We’ve talked about doing the Strawberry Fields Forever ride in Watsonville for years, but the timing has never lined up. So we took matters into our own hands and rode a modified version of it ourselves.

As we started, the day was overcast and cool. We rode along many strawberry and other fruit fields, with relatively light traffic on most of the roads. There were a few challenging but short hills in the morning.

We had hoped to get closer to the big climb before lunch, but ended up stopping just off an intersection. It was fine, but a bit more exposed than ideal.

After lunch we started the main climb along Mt Madonna. There was a section near the start with a flagger and one-way traffic. These aren’t a ton of fun when uphill, since we’re super slow, but fortunately it was pretty short and quiet. The road quickly got even more quiet and forested. It was quite lovely.

The hill itself was difficult. I haven’t been biking enough, and eventually Anne took Max in his trailer, so she had both kids. We walked some of the way. But eventually we got to the top.

The loop back around was hillier then I expected. I took Max back, who pedals the most furiously on the downhills. For some of the return we rode on the same roads as on the West Coast trip. I remember this day, but the specific roads didn’t feel familiar.

We got back to the car somewhat late, but well before dark. A successful, if tiring, ride.