e-Biking to the beach
After months of an unusual amount of rain It was a beautiful weekend in Newport Beach, CA, and we were eager to spend our day outdoors. We set a route from Bonita Canyon Sports Park down to Crystal Cove Beach, a distance of about 10 miles. We’d pass through Corona del Mar and our final destination at Crystal Cove state park. Annie, had been looking forward to this ride for weeks, and she had carefully planned our route and packed us a lunch and refreshments.
We set off from the park at 8:00 am, enjoying the fresh air and cool breeze. The first part of the ride was relatively easy, as the path through Bonita Canyon Sports Park was mostly flat and shaded by trees. We pedaled past the park’s soccer fields and pickleball courts, waving to a few early morning joggers and dog walkers.
As we left the park, the path began to slope upwards, we began to feel the burn in our legs and we decided it was time to power up our e-bikes. We were determined to reach the beach, but wanted to still get a good workout so we kept the e-bikes on low power, enjoying the beautiful scenery around us and our purring quiet e-bikes. The path wound through rolling hills with covered in wildflowers and cacti with tall shady trees and once the path ended we in a beautiful little neighborhood known as the “Port Streets” riding along smooth, wide streets with very few vehicles.
After a few more miles of steady uphill pedaling, we reached the peak of the hill at San Miguel Drive and San Joaquin Hills Road where we could see the ocean in the distance, sparkling in the sunlight. and the path begins a steady downward slope from here. We turned off the power on our e-bikes, picking up speed, letting the wind rush past our ears as we zoomed down the hill. We felt a sense of exhilaration as we whizzed past other cyclists and joggers, our eyes fixed on the road ahead.
As we got closer to the beach, the path became steeper, and we had to slow down to navigate the twists and turns. We passed by a few more hills and valleys, powering up the e-bikes when necessary and finally, we could see the blue water of the ocean up ahead. We pedaled faster, eager to reach our beach-dream destination.
We arrived at Crystal Cove Beach, our legs feeling tired but happy. Annie and I parked our e-bikes and took a deep breath of the salty sea air, gazing out at the ocean stretching before us. We definitely felt a sense of accomplishment, having completed the 10-mile ride, but also a sense of calm and peace that comes from being out in nature.
We spread out a blanket and spent the rest of the day at the beach, swimming, soaking up rays, and later enjoyed fresh seafood appetizers and cocktails at the Bootlegger Bar. As the sun began to set, we hopped back on our e-bikes and made the trek back home, feeling content and energized from a day well-spent in the great outdoors.
We used Pedego e-bikes for our ride and I will say they were remarkably comfortable and a lot of the time easy enough to ride without power. I’d highly recommend the Pedego brand if you’re in the market for a new e-bike. We purchased ours at a family run Pedego store where they provide free test rides. They’re located at 3800 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA 92606 and they’re open 7 days a week pedegoirvine.com.