DRASTIC CHANGE IN LANDSCAPE

If you’ve followed my blog very long, you know how much I love to ride my bike.  It helps me stay in shape while providing some amazing photo opportunities.  I think I’ve ridden nearly every Southern California beach trail.  In fact, let me see.  I’ve ridden the Santa Barbara/Goleta Beach trail, which navigates through UCSB at various times.  I’ve ridden the Santa Monica/Venice Beach bike trail which passes by the world-famous Santa Monica Pier.  I’ve ridden the Naples/Belmont Shore/Long Beach bike trail passing the RMS Queen Mary Ocean Liner, which is now a hotel and museum.  And last but not least my favorite ride, which is the Seal Beach/Sunset Beach/Bolsa Chica Beach/Huntington Beach/Newport Beach/Balboa Peninsula/Balboa Island ride.

But last weekend we rode a route we don’t usually ride, mainly because it is without question the most difficult ride we do.  That’s the Pelican Point/Crystal Cove Beach path.  Only a few miles further south from where our favorite ride ends, is this challenging ride. 

As you can see, the landscape has drastically changed.

This ride begins high above the beach as you traverse the beautiful cliffs of this magnificent trail.  With the beach far below, you immediately feel the effect of a much more intense southwest wind in your face.

On several occasions the trail will dive down to the beach.  As you make that descent, you’re presented with a magnificent view similar to the one above.  There is only one problem with that.  After a brief time at beach level, you are immediately faced with the challenge of navigating the very steep incline back to the rocky bluffs of the upper trail.  Ten to fifteen miles of that is quite enough, thank you!

To help you with you perspective, if you look carefully at the photograph above you will notice a sailboat exiting the Newport Beach Harbor channel.  What looks to be immediately behind the sailboat is the Balboa Pier.  At the end of this pier you’ll find the original Ruby’s Diner.  This Ruby’s has a rooftop dining area which seems to be our favorite lunch stop during our Huntington Beach ride.  We have seen everything from dolphins playfully swimming by to those parasailing leisurely overhead as we enjoy our lunch.  Though the channel and the pier seem to be close together, they are actually about 5 miles apart.  If you would like to see my post from that area, click here.

Further in the distance you may be able to make out the Newport Beach Pier.  This is our favorite place for a Balboa Bar!  YUMMO!

At one of my photography stops along the way, we noticed several people who had climbed to the top of one of the many island cliffs created by the high tide.  You will not believe what happened next – and I caught it all on film!  (Actually, I caught it all on a digital sensor, but that doesn’t seem to have much of a ring to it, does it?)

There you have it – a somewhat new ride that really, really tests your level of fitness!  Thanks for coming along.  (It was exhausting, wasn’t it?)

I want to thank you for your kind words regarding the post about my father.  I really wanted to post it, but wasn’t sure how it might be received.  Thank you for your graciousness.

That’s it for today.  I’ll see you tomorrow.  Make sure you come back to see what happened on the cliffs that day! 

~ by photographyfree4all on August 23, 2010.