JULIA CANNING

Julia Canning // Mini Epic

Wow, what a beautiful day and a beautiful ride! It was 60 degrees and sunny on April 1. Met up at the village bakery for coffee and donuts before heading out.

The section along Cañada and Skyline went quickly, and we were able to link back up with the San Andreas trail at the end.

Nice ride up Sneath Lane (this felt like the steepest part of the day) and gorgeous views from Sweeney Ridge - cool to see the reservoirs from above. Single track down.

Stopped for coffee and quiche at Soul Grind after the zig zags.

Planet of the Apes had such a cool road (apparently last paved in the 30s) and was a relaxing climb. Bumpier on the way down.

Got on the coastal trail, detoured to route 1 to avoid a bridge closure, and grabbed hot dogs at the Barn. Next section was a mix of dirt trails (which were pretty muddy - one of the slower parts of the ride), paved trail by the Ritz, and gravel next to fields of yellow flowers.

Onto route 1, which was pretty nice in that section, then Tunitas. Felt pretty great until a 3rd of the way up Tunitas, when I would have preferred to not be on a bike anymore. That climb just keeps going.

And finally down Kings! At which point it was getting dark.

Overall a very fun day.