Watsonville – Strawberry Fields Forever
Everybody getting ready for the Strawberry Fields Forever bike ride
Once again, we set out to do the 25 mile bike ride at the annual Strawberry Fields Forever event at Watsonville. Last year the day started out cold and foggy but today it is warm. As we drove out of the garage at 6 am, the temperature read 66 degrees. Watsonville is near the coast so it could well have been cold and foggy over there. Driving towards the Santa Cruz mountains on Highways 85 and 17, everything looked crisp and clear. Traffic was light and the sun shone. What more could we have asked for?
We passed or were passed by at least six vehicles hauling bikes. I wondered if they are all going to the same event. The nearer to Watsonville we got, the more bikes we saw. There were 1202 bikes taking part in the event. (Click on the images for larger versions)
Besides the 25 mile ride which Tom and I took part in, there were also a 100 kilometers and a 100 mile ride. Either one of those would have been just too much for us. We were not out to do it in a fast time. In fact, we made many stops. Tom had his camera of course and there were lots of photo ops. Last year, all the early starters were on the longer rides and Tom and I were the only ones for some time on the short ride.
When we turned off Highway 1 towards Watsonville and neared our destination, we saw lots of cyclists who had already started on their ride and when we approached the car park at Pajaro High School, the first lot was already full. There were certainly far more cyclists around than last year. Negotiating the car through the car park, with bikes being unloaded, people walking about and cyclists setting off, was hazardous.
While Tom unloaded our bikes, I went to register and to pick up the printed route. I was also given two red arm bands which were our meal tickets. I was under the impression that the 25 mile route did not get the lunch but I was not about to question it.
At 7.40 we set off, after covering ourselves in sun block of course. The first part was downhill and I knew that it would be a killer at the end of the ride.
At first there were three sets of arrows – green, yellow and red. We were following the green arrows. We turned right at the first set of lights. I should have checked the route map to see how far we had to go on Harkins Slough Road before our next turn but was relying on seeing the green arrows. Ahead I saw a hill and was bracing myself to get up it plus the sun block had got into my eyes and they were watering and that’s my excuse for missing the green arrow pointing to the right at Ohlone Parkway. We’d gone about three quarters of a mile before I stopped to check the map. Oh no, we have to climb up that hill again! Our situation was not as bad as another cyclist who had also stopped to check the map. She was on the 100 kilometer route and didn’t know she was supposed to follow the yellow arrows.
Eventually we were back on the right track. Our next instruction was to go 0.11 miles to the next turn but it was more like a mile. I thought we
Lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce. They don't call this the "salad bowl of America" for nothing.
gone wrong again but I had been watching out for the green arrows and didn’t see any at all. Eventually we saw a green arrow and turned onto Beach Street. This is where the strawberry fields began. After nearly two miles we turned onto Thurwatcher Road and were once again sharing the route with the yellow and red arrows. Consequently there were suddenly more cyclists around. There were strawberries all around us and lots of them looked ready to be picked. They were growing right next to the road. It was so tempting not to stop and sample some, but we resisted.
Just before a bridge over Watsonville Slough we stopped so Tom could take photos. Quite a few cyclists asked if we were OK or whether we needed help but I assured them we were fine. I sat on a crash barrier and started writing. We heard a noise behind us and thought it was a tractor but then Tom spotted a model plan and told me where to look. We watched it climb, swoop and execute loops. What fun.
It is amazing how the faster cyclists could carry on conversations with each other as they rode along and they were going at a steady speed. Tom and I are just casual weekend cyclists and this year we were not in top form. We had only been out a couple of times on our bikes – once on a short trip round the neighborhood one evening and our visit to Alviso last weekend. At this stage in the ride our legs were beginning to complain.
May 22 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
