Monterey Bay Coastal Trail
Trail Review
Mike, Andi, Harmon, and I rode the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail from the corner of Del Monte Blvd and Lapis Rd to Downtown Monterey (and back). Almost 90% of the ride was the coastal trail, with the rest on roads that connected us between the parts of the trail that were not connected. While Google Maps advertised the elevation gain to be around 320 ft, we found it to be more like 500 ft, as the trail is hilly until one hits Monterey proper.
There was almost zero shade on the ride, but because of the coastal fog, we did not need the shade.
There were people on the trail, but far fewer people than I thought there would be.
There are only a few public facilities on the trail. However, because the trail never strays far from population centers, it’s not too difficult to find facilities if needed.
We parked on a road pullout (which has space for 6-8 vehicles). For such a beautiful trail, I found the parking situation to be a bit underwhelming.
What I Learned
I’ve driven this stretch of Highway 1 that accompanies the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail for the past few decades. And in recent years, I had wondered what it’d be like to bike the trail and really take in the sights offered by the Monterey Bay. And while I didn’t stop as much as I thought I would, the views are just gorgeous. My favorite part was the stretch near Sand City—the blue waters of the Pacific were never far away and the sand looked so soft.
Andi does not like super hilly bike rides. However, I was surprised when she said that she enjoyed the hilly parts of the ride the most!
Harmon had not ridden his bike long distance since last year and his leg started cramping around the 17-mile mark. We took a short break and stopped by a Luckys for Gatorade, but this did not help much with the pain in his leg. He was a trooper though and finished the ride. I am so proud of him and the tenacity he showed.
Friends
Mike, Andi, and Harmon joined me on this bike ride. While I had to go a bit slower, it was more than made up for by the good vibes and sense of adventure that we shared.
What Happened?
26.0 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins, 1283 ft of ascent
I realized that I had an unplanned day coming up and that the girls would be having a manicure day. Given that I did not want to pay money to get things done to my nails that would prevent me from climbing (among other negatives), I decided to see if my favorite people were free to go cycling. When I reached out to Mike, he asked if I wanted to ride the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and I definitely did! We included Harmon and Andi in our plans and things came together rather quickly. We decided to meet up at the beginning of the trail at 9 a.m. the next day.
I got to the trailhead first, but I didn’t have to wait long as the Abshers pulled up within a few minutes. We took our bikes out, made sure our lights were on, and we started our ride.
I guess because of my experience with the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail, I expected the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail to be relatively flat. And when Google Maps showed that the trail had about 300’ of elevation, I thought well 300 feet of ascent over 12 or so miles would be pretty flat. Instead, I found the first 8 miles to be much hillier than expected. In fact, when we finished the ride, Strava said that I had biked over 1200 feet of ascent.
But maybe it was a good thing because Andi discovered that she liked the variation with the hills. And I guess I would have to agree because hills mean changing gears and being in the perfect gear is a pretty fun thing to do on a bike.
As for the views, it was pretty darn nice, especially when one gets to Sand City. The beach finally comes into view and the super light sand starts covering bits of the trail. I think it also helps that Sand City happened to be when the sun came out, so things just looked a lot nicer. Although we did see three coyotes walking parallel to the trail before Sand City, so there were nice things to see the whole time.
When we got to Downtown Monterey, we rode onto Alvarado St and ended up finding Sur Burger. This place was great! Not only were their burgers tasty, they also did a great job with their fries and their fountain soda. Of course, the best bit was our conversation around the table and just enjoying the company of some wonderful people.
The way back for me felt much quicker, but I think for Harmon it was the opposite because of the cramp he got a few miles into the ride back. But he gritted his way through and made it all the way back unaided.
When we got back to our cars, we shared some hugs, promised to ride more together, and headed back to our respective homes.
