#17miledrive

Ever wondered where the real magic of Car Week happens? It's not just on the show field, but in moments like this: a customer experiencing the pure joy of driving their V MAX along the iconic 17-Mile Drive.

12 February 2023

Some people ride just because it’s fun or because it’s good exercise. That is certainly is part of why I ride, but ultimately I think I enjoy riding because of the sightseeing. Today I felt like a very lucky tourist!

This route is a variation on Monterey’s 17-Mile Drive (or maybe it’s Pebble Beach’s 17-Mile Drive?). There’s a fee for cars, but apparently not for bikes (I was waved through) - though I would have been happy to pay for this. I did it fairly early on a chilly morning, so there were few cars and few other bikes. When we came back later in the day in the car the viewpoints were starting to fill up. I imagine on a sunny afternoon in warmer weather, this would be a zoo. But it would still be spectacular!

Besides surf and beaches and sea otters and groves of Monterey Cypress, there were also a lot of golf courses. In general, the beaches were on the right and the golf courses were on the left. There were also a lot of extremely nice houses and just as many extremely nice gates.

This ride would be a little easier if it was done as an out-and-back along the coast, since the hardest, and least interesting, segment was the big hill at the end crossing back across the neck of the peninsula. On the other hand, it made the ride a little shorter and it wrapped in a neat section along the water east of Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf. With more time, it would be fun to include Carmel just south of the loop), or maybe the ride west into the dunes west of Monterey and Seaside.

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Sharkwerks.