Point Reyes Station is a small, slightly rumpled ranch town at the head of Tomales Bay, and it serves as the pantry for one of the most beautiful parts of the California coast. Dairy herds graze the hills in every direction, and the town has grown into a centre of artisan cheese, organic produce and good bread. Cheesemakers sell from shopfronts along the main street, bakers draw queues on weekend mornings and oysters from the bay arrive on the tables of the local cafés. It is the best place for a meal on the route, and the food is better than a town of this size should offer.
The San Andreas Fault runs right under the head of the bay, and the land west of it, the whole Point Reyes peninsula, is moving northwest relative to the rest of California, at roughly the pace a fingernail grows. In the 1906 earthquake, a fence near Olema, a few kilometres south, was offset by about sixteen feet, and the Earthquake Trail at the Bear Valley visitor centre shows where. Tule elk, reintroduced in the 1970s, roam the northern part of the peninsula, and the coast beyond holds wide beaches, lighthouse cliffs and fog.
For a rider, the approach is the thing. The road from Fairfax winds through Samuel P. Taylor State Park, a redwood canyon, and then opens into the grassland of the valley, a lovely, tight and tree-shaded road that rewards a calm pace. Fog is common, and the pavement can be damp and strewn with leaves. Weekends bring traffic, with cyclists and sightseers who stop without warning. Coming from the north on Highway 1, the road follows the bay's edge, with views over the water, oyster shacks and a strong smell of mud and salt.
Fuel is scarce in this part of the world, so fill up in San Rafael, Novato or Petaluma before heading out. The town has a few small shops, a market and a handful of restaurants, and the busy hours come between eleven and two. Arrive early, bring layers and allow time to wander the main street with a cheese in one hand.