Day 17, September 25, 2007
Santa Cruz, CA to Carmel Valley, CA
74.3 miles, 13.1 mph, 5h 40m 10s (max speed 13.8 mph)
Up at 5:45, 7:00 load luggage, 7:05 continental breakfast at hotel - orange juice, 2 bowls of raisin bran, 3 pastries, a blue berry muffin and a waffle, 7:30 on the road.
The beginning 20 miles of today's ride was through mostly congested rush hour traffic. Then we did about 10 miles through farmland and more brussel sprouts, then artichokes and hundreds of acres of strawberries. The strawberries were ready to be picked but the artichokes weren't mature enough yet. The "bed" preparation for strawberries is a huge operation. A very big machine creates raised beds, then water pipes and irrigation tapes are installed. Finally, strawberry transplants are planted. Many hours of labor are required by many people.
We cycled through scenic Monterey and then onto 17 mile road. This is a very exclusive area that has 3 very exclusive golf courses: Spy Glass, Cyprus and Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach being the most famous of all. I took several photos trying to capture some of the beauty.
The last 10 miles of the ride was just cycling to get to the hotel. We had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. At rap, we discussed tomorrow's 111 mile ride to Paso Robles, with 7,000 feet of climbing.
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