Skyline Boulevard runs along the spine of the Santa Cruz Mountains, high above the cities of the San Francisco Peninsula, and its ridge has a character quite unlike the coast or the bay. The road, also known as State Route 35, follows the crest through redwood and Douglas fir forest, with the fog of the Pacific on one side and the sunny, hazy bay on the other. Climbing from Belmont, about four kilometres away, you leave the suburbs behind within minutes and find yourself in cool, shaded woodland that smells of damp bark and bay laurel.
Beneath the ridge lies the San Andreas Fault, which runs through the long valley of the Crystal Springs reservoirs, the lakes that supply much of San Francisco's water. Nearby Sweeney Ridge is where in 1769 the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá and his party looked down and saw San Francisco Bay for the first time, which they had missed on their march north. Redwoods in the folds of the hills include some of the oldest in the region, and many of the big trees were logged in the nineteenth century to rebuild the city.
For motorcyclists, Skyline is a pilgrimage. The road has long, flowing curves, short climbs and descents, a good surface in most places and light traffic on weekdays. On sunny weekends it is busy with riders, and the crowds gather at the old roadhouse at the junction with Highway 84, a long-time biker stop. Cyclists share the road, so take care, and watch for deer, loose gravel and damp patches under the trees, where the sun rarely reaches. Fog can drop the temperature sharply and cut visibility in a minute.
Fuel is easy in Belmont, a city of twenty-seven thousand, and there is little on the ridge itself, so fill up before you climb. Cafés in Woodside and La Honda serve coffee and sandwiches, and the roadhouse does burgers and pie.
Ride it early on a weekday, when the light comes through the trees and the road is almost empty.