Santa Cruz to Carmel Valley - 76 miles of beauty

Epic day today.  Left Santa Cruz and for most of the ride it was just a perfect cruising day.  Cool temperature and for most of the ride, flat.  We got to travel through one of our nation's biggest agricultural areas.  It smelt like strawberry jam the whole way. Plus they were growing Avocados, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, and some other plant I could not figure out what it was.

Lots of farm workers out picking this stuff - and it is a job I would never want to have.  This is a bike blog so I won't get political.

As we approached Monterey, we were lucky to be able to get on a bike path and to get off the roads. There was a lot of traffic on Route 1 so it was really nice not to have to worry about getting hit from behind (a constant worry that is always in the back of your mind).

The path stretched for at least 15 miles and it took us directly through the town of Monterrey.  It skirted the Pacific Ocean and went through an old Army base that was used for training gunners in WWII.

As we approached Monterey, I was able to take some shots of the harbor on the way in.  

The bike path ended right at 17 mile drive which took us directly to Carmel.  I am sure most readers have driven this road.  The ocean is on one side of the road.  On the other side are a bunch of golf courses ranging from public courses ( Pacific Grove) to ultra exclusive (Cypress).  There is Spanish Bay, Spyglass and of course, Pebble Beach.

Tourists everywhere (including me).  Cars and buses have to pay to drive on 17 mile, but they allow bikes to use the road for free.  It is very windy as it hugs the coast line.  But you can get some great views of the ocean as you ride.  Our European riders were amazed at the size of the houses that border the road.

Just before you get to Pebble Beach there is the famous Cypress Tree that is (I think) the logo for Pebble Beach.  Very crowded with people taking photos of the tree.  I was lucky to get a shot off - as there were lots of people pushing and jostling to get a picture.  Some guy had staked out the best spot with a big camera and tripod and would not move.  So people were trying to get pictures on either side of him and my guess he was getting photobombed.  Served him right.

In any case 17 mile ended up in Carmel and we passed right though the center of town and re-connected with Route 1.  To get us off the highway we took a side road up to Carmel Valley.  It was our first (and only) hill that we had to climb today.  It was about 10 miles long - but I must be getting stronger as it didn't seem that bad.  Again lots of golf courses dotting the valley floor.

Tonight we are staying in an old inn that was formerly a horse stable.  It is actually pretty funky.    The owner is a big bicyclist and the lobby is loaded with old bikes and bike shirts.  When we checked in we were asked what we would like for dinner (chicken, fish or steak) and my guess is that 95% of the people ordered the steak.  Been a long time since we had such a treat.

Tomorrow we head to King City.  Never heard of the place.  We have been told that we have our toughest hill of the ride to climb first thing in the morning.  So we will see how strong my legs have really gotten.

We have been told King City is not the friendliest place in the world so we need to watch our bikes very carefully.  I checked out Trip Advisor to see what they suggested are the top things to do in King City and they suggested going to the town park or the rural life museum.   Never seen a Trip Advisor recommendation with only two suggestions on what to do.  

Thank god this is not a rest day location.