Half Moon Bay adventure cycling

A three-day weekend for Memorial Day with no other plans? Bike trip must be done. This time around, we took a quick jaunt over to Half Moon Bay. Nimue and Anna rode together on the tandem, while pack mule Chad got most of the luggage on his touring bike.

In the spirit of the Rough Riders' credo ("Any Bike, Anywhere") we took in many miles of dirt on this trip. From the rustic little singletracks along the bluffs south of Half Moon Bay, to the shaded dirt-road climb through redwood groves along Purisima Creek, this trip provided no shortage of fun challenges.

Saturday:

Sunnyvale to Half Moon Bay, via Old La Honda, San Gregorio, Stage Road.

Sunday (not shown): Coastal trail from golf course up to town and back. Part paved, part delightful maze of singletrack strands along the bluff above the beach.

Monday:

Half Moon Bay to Sunnyvale, via Purisima Creek, Kings Mountain, Stanford Mall, Palo Alto, Mountain View.

The hills are not shown in the same scale -- the Purisima Creek climb is steeper, gains more altitude, and is on dirt. On the bright side, it was also infested with banana slugs to cheer Nimue up as she got tired. Between the slug-watching stops and snack stops, it took a while to climb out, but we made it in the end, and the trail was jolly enough to count as a good discovery.

Chad the pack mule.

 

Nimue, who wrote a beach note rather than using her voice to express her need for lunch.

 

Ma and Ni.

 

Ma and Ni heading up the trail along Purisima Creek.

 

A rest on the bridge. Nim needed saltwater taffy to keep going.

 

One of many banana slugs, photographed especially for Eileen.