Tourists in Monterey Peninsula

Part of the new year get with it program is to get healthy. Yeah, I know - we say that every year, but this year we mean it. We both lost weight in the move and with the work on the boat, and the "sort of Zone" diet we have been following, we need to keep this lifestyle up. I say this after eating three huge cookies called Blondies (caramel and pecans, yum). So we loaded up the bikes and tried to follow the old road alongside Highway 1, tourist area in the Monterey Peninsula. Those guys and girls, at least they looked like girls, in the sleek little tight pants and jackets zipped by us. As it was freezing, big waves, windy and the usual January California weather, I wore everything I could and after the uphill slog, was sweating. There are little byways where you can take your car just so far to get to the beach, and absolutely no damn dogs allowed, but people were exploring the area so we would have to slalom around them. The bikes are 21 speed types that let you go up steep hills, supposedly without breaking a sweat. Supposedly is right - and it isn't true about never forgetting how to ride a bike. I kept trying to find the right combination of gears. Think on it: twenty one gears compared to the Schwinn we all learned on. Wobbling up hill, trying not to notice the looks of pity from those sleek damn yuppies and trying to get the right combination, thighs burning, and getting to the top was, well, exhilirating. Sort of. Downhill is another story - I sometimes get off and walk for fear of pitch poling right into the sand dunes. We have also been watching the great adventures of people on the Nature programs who walk the Continential Divide Trail, or the Appalachian trail. Not one ounce of fat on them. Ok. We get the picture. Then there are those who run marathons. Again, not an ounce of fat on them. We stopped backpacking when I complained my back was too out of it to carry a pack. We did Haleakala and Kalalau hikes so many times that we felt wonderful after a week of just being with nature and were fit. So the word for the new year, is to continue this quest and to find some beaches where dogs can run free. What is with this bit of legislated wilderness? Most people pick up their dog messes and the beaches along the California coast are huge and there is more than enough room for people, surfers, dogs and other assorted wierdos. So what the hell is with the deal of treating dogs and their owners as suspect? Perhaps it is a fear of litigation, bad dogs, bad owners, etc. It is frustrating to just find a place where they can just race their butts off. Dog parks are suspect. Come to think of it, so are some of the people we see on the beaches.