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| Date | Starting Place | Ending Place | Author | Last Update |
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| 04-11-04 |
Montara, California, United States |
Aptos, California, United States |
ray | 02-24-09 19:53:25 |
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I have driven Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Cruz many times and knew that the route from San Francisco to Montara was highly urban and full of traffic. In addition, just out of Pacifica, there is a section of road that is both uphill and very narrow. There is little room for error as it is straight down from the road to the ocean. Getting pushed off the road would mean serious injury. While there is something to be said for going door-to-door, my vanity was put aside and I arranged a ride to just past the dangerous part of the highway. This is the beginning of the small town of Montara. Here is the obligatory "getting started" picture.  I got on the road about 8:30 am. As you can see in this photo, another of those "just getting underway" shots, the weather was a bit foggy. Though, the fog was off the ground and visibility was good at road-level.  The ride through Montara and Half Moon Bay was about 10 miles of agro-urban views. When I hit the beach at Half Moon Bay, the fog was too dense to get a reasonable picture. So, I pedaled on. Just out of Half Moon Bay, the road starts climbing. It was a grind and turned out to be the hardest climbing of the day. At the top of the grade, there usually is a nice panorama of green hillsides. However, the fog obscured all of this and there was no reason to take a picture. As I was cresting this climb, I saw someone in front of me, going at about my same pace. At the crest, he stopped and I pulled up along side of him to talk. I assured him that this was the top of the climb, but that there was still one more serious hill to get up before the road would straighten out just past Pescadero State Beach. In further talking with him, I discovered that he was from Amsterdam and had just gotten off the plane and started riding. He was on a one-month riding holiday. He mentioned that he was interested in riding to the Grand Canyon and I told him I didn't see any reason to spend so much time crossing the desert to get there. However, I was ready to ride and he wanted to rest, so we parted company and I rode on. I figured I would see him again. I took a food break at Pescadero Beach. It is right on the ocean. The tide was out and the fog had lifted enough to get some nice shots of the view. Here is a spit of land right in front of where I pulled off to eat.  This is a view looking north. On the extreme right, you can see the hill that you descend to get to Pescadero Beach. Behind that is the plateau you have to get to the top of as you leave Half Moon Bay.  This view shows just how far the tide was out.  South of Pescadero, the road goes by some picturesque views, when they aren't hidden by fog, as they were today. It wasn't until I got the the Santa Cruz county line and the Waddell Beach (Big Basin State Park), some 15 miles later that I could get any views at all. This view is looking south. The bit of water you see to the left is Waddell creek as it meanders into the ocean. On a nice day, the water is full of colorful kite surfers. Today, the beach and water is deserted.  In this picture, I've pivoted a bit to my left to show the road going right along the water and up the next coastal bluff.  Must of the day was spent riding next to rock walls that the road was cut from. Here is an up close look at one of those walls. This picture was taken looking directly at the wall, even though it doesn't look that way.  After Waddell Creek, the road goes along the bluffs for about 10 miles. At Scott Creek, the road dips down to sea level and then quickly rises on the other side. Here is a view looking back (north) over the beach.  My goal for the day was to stop at Bob and Sue's house in Aptos. I made it there around 5pm. We ate a nice pasta meal and afterward, I soaked in their hot tub. It was a great way to start the trip and to end the first day! |
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