Cruising in Santa Cruz

Ever since I bought my bike and discovered I can ride 65 miles without dying, I’m all about challenging myself with long rides. But not just any old rides. I’m looking for scenic rides because, hey, if they aren’t scenic, I might as well be sweating away in the gym.

So when I heard about this Coastal biking daytrip, I instantly signed up. First of all, it was free through Sactown Active Xplorers (just the cost of gas) and secondly, it was in Santa Cruz and I had been dying to check that place out. Of course, there one just one problem…the night before I had dinner plans in San Francisco so I knew I would not be getting my full 8 hours of beauty sleep. But what’s life if you don’t have a few little challenges along the way?

WAKING UP TO FUN AND SUN

My alarm went off at 7 a.m. on Saturday and I would like to say I bounded out of bed – but that doesn’t happen even on a good day, let alone one where you only had four hours of sleep.

I swear, I looked like poop, but that didn’t matter. My bike and I were going to Santa Cruz. Whoohoo!!

Our little group of three (yes, even I couldn’t believe only three of us signed up for this amazing free adventure) arrived at the Natural Bridges Regional Beach Park around 11 a.m. and I knew it was going to be good day. The weather was a balmy 80 degrees which is nearly unheard of in that area, the water was blue and the air …well, the air smelled like the beach. I know – it’s very Kramer-esque (Seinfeld reference), but the smell of the beach is amazing.

Unloading our bikes, I couldn’t wait to begin our biking excursion. We would begin by biking uphill to the top of the UC Santa Cruz Campus making our way through the beach town streets and then riding through the Redwood forest, and finally cruising along the beach taking in the incredible view of the ocean.

Our goal was to cover 25 to 30 miles and then stop and have lunch at a little Mexican place in the downtown area at the end.

I must say the journey and the scenery were incredible.

We didn’t quite make it to oldest wooden rollercoaster, which I’m told survived the Loma Prieta Earthquake, nor did I get to bike over the old railroad tracks used in the film “The Lost Boys”, but that just means I’ll have to back again – because the beauty of Santa Cruz really is worth a second trip.