MudNCrud Forums
Out'n about... just not Climbing => Biking => Topic started by: Skyline35 on June 10, 2013, 01:29:25 PM
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The thermometer read 82º when I got out of my car at Skeggs Point. This was only 8:30am! Heat was predicted for the day but didn't expect it would be that warm so soon. Still, I wanted to get a bit of riding in El Corte de Madera Creek OSP before heading out to the coast for cooler temps so I spent ~3 hours there hitting such trails as Blue Blossom, Giant Salamander, and a time-consuming out-and-back on South Leaf.
The temps stayed in the 80ºs until I left ECdM and started dropping down to the coast....a totally different climate!
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3717/9008612611_14482a6423_b.jpg)
The Wavecrest tree tunnel photographed well in the soft light:
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5343/9008623607_c3b9ee5e9f_b.jpg)
I went back to Quarry Park. On a clear day the ocean would be visible in the distance:
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/9009790958_b99fb0d53f_b.jpg)
After Quarry Park, I headed south along the coastline. It was 2:30pm and I now faced 12 miles riding into a headwind. (Normally, the wind would be at my back but the unusual weather had reversed the wind direction.) I intended to ride the newish The Cowell-Purisima Trail (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msid=207397488458627702253.0004a8aac1851a4c69ea6&ll=37.425525,-122.418938&spn=0.109059,0.085831&z=12&source=embed). Its northern end is accessed through Cowell Ranch Beach:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3666/9009790068_04164d3ee8_b.jpg)
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3709/9008607449_20a859a6a5_b.jpg)
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/9009789042_3ddc97b2b3_b.jpg)
Sometimes there are Harbor Seals living on the rocks below but today there is just white-water.
The Cowell-Purisima Trail was opened on July 21, 2011. (http://www.hmbreview.com/news/cowell-purisima-trail-opens-to-fanfare/article_10822282-b3ec-11e0-baf7-001cc4c03286.html) This is one of the 3 bridges which had to be built:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/9008606717_3ed5e7c562_b.jpg)
From the photo, you can get a sense of the "trail". Wide and coated with railroad gravel. Every 50 feet there is a sign saying "stay out of the neighboring farmland" or "stay away from the edge of the cliff" or "stay out of the sensitive area".
Well, it continues the Coastal Trail 3 miles further along the ocean-side so that's a good thing. At the southern end, there is another over-look. This is the view:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/9009786442_27c6c805c0_b.jpg)
And this is the view of the Cowell-Purisima Trail access road at 4:30pm as I begin the long return journey to Skeggs Point:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/9008605127_57dc1bdd2a_b.jpg)
Roughly 13 miles and 3,250' uphill to go.
To change things up, I took the Lobitos Creek Road:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/9009784748_b751dfecd3_b.jpg)
Nice quiet, remote road. I expected the climb but on top of that there was a lot of rolling resistance over the chip-seal surface. I thought I was getting weak and tired but once I was on Tunitas Creek Road the bike rolled along nicely. I suspect that car tires burnish a well-traveled road to a smooth finish.
I rode up the Resolution Trail to get through El Corte de Madera Creek OSP—happily, temps were in the 60ºs now—and was back to my car at 7:30pm.
Start Skeggs Point » CMØ1 » Fir Trail » Sierra Morena Trail » CMØ3 » Skyline Blvd Hwy 35 » Bear Gulch Road » CMØ5 » Spring Board Trail » Blue Blossom Trail » Spring Board Trail » Gordon Mill Trail » Crossover Trail » Crosscut Trail » Timberview Trail » Giant Salamander Trail » Methuselah Trail » South Leaf Trail out to CM1Ø and back » Methuselah Trail » North Leaf » CMØ7 » Star Hill Road » Tunitas Creek Road » PCØ4 » Borden Hatch Mill Trail » Grabtown Gulch Trail » Purisima Creek Trail » PCØ5 » Higgins Canyon Road aka Higgins Purisima Road » Half Moon Bay » Highway 1 » Wavecrest Road » Coastal trails along the bluff; north to El Granada » Coronado Street » Avenue Cabrillo » Palma Street » Santa Maria Avenue » Quarry Park » Coronado Avenue » The Crossways » Santiago Avenue » Coronado Street » Coastal trails along the bluff; south to Redondo Beach » Redondo Beach Road » Highway 1 » Cowell Ranch Beach » Cowell-Purisima Trail » Highway 1 » Verde Road » Lobitos Creek Road » Tunitas Creek Road » Star Hill Road » CMØ7 » El Corte de Madera Creek Trail » Resolution Trail » Fir Trail » CMØ1 » Skeggs Point. 57.92 / 8:19 / 11:05 / 6,794’
Link to Open Street Map (http://atlas.gpsvisualizer.com/map?url=http%3A//cosmocatalano.com/strava/export/ride/59146766_.gpx&max=99999&bg=OPENSTREETMAP&tw=2&c=37.445687,-122.381515&z=12&bgo=1).
Kings Mountain:
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=8&year=2013&month=6&ID=KCAWOODS5&type=3&width=800&showtemp=1&showpressure=0&showwind=1&showwinddir=0&showrain=0)
Half Moon Bay:
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=8&year=2013&month=6&ID=KCAPRINC2&type=3&width=800&showtemp=1&showpressure=0&showwind=1&showwinddir=0&showrain=0)
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/9008611749_b5677c6d3f_b.jpg)
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That's an awesome day!
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Kind of a high stress week. Thank you for the distraction and nice ride.
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Some of those stretches look like they would be nice on my 36" uni. Nice to see you enjoying the coast.