“Life becomes more purposeful when you’re doing something good.”
—Brendan Locke
California’s Highway 1 along the Pacific Coast is famed for its popular seaside hamlets and towns like Santa Cruz, Carmel-by-the-sea and Half Moon Bay. Each of these places attract tourists and locals alike year round for their breathtaking scenery and temperate climate. On top of it they also offer numerous activities for anyone to enjoy, be it spending time with loved ones, just taking a leisurely stroll or kayaking in the ocean.
Out of all these places the one we frequent is Monterey and its old-fangled neighbors like Seaside and Pacific Grove. Our best-loved activity as a family is to go on long bike rides next to the shimmering Pacific Ocean.
The Great Cycle Challenge USA
Lately I have started doing my favorite activities by participating in challenges that benefit various charities. I find this gratifying especially during these difficult times when the whole world is reeling from the pandemic. One such charity is the Great Cycle Challenge where riders from all over the nation come together during the month of September setting their own riding target to raise funds of their choice to fight kids’ cancer.
Scenic 17-mile route
With end date to complete my challenge fast approaching and many more miles to go, we made plans to go on a fairly long bike ride. Being a beautiful summer weekend, we decided to head to the coast and bike the ever popular 17-mile scenic route from Monterey to Carmel-by-the-sea.
The Ride
We started our ride from Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. We took our bikes with us but bike rentals are also available at this place making it the most popular starting point. We saw quite a few of them using e-bikes which seemed to be very popular. There are public restrooms here and it is good to make use of it before the ride because there aren’t any in the 17-mile drive.
Within a mile, we made our first stop at Point Pinos lighthouse, a short detour from the main road. It is one of the historic landmarks and oldest lighthouse in the west coast that is still in operation. There are tours available if you wish to visit.
Short distance from there is the famous Asilomar State Beach, a rocky beach with the Asilomar Coastal Trail providing access to the rocks and sand dunes.
We continued the ride and soon were at Pebble Beach, at the entrance to the famous 17-mile drive scenic stretch with a separate free entrance for bikers. The fully shaded path took us right next to the Inn at Spanish Bay with sprawling golf courses. We spent some time at Point Joe, home to the Restless Sea and joined the fellow tourists in witnessing the luscious waves crashing against the rocks.
We took our own sweet time to enjoy the spectacular ride on the mostly flat trail with barely noticeable elevation, sandwiched between the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Links and the turquoise blue ocean with white sandy beaches. This part of Pebble Beach with contemporary mansions overlooking the vast expanse of the ocean can easily qualify as a photographers paradise with so many picturesque locations throughout. Be watchful for the “no trespassing” signs all along preventing access to private properties on both sides of the road.
After a short uphill climb for about a mile where we had to share the road with vehicular traffic, we finally reached Cypress Point lookout, approximately a 9 mi ride from Lovers Point, where we decided to turn back. Going beyond that point requires extra caution due to unavailability of bike trail. Cypress Point, as the name implies had a cluster of Monterey cypress trees with a nice shaded area to rest and enjoy the scenic wonders.
Post a snack break, we started the ride back to Pacific Grove. With the wind behind us, it was an easy ride all the way back. By the time we got back to Lovers Point, the place was crowded with kids enjoying the waters in the shallow cove and wedding photographers busy creating memories for the lovely couples getting married at the beach on that beautiful summer day.
Happy with logging in approximately 20 more miles towards the Great Cycle Challenge, we ended the day by devouring the freshly made burgers at The Grill at Lovers Point. This ride could be extended to the Fisherman’s Wharf or beyond in Monterey if you wish to add more miles.
The total ride took us about 3 hours with all the breaks in between. We bid good bye already looking forward to our next visit to one of our favorite places, the stunning Monterey Bay!
Check out my other blogs at Trails and Summits. Happy Biking!!
What fun!!!
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