SWAE has spent more than a week in San Francisco and what a week it has been. Dan, Will and I spent the previous three weeks riding from small town to small town, remaining in one place just long enough to attend to business.
Some of the last scenes of San Francisco as we rode south towards Santa Cruz.
I haven’t disregarded the beauty of San Francico, but I’ve truly become restless with this booming metropolis. I’ve heard the echos of police sirens day and night through the city, seen masses of people stroll the sidewalks and warily watched traffic as I rode the streets. It’s been a great week in San Francisco, but it’s time to say good bye.
Alex and Bates left a day before Dan, Will and me and rode to Half Moon Bay, 30 miles from The City. The duo met Chris Manchester of HMB Kayaks for breakfast. The meeting went very well and Alex and Bates were able to sign HMB Kayaks on the spot.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, Will and Dan met the Oceanic Society, a non-profit devoted to conservation of endangered marine life, stationed in San Francisco. The Oceanic Society is an incredible non-profit that shares like values with SWAE: Conservation and a dedication to local outfitters was what drove the conversation. The Oceanic Society also organizes expeditions all around the world, from Antarctica to Sri Lanka and Will and Dan got them excited enough to join up as an Adventure Vendor on the spot!
A view of the beaches along Highway 1 were a relief to us as we rode to Santa Cruz.
We rode through San Francisco that afternoon towards our next destination, Santa Cruz. We began by riding south on Highway 35, which would eventually link us up to Highway 1. Dan, Will and I arrived at a junction, but were put into a dilemma as a street sign warned us to stay off Highway 1. Another cyclist confirmed that we should continue on 35 and it would eventually meet back up with our desired highway.
Mile after mile passed with no sign of a junction. We rode so far that we hopped onto Interstate 280, where we stopped a highway patrolwoman to ask her where we were and where we should head next. We were lost. She said we had missed the turn to Highway 1, which meant we had to backtrack three to four miles to continue in the right direction. It was 4:00 p.m. by the time we actually got to Highway 1 and we still had 65 miles until we would reach Santa Cruz.
The sun paints the skies with an array of bright colors. We didn't reach Santa Cruz by sun down.
We ate dinner just outside of Half Moon Bay and continued to ride, the sun slowly setting into the Pacific Ocean, painting the sky in pastel pinks, purples and soft hues of blue. As we rode, the sun yielded itself to a full white moon, rising over the crest of a hill as the evening light turned to dusk.
Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to Santa Cruz Tuesday evening. However, Dan found an awesome place for us to camp, in a grove of trees right along the beachfront. We could hear the ocean waves crashing against the shores, the froth from each surge fizzing as it dissolved into the sand. The wind rustled through the trees around us and kicked up small amounts of sand as we set up camp.
Will woke up especially early the next morning and was on the road by 7:30. Dan and I took a little longer to get packed up, but we still arrived in Santa Cruz at a reasonable time. The weather is as you would expect it in a town built on the beach. Bright blue skies, warm sunlight and a cool sea breeze was in the forecast for the day.
SWAE will be in Santa Cruz for the next several days. More to come as we explore the boardwalk and the beach of the city’s surfer’s paradise.
