May 18, 2023 – Pacifica to Half Moon Bay State Beach
Today was our shortest day yet; 16 miles. Turns out there is not a lot of options between here and Santa Cruz (~50 miles away) and we didn’t really have a need to do 65 miles today because we need to be in Monterey on Sunday morning to do our alternate route around Big Sur (landslides). Also, my mother-in-law is from Half Moon Bay, so I thought it would be nice to spend a longer day than usual here.
We didn’t get on the road until 10:30am or so because we didn’t have much road to cover, we had comfortable beds to sleep in, and its been real cold in the mornings. When we did get going, we got to the Devil’s Slide climb within a couple of miles. I remember worrying about this area 13 years ago when I started this trip because of the famously narrow road, steep dropouts, and California drivers. It was suggested that we take the whole road at the extreme parts in order to avoid being run off the road by a car. Well, back in 2013 they opened a tunnel through the mountain for car traffic to go through before the harrowing part of Devil’s Slide and turned the old part of Highway 1 into a trail for hikers and cyclists. So we still had to deal with some crappy traffic and narrow roads for a good part of the climb, but the end of it split off into an empty road that we were able to take our time on and stop to take in the views several times. They had closed the North entrance of the trail, but it was easy enough to get a bicycle through and we didn’t see anyone else until we hit the peak of Devil’s slide; even then it was just a few pedestrians walking the trail. This was a nice surprise for the day even though the partitioned off trail was much to short. When we merged back onto Highway 1, it was all decline and after another few miles, we finally got some good shoulders on the road to ride on. The next 10 miles or so were relatively flat with moderate inclines and we made great time into Half Moon Bay.
Most campsites don’t open until 2pm for check-in, so we stopped at a Mexican food spot right before the turnoff to Half Moon Bay State Beach and ate a solid lunch. Afterwards, we cruised into camp, got setup and had plenty of time to relax. We took in the beautiful views at the beach and cruised (without our packs) a half mile or so to a Safeway and bought some dinner and snacks for tomorrow. We loaded up because there aren’t any stores at all until 40 miles into the day tomorrow. So the plan is to wake up early, go into town for a big breakfast and keep moving until we get to Santa Cruz. The original plan was to go 4 miles past Santa Cruz to New Brighton State Beach, but they no longer have a hiker/biker site and the normal camp sites were all full. Instead, we’re going to stay at another inn tomorrow night before heading off to Monterey.
Other than the hiker/biker area, the campsite tonight is mainly for RVs, but it’s incredibly scenic. The hiker/biker spot is the biggest I remember on the entire U.S. Pacific Coast and it’s a well maintained grassy area that’s just steps away from accessing the beach. I hung out on the sand for a while to get a good look at the waves and the “half-moon” shape of the bay. So even though I feel a little guilty about the ultra-short day, I’m glad I got to spend a nice day at this beach.
Today’s last note involves some bad luck. They have a bike rack here where Isaac and I both had our bikes parked. Somehow Isaac’s bike went sideways and the front wheel he just had true’d up before the trip got bent. Isaac thinks it’ll be alright for the trip, but I’m hoping to find a bike shop tomorrow in Santa Cruz and see if they can fix it or replace it.
Another last note. Met new touring cyclist today named Louis. He drove out from Wisconsin to the West Coast, junked his car, and is now cruising down the coast.
-Chris
