May is National Bike Month, which has been a League of American Bicyclists sponsored event since 1956. Bicycle-centered events such as Bike to Work Week are held nationwide to promote cycling.
UC Santa Cruz’s Upper Campus mountain biking trails make riders drool for a chance to ride them. Despite its appeal, mountain biking is prohibited on many trails because of its detrimental effects on surrounding plants and animals.
In this edition of Through Our Lens, I’ll lead you through a (legal) bike ride into Upper Campus and down to Wilder Ranch State Park during National Bike Month.
To begin my bike ride, I rode up Bay Street to the bike path that starts near the UCSC Farm and ends at the Music Center. I then rode past the fire department onto Chinquapin Road. If you keep going north on this road, you’ll reach a series of four water tanks. The artwork on these tanks changes often, so try to snap a picture if you love what you see. Keep following Chinquapin Road north and you’ll reach a point known as “Twin Gates,” where a gate to Wilder Ranch and a gate to Upper Campus is separated by Empire Grade. Cross the gate and enter Wilder Ranch.
Unlike Upper Campus, all of the trails in Wilder Ranch permit cycling. The park features 34 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails (watch out for horse stink). Choose any trail to ride down to the coast.
Check out Part 1 of Stoked on Spokes here.
