San Francisco to Santa Cruz 80.1 miles in 6 hours and 1 minute.
After breakfast the priest of the Armenian congregation led us in morning devotions. It was a very moving service. In the free church tradition one tends to forgot how moving liturgy can be, especially when it is done with purpose.
On the road again, without my riding buddy Hannah and Pete. The group picked up two new riders Dean and Chris F. Dean will be riding with us for a week and Chris F the rest of the way.
The ride was mostly in-land with a little bit of costal riding near Half Moon Bay. I rode with several different people depending on my speed and theirs. I rode through strawberry fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. The strawberries were being picked by migrant workers--100s of them. The strawberries were for Driscoll, which is the brand Martin's/Giant sells in my town. It was amazing to see the strawberries being picked, packaged and placed on pallets in the field and then loaded on to trucks that will eventually deliever them to my neighborhood grocery store.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. Our host church for the evening is called Vintage Faith. It is a Presbyterian Church, but has re-made itself into a West Coast version of the emergent church. The coolest thing about the church is the coffee shop the church runs, called the Abbey. Great coffee, 70's rock, lounge chairs, couches,and lots of young people reading, chatting, studying and simply hanging out. Every church needs such a coffee shop.
Tuesday is the college night at the church. The church hosts a dinner, informal worship, and discussion groups for college age folks. Santa Cruz is home to one othe UC campuses. It was the last college night until Sept. We had sloppy joes for dinner and good conversation with students in attendance. The worship service was the polar opposite of the morning's devotions at the Armenian church. It was informal, with praise music, powerpoint, testimonies, and a rambling homily, but it felt good to worship with such a large group of young adults.
Tomorrow is a short day Santa Cruz to Carmel. Maybe I'll get to see Clint Eastwood.
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