Almost one year ago right before the crazyness of 2020 began, the idea of taking our pastry loving cyclists to other locations outside of the bay area to ride came to mind when talking with Eliel Cycling’s Jordan Babb at the 2019 San Rafael Twilight Crit. We came up with the ‘Field Trip’ idea as we watched fixed gear racers battle it out in the warm Northern California night. Presidents Day weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a long weekend and exchange the cold NorCal winter for a warmer SoCal one! So we locked down the dates and made plans for the journey down south.

Jamie Sullivan from Eliel Cycling planned 2 epic routes for us, both completely different yet so rad. Saturday took us inland to the famous Palomar Mountain and Sunday took us along some absolutely stunning San Diego beaches.

Palomar Mt South Grade is no joke, 1000 ft before you even get to the main climb then its 5000 ft straight up towards the sky. So that’s 6000 ft in the first 30 miles of a 90 mile ride. Safe to say we all felt completely wrecked before the ride even started. The good thing was the rest of the ride was some of the most spectacular descents on earth!!!

After a night of much needed rest we were all excited about our Sunday 40 mile cafe/recovery/beach ride along the sunny coast southern California coast. The first stop was a cafe called Steady State.

From the outside, it’s an unassuming orange spanish tile storefront in a small office park. Once you walk in, you immediately know it’s something very special. In all of the cafe’s we’ve visited never has there been one with a complete line up of all Vegan pastries!!! From donuts, croissants, scones, cookies and all.

The coffee was easily some of the best we’ve ever tasted as well. Their attention to detail for each individual pour over cup of coffee is impeccable, Every cup has their own set of beans that are carefully portioned for the next order. Before the coffee is served, the barista takes care to areate the coffee between two containers before the final pour. Reaching the right temperature highlights the coffee cup’s flavors to the perfect SteadyState.

After this stop we headed towards Torry Pines State Park, which is also home of a world famous golf course. The photos speak for themselves, but let it be known that the buttery smooth coastal pavement, generous bike lanes, and California sun set us up for wanting to keep riding forever.

We can’t thank the Eliel Cycling crew enough for being the most wonderful hosts they put into our field trip. They are much more than a bike apparel brand, they are a family that builds communities and friendships. We can’t wait to go back some sort of normality and do it all over again.

Inaugural Fatcake Field Trip!