Bike Ride from Half Moon Bay to Purisima Creek

With beautiful weather in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was time for a nice bicycle ride from Half Moon Bay to Purisima Creek.

I met up with Alex in Palo Alto, and we loaded our two bicycles into the Toyota Sienna. We drove another 55 minutes to Half Moon Bay, parking in the empty parking lot across from Half Moon Bay Sportfishing & Tackle.

After unloading the bikes, we changed into our biking outfits and started the ride along Half Moon Bay, heading toward Purisima Creek. The ride was very, very pleasant, with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean.

At Surfers Beach, we saw many young surfers testing their skills on small shorebreak. There was also a surfing class on the shore. I even saw one lonely SUP Surfer trying his luck.

We continued our ride along the bike lane by the beach, encountering many pedestrians, dogs, and a few other bikers.

When we finally turned into Purisma Creek Road, we encountered very few cars. Instead, we saw many farms with horses, goats, cows, and other animals. The trail turned into a hill climb, and we struggled a bit to reach the top.

We saw lots of cars near the Purisima Creek Trail at the Purisima Creek Road Trailhead. We didn't stop to explore further, but I learned a bit more about this redwood preserve later.

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is located on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking Half Moon Bay. The centerpiece of this 5,412-acre preserve is Purisima Creek Canyon, with its towering redwoods, rushing creek, and understory of ferns, berries, and wildflowers. Magnificent views of the coast and Half Moon Bay are visible from the northern part of the preserve.

On the way back, we stopped at Half Moon Bay's downtown for a coffee at Cafe Society. The cappuccinos had excellent foam but were nothing special.

We continued our ride back to Pillor Point Harbor, encountering strong Northerly wind. I even saw a kitesurfer on the water.

After we secured our bikes in the van, we decided to eat a quick lunch at Barbara's Fishtrap. We hoped to dine inside, but the wait for a table was 25 minutes, so we decided to order from the to-go menu and eat while standing.

I ordered the following items for lunch:

• Fish & Chips
• Cup of Clam Chowder

The Clam Chowder was awful, but the Fish & Chips were decent.

Purisma Creek & Higgins Canyon Road Loop

Road ride · September 13, 2026

23.43 miDistance

1152 ftElevation gain

2:12:46Moving time

Not recordedAvg power

10.6 mphAverage speed

1,312 kcalCalories

Elevation-5–221 m

Elevation gain 1152 ft / 351 mMax elevation 728 ft / 222 m

Speed3–36 km/h

Avg speed 10.6 mph / 17.0 km/hMax speed 26.9 mph / 43.3 km/h

Heart rate85–184 bpm

Avg heart rate 129 bpmMax heart rate 184 bpm

Cadence0–91 rpm

Avg cadence 77 rpmMax cadence 112 rpm

Temperature19–23 °C

Charts use 30-second averages across the full elapsed time (2:48:10), so horizontal gaps reflect stops. Session totals supply the headline and chart statistics.

Links

• Cafe Society
• Barbara's Fishtrap
• Purisima Creek Trail
• Half Moon Bay Sportfishing & Tackle
• Half Moon Bay to Purisima Creek.gpx

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Crazy Windy at Crissy Field

With a strong Southerly wind forecast (25 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I anticipated epic conditions at Crissy Field. 

I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started the drive to San Francisco's Crissy Field around 10:00. There was some heavy traffic, and I arrived at Crissy at 12:00.

After finding a spot to park (there was plenty of parking on the grass, and I found a good spot with enough grass to rig the wing), I messaged Alex and started the walk to Cracked & Battered, where I planned to meet Alex at noon. 

I was a bit late due to traffic, but fortunately, Alex arrived on time and added us to the waiting list at Cracked & Battered. We sat down quickly after I arrived at 12:30.

We ordered the following items at Cracked & Battered:

• Alex: Fried Chicken Benedict, Coffee
• Boris: Chicken & Waffles, Coffee

The Salad was large, healthy, and delicious.

After lunch, we walked back to Crissy Field to see whether the wind had picked up. The wind was extremely strong, and I was worried that my 4.0 wing might be too large.

Since iwindsurf.com reported about 25 knots of wind at Anita Rock, I decided to rig my gear as follows:

• Duotone Slick SLS 4.0 wing (my smallest)
• Armstrong 1250cm front foil
• Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra 95-liter
• Dakine harness
• GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini cam in a plastic waterproof case (which tends to overheat in the case)

I had a crazy two-hour session, blasting along. The wind gusted to 30 knots, and the chop got quite heavy.

Here is a GoPro Hero 11 Black mini video of my one-hour session (recorded using 4K 60 frames/sec)

Links

• Cracked & Battered (Chestnut Street, Marina)
• Crissy Field Webcam
• Milos Meze
• Souvla 
• Napizza

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Wing Foiling at Crissy

With a favorable wind forecast (15-20 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I anticipated excellent wing foiling at Crissy Field in San Francisco. There was no wind at Coyote Point (my normal destination), so I decided to head to Crissy.

I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started the drive to San Francisco's Crissy Field around 10:00. There was some heavy traffic, and I arrived at Crissy at 11:30.

