Plan it, Ornot. 

Things don’t always go according to plan, in fact, they rarely do. Though as we see it, that’s a great thing. You can go with the flow and be spontaneous, or not, but if you’re going to ride with us you should be ready to abandon the plan. And that’s a great thing.

Sunday morning, we met at the bridge as we usually do. A soupy fog engulfed the land, but luckily it was warm nonetheless. We had a big day in the great north of Marin in mind, but those dreams disappeared into the grey as we caught sight of hordes of runners at the bridge. Enough to shut it down.

So we headed south. A little obstacle is never an adventure deterrent. Maybe even an instigator. With the bakery in Half Moon Bay and Tunitas Creek in mind, we headed through an uncharacteristically humid cloud, the sound of roaring Maverick waves sneaking through the grey.

After pastries and coffee, another audible. Why ride the same old route down the coast to Tunitas, when we could take the notorious climb over Higgins Canyon to the dirt up Purisima Creek? Less adventurous minds may have pondered the extra steep gradients and worried about road bikes off road, but we relished the obstacles.

If Higgins in the fog looks like a spooky scene from a horror film, Purisima Creek in the fall is the backdrop of a fairytale. The tall coastal plants on Higgins turned instantly to tall redwoods and a flurry of orange and yellow leaves on Purisima that reminded us that California does indeed have an autumn.

A wet day on Purisima Creek on the road bike is no joke. It is steep and slippery and road gearing doesn’t begin to cut it. But there little we’d trade for the unexpected instant where the sunlight shoots out between the redwoods because we’d left the fog behind. A flat in the middle of the climb left us a moment to cherish the fallen leaves and bask in the sun and the glory of such a great day on the bike, not a bit of it expected. We’ll be sure to stick to the plan next time though, Ornot.