At the beginning of the year, our friends over at California Field School reached out to us for a collaborative bike touring trip catered to our interns. With their expertise, we planned a leisurely and majestic supported bike tour and recruited 6 adventurous young people to join our staff during this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
On Monday, April 1, we departed Waterside on two wheels and rode to Jack London Square where we boarded the ferry to Embarcadero in San Francisco. We camped out on the west side of the Rob Hill Campground and had a great evening getting acquainted with our gear and each other. Participants felt “happy and exhausted”.
The next morning, we hopped on our bikes, meandered through San Francisco to ride down the Great Highway along Ocean Beach and stopped for lunch in Daly City.
Afterward, we rode through Pacifica and stopped to appreciate some amazing views of the Pacific Ocean followed by an insanely beautiful 1-mile descent (with no cars!) down Devil’s Slide. After that exhilarating descent, we then pedaled to our beachside campsite in Half Moon Bay where we made our communal dinner and had a peaceful night falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing onto the beach.
The third day was filled with even more scenic views and coastal breezes with the fun addition of some very muddy tires. The route to Pescadero had us riding along the coast where we stopped for lunch at San Gregorio State Beach before taking on some great climbs and descents through rolling hills and tree-covered lanes. Ending in Pescadero, the students reflected on the intense bike riding (climbing, some would say), the peacefulness of falling asleep on a farm, and another calming night of falling asleep next to the ocean.
On the morning of day 4, our van got stuck in the mud as we were leaving in the rain but we were saved by a farm tractor that pulled us out! On the way out we stopped by Swanton Berry Farms and learned about their importance in the United Farm Workers movement that was led by Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong- while enjoying fresh apple and berry ciders to warm us through before the day’s ride. After enjoying warm ciders we rode into Santa Cruz and stopped by Natural Bridges State Beach to have lunch followed by a sunny afternoon of tidepooling.
A huge thank you to our sponsor for this trip, Route to Parks, who helped connect us with the interpreters at Natural Bridges State Beach where we had a guided tour of the local tidepools and fault lines, and learned to identify the flora and fauna that inhabit the naturally dynamic ecosystem. Our wonderful trip leaders made the most of the on-and-off showers and kept morale high with frequent breaks, reminders to snack and replenish the fuel tanks, and lots of encouragement.
Ending at New Brighton State Beach, we enjoyed well-deserved pizzas and participants shared what they remembered most about the tour and what they were looking forward to sharing with their friends and family after the warm van ride home. One intern, Darazja, shared with us that even though the trip was arduous he “learned a lot of new camping techniques” and would love to do it all again. We are excited about more collaborations in the future to encourage and support young people riding and exploring the world around them on a bicycle.
Do you have any camping gear stored away? Waterside Adventures will take anything in usable condition! Your donations ensure we can help future young folks enjoy experiences like this and help them nurture a life-long love for the outdoors as young stewards of the environment. Fill out this survey to let us know what you have.