After finding a spot to park (there was plenty of parking on the grass, and I found a good spot with enough grass to rig the wing). I decided to try Cracked & Battered, but the line was too long, so I settled on Souvla instead. Alex was out of town, hiking with his Northeastern friends at Zion National Park.

I ordered the following items at Souvla.

• Salad with Lamb

The Salad  with Lamb was large, healthy, and delicious. I had my Kindle with me, so I had plenty of books to read. I decided to continue with Bertie Plays the Blues: A 44 Scotland Street Novel (7).

After lunch, I walked back to Crissy Field to see whether the wind had picked up. There were a few wing foilers out there, and I decided to rig up.

Since iwindsurf.com reported about 18 knots of wind at Anita Rock, I decided to rig my gear as follows:

• Duotone Slick SLS 5.0 wing (my smallest)
• Armstrong 1250cm front foil
• Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra 95-liter
• Dakine harness
• GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini cam in a plastic waterproof case (which tends to overheat in the case)

I had an excellent two-hour session, blasting along on my 5.0m Duotone wing. The wing was a bit too large a few times, but I handled it well. The wind gusted to 25 knots, and the chop got quite heavy.

Here is a GoPro Hero 11 Black mini video of my one-hour session (recorded in 4K at 60 frames/sec)

Links

• Cracked & Battered (Chestnut Street, Marina)
• Crissy Field Webcam
• Milos Meze
• Souvla 
• Napizza

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Bike Ride from Sausalito to Tiburon and back

With beautiful weather in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was time for a nice bicycle ride from Sausalito to Tiburon and back. I met up with Alex in Palo Alto, and we loaded our two bicycles into the Toyota Sienna. Fortunately, both fit inside, without having to remove any of the wheels. We drove another 80 minutes to Sausalito, parking on the street, near the start of our intended bike ride.

After unloading the bikes, we changed into our biking outfits and started the ride to Tiburon. The ride was very, very pleasant, with many bicycle lanes, so we rarely had to watch out for cars.

Tiburon itself was very pleasant, and we stopped by Cafe Acri for a coffee and a snack (where many other bicyclists were also enjoying themselves). I ordered a Pizette, a cappuccino, and a cranberry scone (which I shared with Alex).

On the way back to Sausalito, my iGPSPORT bike GPS got confused, and we almost ended up doing another tour of Tiburon. Fortunately, we had the "deja-vu" feeling that we had been there before and quickly found our way back.

For a late lunch, we first stopped at Hook Fish Co. at Proof, but the line was so long that we decided to try Tartine in Mill Valley (about 8 minutes away). The line at Tartine was much shorter, and there were tables available, too.

I ordered the following (I initially wanted the Double Smash Burger, but it was sold out):

• Drinks: Cappuccino
• Main: Turkey Club (toasted)
• Dessert: Pudding

Here are the details of the ride:

Marin Paradise Loop

Road ride · September 5, 2026

27.68 miDistance

1040 ftElevation gain

2:23:25Moving time

Not recordedAvg power

11.6 mphAverage speed

1,931 kcalCalories

Elevation-3–98 m

Elevation gain 1040 ft / 317 mMax elevation 326 ft / 99 m

Speed4–37 km/h

Avg speed 11.6 mph / 18.6 km/hMax speed 25.3 mph / 40.7 km/h

Heart rate33–178 bpm

Avg heart rate 144 bpmMax heart rate 182 bpm

Cadence0–97 rpm

Avg cadence 78 rpmMax cadence 108 rpm

Temperature18–33 °C

Charts use 30-second averages across the full elapsed time (3:31:55), so horizontal gaps reflect stops. Recorded with iGPSPORT; average power: not recorded in fit samples.

Links

• Tiburon
• Café Acri
• Mill Valley
• Hook Fish Co. at Proof
• Tartine Mill Valley
• GPX
• Sausalito, Tiburon, Paradise Cay.gpx

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Bike Ride from Palo Alto to Filoli Gardens

With beautiful weather in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was time for a nice bicycle ride to Filoli Gardens. I met up with Alex in Palo Alto, and we started our long ride to Filoli Gardens.

I was riding my Specialized FSR S-Works mountain bike on pavement, and it felt a bit heavy at times. We stopped for a quick restroom break at Filoli Gardens.

Ride to Filoli Gardens

Road ride · August 30, 2026 · Palo Alto to Filoli and back

36.17 miDistance

1696 ftElevation gain

3:19:22Moving time

160 WAvg power

10.9 mphAverage speed

2,497 kcalCalories

Elevation-4–169 m

Elevation gain 1696 ft / 517 mMax elevation 558 ft / 170 m

Speed3–39 km/h

Avg speed 10.9 mph / 17.5 km/hMax speed 27.4 mph / 44.0 km/h

Heart rate84–173 bpm

Avg heart rate 137 bpmMax heart rate 174 bpm

Cadence0–94 rpm

Avg cadence 73 rpmMax cadence 105 rpm

Temperature20–32 °C

Charts use 30-second averages across the full elapsed time (4:17:40), so horizontal gaps reflect stops. Recorded with iGPSPORT; the 160 W average-power value was supplied separately because the FIT samples contain no power stream.

Links

• Filoli Gardens
• Palo Alto to Filoli GPX file

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