Wednesday Ride Options
MAIN ROUTE: 41.6 miles, 1893 vertical ft, Wednesday, Main Ride
LONGER ROUTE: 64.6 miles, 4510 vertical ft, Wednesday, Long Ride
Today’s ride is called Ragged Point. We will cycle from Moonstone Beach to Ragged Point and points beyond. We roll out by car from Paso Robles to Moonstone Beach at 8:15 a.m. for a 9 a.m. ride start.
We have developed the tradition of doing an “out and back” ride on the Wednesday of the Gran Fundo, making the route into what is essentially a “recovery ride” that everyone will enjoy depending on how far out they wish to ride before returning.
Ragged Point and the Elephant Seals seems to be a favorite, so we will again make this our Wednesday recovery ride. For the main route (41.6 miles and 1893 ft of elevation), we will ride North on Hwy 1 from Moonstone Beach to Ragged Point (20.8 miles) and back, all within sight of the blue Pacific. The only SAG stop is in the parking lot of Ragged Point. For those wanting to get in some additional mileage, the long route (64.6 miles and 4510 ft of elevation) goes farther north from Ragged Point to the town of Gorda which offers a small market and restaurant. There is no official short route, but if you want to forego the SAG stop, just turn around anywhere short of Ragged Point and return to Moonstone Beach.
The ride will begin from the parking lot on the far north end of Moon Stone Beach Park in Cambria at 9:00 a.m. We recommend starting the car-pool drive from the Adelaide by 8:15 a.m. to be there for the start.
Follow these directions to get to the correct Moonstone Beach parking lot: take Hwy 46 west to U.S. 1, turn right on Hwy 1 and proceed to the north end of Cambria, where you will turn left at the sign for Moonstone Beach Park. Take Moonstone Beach Road through the park to the north end of the park, about a quarter mile from where the road again enters U.S. 1. A parking lot on your left is the place to park and from which we will begin the ride.
The ride heads north on U.S. 1, which runs along the dramatic Pacific Coast, and stays on U.S. 1 for the entire ride. Along the way, there are scenic stops where we will be able to view the wildflowers and watch the elephant seals sunning themselves on the beach. (We recommend stopping to view the elephant seals on the return trip, when the viewing spots will be on our cycling side of U.S. 1.) The road is essentially flat for the first 18 miles, and then climbs a few hundred feet up to Ragged Point. Feel free to walk the grounds and take in the views. The SAG wagon will be located in the parking lot. Whether you turn around at Ragged Point or go out further to Gorda, we head south back to Cambria and perhaps visit one of its many fun luncheon spots in Moonstone Beach or in Cambria.
Here is a RidewithGPS overlay option of today’s routes – check the box for “Show all on map” to see both routes.
