“Nothing in this world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely, we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.”
—W. Somerset Maugham
Bill Rothenberg and I met my son-in-law, Kyle Lewis at a parking lot in Redwood City and we caravanned to Half Moon Bay. The day began with a little rain and clouds which blew off shortly after we off-loaded our bikes near in the downtown area of this wonderful coastal city.
Beginning on the northern end of Half Moon Bay, we turned left from Hway 1 onto Higgins Canyon Road. At first the road was flat. We passed acres of Brussel sprouts being harvested. We then began our gradual and steady climb to the top before making our exciting serpentine descents on well paved roads with awesome views of deeply forested redwood trees. Though Bill and I had done this climb before, having first been introduced to us by friend Jimi Hunter and his wife Jennifer, this was Kyle’s first bike ride in this area. I was immediately reminded how pleasant the road and surrounding farms, ranches and rolling hills were throughout the ride. We stopped along the way to take photos of the horses and cows in the open meadows. Kyle spotted some wild turkeys hidden in a trenched area off road and befriended a young Labrador retriever behind a wooden fence who wanted to play.
After this joyful ride in the countryside, we made our way back to Hway 1, and rode in a lane that was wide enough to shield us from the cars speeding by. The next leg of our journey is one of Half Moon Bay’s best kept secrets: the Coastal Trail. Our access point was Cowell Ranch Beach which is part of the Coastal Trail and boasts awe-inspiring high bluff wall that wraps around the beach.
There are cracks, ruts, ditches, gravel, bumpy terrain and seaside cliffs that require one’s full attention including a firm grip on the handlebars. But, once you get through this challenging part (you could circumvent it), the trail is paved again and passes through the golf course and around the coastal side of the Half Moon Bay Gold links toward’s and passed the magnificent Ritz Carlton Hotel the trail is paved again. We continued along the coast to the harbor at Pillar Point, just short of the world-famous Maverick’s, the famous big-wave surf spot.
It was near 2 PM, and we were famished. We had completed over 28 miles of riding. We made our way back to Main Street to the San Benito House down the street where we were parked. We secured a large table in the courtyard. Bill and I enjoyed fresh mahi-mahi fish tacos and Kyle savored a Mission Style chicken burrito and we both had a nice cold beer from the Cantina.
