Each pedal push and creak of my old-school Italian racer lifts me higher, salt-tinted wind brushes past my cheeks, and the warmth of Pacific Grove’s sunset-lit corner of the Monterey Bay quickly gives way to a motorcycle show on Cannery Row.
On a Saturday in July, I’m winding through crowds of tourists who aren’t really paying attention to me, or the person in front of me, or, for that matter, the person riding swiftly in the opposite direction. It’s like a game of knock ’em down, only, you can’t hit them, you’ve got to do your best to avoid that scenario. Everyone’s lost in the reveries of vacation on the Central Coast, and frankly, I’m lucky I haven’t crashed yet.
The bike path I’m on barrels through the best that Monterey has to offer. It takes riders, or would-be riders, from sleepy and quaint Pacific Grove to Cannery Row, skirts the Monterey harbor and Fisherman’s Wharf near downtown, and directs you to the dunes near Seaside and beyond. It’s long and beautiful.
When we were kids, my family used to drive to Monterey for the day, bikes in hand, or we would rent from one of several purveyors along the path: Adventures by the Sea and Bay Bikes both rent single or quadruple occupancy cycles by the hour, day, or week. It’s just fun and freeing, plus, if you like to eat good food, you feel like you got some exercise in there. Maybe.
If you’re into Cannery Row, there are plenty of places to occupy your time, but in the summer it’s crowded! Crowded. And there are plenty of options outside of what’s found in that section of the Bay.
Before the recent ride, my family and I hit up the Beach House at Lover’s Point for some Sunset Specials, which are served daily between 4 and 5:30 p.m., and a patio view overlooking the bay. The plates are miniature versions of dinner entrees, and the price—$9.90—is hard to beat. I got Panko-Sand Dabs Almondine, a nice fish dish served with wild rice pilaf and lemon buerre blanc. The Beach House also has pasta, salmon, bacon-wrapped meatloaf, a pork chop, and chicken piccata.
A couple of hours after dinner we used human pedal power and headed for the Fisherman’s Wharf, a super touristy spot with typical T-shirts and other branded schwag, but also a great taffy shop and restaurant after restaurant offering free clam chowder tasting to passersby. There’s a couple of fresh seafood markets, too. It’s crowded, colorful, and full of the iconic barks of sea lions.
My favorite chowder isn’t from the pier, though, it’s served up at Fishwife—which has two locations, one in Seaside and one in Pacific Grove. A bowl of the Boston clam chowder will run you $6.50.
Looking for a mellow spot to grab a brew, without tourists cramping your style? A few streets up from Cannery Row, the Bulldog British Pub serves up pints to locals on Lighthouse Avenue. They also have great curry fries—fries served up with a side of English curry. Yummy!
It’s downhill to get back to the bike path from there, and a quick couple of miles to pedal back to Pacific Grove. I saved room for dessert, so I hit up the Ice Cream Shoppe, an eclectic, colorful, and very loud little place scooping up Lappert’s Ice Cream (from Hawaii) with flavors like Pink Sea Salt Caramel and Coconut Macadamia Fudge.
Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, Crosby Stills and Nash, Beatles, and more Beatles paraphernalia cover the walls. You can be a pinball wizard with Elvis and listen to the—yes—Beatles while you mow down a homemade waffle cone covered in chocolate and M&Ms or marshmallows.
I had the chocolate peanut butter in a plain waffle cone ($4.99, yikes!), and I always love staring at the walls.
Interim Editor Camillia Lanham sometimes stares at walls because she’s sick of staring at a computer. She can be reached at [email protected].
