On the coast south of Half Moon Bay, the Pacific shows a rougher, more private face than around San Francisco, and the viewpoints here are among the best on the entire Highway 1 run. The land is a narrow marine terrace of grassland and farm fields cut by steep gullies, with sea cliffs of crumbling sandstone and long, empty beaches below. Pescadero State Beach and Bean Hollow lie a few minutes away, with tide pools full of anemones and crabs, and sea stacks standing off the shore like a row of broken teeth.
A few kilometres south is Año Nuevo, where northern elephant seals gather on the beaches to breed and moult. The breeding season runs from December to March, when the big males fight and the pups are born, and the reserve needs a booked guided walk at that time of year. Even from the highway, the huge shapes of the seals can sometimes be made out on distant sand. Gray whales pass close to shore on their migrations in winter and spring, and a patient watcher at a headland may see a spout or a flick of a tail.
Riding here is about wind, light and surface. The road is mostly smooth, with long gentle curves along the bluffs, but the cold wind off the sea can be fierce, and on a foggy day it gets damp and cold fast. Artichoke fields and brussels sprout farms line the roadside, the scent of salt and kelp drifts in on the breeze, and the sun when it breaks through lights the grass an intense green. The best time is a calm afternoon in autumn, when the fog stays offshore and the Pacific turns a deep blue.
The nearest big town is Woodside, twenty-three kilometres away, but Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz have better services along the coast. There is little fuel in between, so top up, carry water and dress warmly. Pull over only at the marked turnouts, where the shoulder is firm.