The Lone Cypress or the Bike Lane: Two eBike Routes
Two routes ride under the same booking and start at two different shops. One takes an eight-mile stretch of 17-Mile Drive with no bike lane, and it is the only one that reaches the Lone Cypress. The other keeps to protected lanes along Pacific Grove. Choose at checkout.
An electric bike rearranges the Monterey Peninsula. The hills stop being the reason you turn back, and the headwind off the Pacific stops deciding how far you get. What is left is a coast you can afford to stop on.
Big Sur Adventures runs this ride as two separate routes sold under one listing. They leave from two different shops, they cover different ground, and only one of them gets to the tree on the rock.
The Intermediate route meets at 2106 Sunset Drive in Pacific Grove, directly across from Hayward Lumber. The Family-Friendly route meets at 125 Ocean View Boulevard, a block down from the aquarium. Street parking near the Sunset Drive shop is free on Crocker Avenue and on Asilomar Avenue.
The listing puts the ride at sixteen miles round trip over about three hours, and it carries 4.95 from 942 reviews.
Monterey's 17 Mile Drive Guided Electric Bike Tour, 3 hrGuided eBike ride on 17-Mile Drive with Big Sur Adventures. Intermediate and Family-Friendly routes, plus an 8:00pm full moon departure. Helmet and water included.www.viator.comThe Road Changes, the Coast Does Not
Both routes ride the oceanfront section from the Pacific Grove gate out to Bird Rock. From there they split.
The Intermediate route takes an eight-mile section of 17-Mile Drive, the ocean-front part, on a narrow winding road it shares with cars at a 25 mph limit. That is the only route that reaches the Lone Cypress. It also passes the sixteenth green at Cypress Point Country Club, where the tee shot crosses 231 yards of open Pacific, and it finishes at a stop with coffee and gelato at tables above Carmel Bay.
The Family-Friendly route avoids the sections of 17-Mile Drive that have no bike lane. It spends those miles on the Pacific Grove coast instead: the oceanfront recreation trail, Point Pinos Lighthouse, the John Denver memorial overlook, Asilomar. The listing is blunt about what that costs you. It skips the Lone Cypress.
The Stops Are Wildlife Stops
There is a restroom break in the middle of the ride, and it doubles as the sea lion stop. The guide names what you are looking at while the animals argue on the rocks below.
Deer graze the fairways along the drive, often close enough that the group just stops and waits. On the Family-Friendly route the guides watch the kelp beds off Pacific Grove for sea otters and explain why one otter matters to a whole kelp forest. Tide pools open up when the tide cooperates.
In spring one lookout near Cypress Point closes so harbor seals can pup on the beach below. Another closes at times for events at Pebble Beach. Neither shows up on the booking page, and the route simply rides past.
The Listing and the Shop Do Not Agree on Who Can Ride
Read this before you book for a group.
- The listing caps rider weight at 350 pounds in one place and 400 in another. The operator's own FAQ puts the standard Rad fleet at 275 pounds. The 350-pound figure belongs to the RadWagon cargo bike, and it is a combined total with a 120-pound limit on the rear seat.
- The listing says solo riders start at 12. The operator's FAQ says 14 for solo riders on the electric bike tours, with 12 to 14 allowed only on speed-governed bikes and after the rider shows they can handle one.
- The listing gives a minimum age of one year. The operator's FAQ says two years old for public tours.
- Younger children ride tandem with a parent on a cargo eBike. The child rate applies only in that case.
- Solo riders need to be at least 4 feet 10 inches tall.
Everyone signs a waiver. A parent or guardian signs for a minor and can do it electronically. Bring photo ID.
Weather, Refunds, and the Ride That Leaves at Night
The shop usually runs the tour in light rain.
- If heavy rain is forecast, they tell you two days out and offer a full refund.
- A tour cancelled for rain always gets a full refund.
- Otherwise, cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
- There are restroom stops every 30 to 45 minutes on the main routes.
Dress for the ocean. It runs cold and windy along the water even when town is warm, and the inland forecast will mislead you.
There is also an 8:00pm departure that rides with headlights, timed to the full moon.
Pick the route at checkout. The shop is the wrong place to discover the difference. The two shops sit at opposite ends of the Pacific Grove shoreline, and the Lone Cypress belongs to only one of them. Then roll out through the gate with the Pacific on your right and let the motor take the hills.