case of ‘differential’ pricing.
To Pigeon Point
The route out of Santa Cruz took me along the coast. Part of the way was where the Half Marathon was being run. I was riding in the opposite duration to the runners. Judging by the speed they were running and their appearance, these were the stragglers. At least they were having a go.
Hugh from the bike shop told me about a Hostel at Pigeon Point, that was my destination for the night. He also told me about Brewery about two miles south of the Hostel. That was going to be where I was going to have a meal.
Young People with Interesting Jobs
Before I go to the Brewery, I can across a rather odd ‘café’ on the side of the road. It was part of an ‘organic’ farm, which grew among of things, lemons. The café served lemon pies and homemade lemonade. As I ate my pie, I got into conversations with a young German bloke and his American girlfriend. They had recently moved to Silicon Valley (Palo Alto). They told me that “they were paying USD 3,200 per month for a tiny one bedroom flat.
The bloke told me that he was working for a company that is developing new batteries for cars and bikes. He said that “the world will be completely changed by the developments in battery technology in the next few years, and the changes will come quicker than most people expect”. The girl said she worked in the ‘Internet of Things’ space. Her company advises cities of the implementation of ‘smart technology’ to improve the efficiency of basic infrastructure, e.g. street lighting etc.
Interesting Stuff
I had my meal a couple of beers at the Brewery and headed to the Hostel. The accommodation was in the old lighthouse keepers cottages. It was basic, but a great place to stay.
Into San Francisco
I got up early to try and beat the wind.
The route into San Francisco took me through Half Moon Bay and then on to Pacifica. At one point I went through a long tunnel. I suspect that took heaps of klms off the trip.
I finally made it to the city outskirts and tried to follow the Route 85 Bike route signs into the down town area. I found following the signs impossible. I had to ask people for confirmation of the direction to the ‘downtown’ area. Virtually everyone said “it’s a long way” in a way that implied that they though it was too far to ride. I ended having to say that “I have ridden from Santa Monica, so distance is not an issue”.
I finally came across some cyclists, all of whom agreed that the bike route signs were confusing, but were able to direct me in the right direction.
I finally made it to the Hostel which is in a great location, just one block way from Union Square.
Back in San Francisco for the first time since 1986.
Flickr Links
Garmin Links
To Watsonville
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/501522990
To New Brighton State Park
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/501522980
To Pigeon Point
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/502535254
Into San Francisco
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/503213139
billrider2013 