Here's the nude beach at Bonny Dune, but no one was there. Cold wind coming off the Pacific that day. Natural scenery was fantastic anyway. On 2003 trip My friend Rick took a side trip and I biked north out of Santa Cruz against a stiff wind one afternoon. Work, but work isn't necessarily bad. Exercise. Part of the goal a nude beach, but the cool gale met practically no one on the beach. Still a good time as the journey, rather than the goal (nudity), is the destination anyway.

My friend Rick, who biked down the Pacific Coast with me in 2003, used to live in Santa Cruz, so he told me about Kiva House. It's a place where hot tubs are shared in the nude. Most folks, who use it, are probably not gay, but likely not narrow minded either.

Places like this can make great social venues. I love visiting people around hot springs.

Kiva House was nice, but expensive. I noticed Kiva was divided into "talking" and "quiet zones." I stayed in the talking area and people were friendly. Conversation was already going and it was easy to join in.

I didn't find the quiet zone as appealing. If I am in the mood for quiet, I wouldn't go to a space shared with other people. For "quiet," my empty motel room made more sense.

The sauna was a neutral zone between quiet and talk. It was a "whisper zone." That felt kind of strange.

I prefer a more gregarious environment, when other people are in the space. "Quiet," in a room full of interesting people, seems like such a waste. For some reason, I don't feel like meditating unless I am alone.

For meditation and rest, the motel I stayed at, in Santa Cruz, worked very well.

Earlier in the trip, we tried out a gay resort at Gureneville. It was quite expensive and a bit stodgy. People were okay, but not really the bicycling kind. For some reason, that dance music had no melody.

In Monterey, we sampled a gay bar. Loud music made conversation difficult, but there wasn't a dance floor. Rick wondered, "what's the point of this?" One can't visit or dance. People were into their little clicks. We didn't stay for long.

Maybe the best "clothing free" social experience was the Y sauna in San Luis Obispo. A young student, from Cal Tech. University, was part of the ongoing conversation about bike routes, geology, career plans and so forth. He was very nice looking as well.