Christmas Family Bike Trip

My mother, sister and I rode our bikes from Colma BART to Pigeon Point on the 22nd. The next day, we rode the remaining 25 miles to Santa Cruz. On Christmas Eve morning, I rode by myself over the hill (Glen Canyon Road, Scotts Valley Drive, Glenwood Drive, Mount Charlie Road) to Los Gatos where the others picked me up, and we drove back to SF.

Along our entire route down the coast, our path was marked with brussels sprouts. They were infrequent in the beginning, but as we neared Santa Cruz, a brussels sprout rested on the edge of the road every few feet. I thought of them as Gretel’s bread crumbs directing us through our coastline “forest”.

Of course, the view was incredibly beautiful – it’s almost not even worth saying. The hot tub at Pigeon Point was mind-blowing as usual with the stars and the crashing waves. The lighthouse itself is also remarkable, and the hostel’s common space comfortable and pleasant. I was worried my mother wouldn’t be able to ride the first day’s 40 miles, but they pulled into Pigeon Point just as the sun went down (I had ridden ahead to get us some food in Pescadero). The local food (bread, cheese, wine…) from Pescadero was so yummy.

The next morning we had a reservation an Ano Nuevo for 9:30 to see the elephant seals. Mother had figured out something with her gears and was getting much faster. So, we actually made it! Elephant seals have an interesting society. Each year, the males attempt to bread with as many females as possible. About 5% get to. Each year, every female reproduces. Which males get to mate is based on fighting between the males to determine dominance. Dominant males often die that same year bc they have exhausted themselves fighting and mating. However, they have fulfilled their biological imperative by siring a great many young with their DNA. The females are only interested in the male during the short period of time when they are fertile, and then they focus on their pregnancy and their young. To the untrained human eye, the seals are mostly lying around sunbathing.

It was our guide’s first tour of the year, and he was very excited. His enthusiasm was effective; we especially enjoyed our tour. The gift shop sold stuffed animal birds that made the same sound as the bird represented. My mother bought one of each. Then we sat next to a rock where we left the bikes and ate chicken from the night before as our first lunch.

We rode along the gorgeous Pacific Ocean to our next stop of Davenport. I love the café there. However, their fish and chips (my second lunch) was so-so, a bit dry. The sauces were good though. Then we rode the rest of the way to Santa Cruz.

John met us there. We stayed again at the Santa Cruz Youth Hostel, but got 2 private rooms. My mother’s and John’s was a bit noisy, but Ilana’s and mine, on the second floor of the main building, was perfect. The Carmelita Cottages are so lovely. That night we ate unremarkable Thai food served by the nicest wait-staff ever. The other interesting thing about the hostel is it’s wealth in left foods. One could stay there and never have to buy any. For example, for breakfast I had a soft-boiled egg on half a bagel, all free to guests.

The others all had friends they wanted to visit in the morning, and I was antsy to hit the road. So, that’s what we did. I’ve done a lot of rides by myself, and I’ve done a lot of new rides with other people. But I don’t think I’ve ever done a completely new ride all by myself. Mt Charlie Road was… well… over a mountain, and there were a couple points there I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but I didn’t (“is that all there is?”). I would totally do that ride again!

They picked me up in Los Gatos, and we all drove back to the City together, which was faster than the Caltrain would have been.