Chances are, when you think of Monterey Bay, or its neighbors Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur, you picture dramatic, rugged and sweeping California coastlines, Bixby Bridge, Pebble Beach Golf Course, ridiculous beach mansions, and soggy mornings on Highway 1.
Maybe you think of all the whales, sea lions and sharks just below the surface. While those are all great reasons to visit Monterey, there’s a lot more to this coastal region for those, like us, who wanna get their pedal on while donning colorful costumes that emote the sea life sensibilities of the Bay’s oceanic wonders… there’s the allure of top-notch coastal cruising along 17 Mile Drive, the single tracks of Fort Ord, the vineyards of Carmel Valley and the vroom of Laguna Seca.
And while its rugged riding captures our imagination, what goes on below the surface offers a fun, fascinating and teeming palette for design exploration.
The Monterey Bay region has an incredible array of cycling tomfoolery to be had by all, not to mention myriad options for imbibing large quantities of the region’s squished and fermented grapes or indulging in the best beans prepared at Captain + Stoker Coffee House or engorging one’s belly at world famous restaurants like The Lodge, or our favorite, La Bicyclette.
To us, this area is the greatest meeting of land and sea. It’s where the slow pedaling mountains are incessantly pestered by the ocean’s intermittent accelerations. It’s also a place where the word ‘iconic’ gets overplayed and its coastline is over IG’d! But that didn’t get in the way of our inspiration to create a special Eliel collection that celebrates the deep sea denizens that lay below the coastline in this aquatic Shangri La.
In the end, it is Mother Nature who determines much of what happens in the Bay. That is the allure and the draw. And while its rugged riding captures our imagination, what goes on below the surface offers a fun, fascinating and teeming palette for design exploration. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”
Slip into the resplendent Monterey Bay Collection here.
