Why this ride
A 386 km one-way ride from near Sausalito, about 5 h 23 of riding. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 386 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 23
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Near Sausalito
The point lies at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, close to Fort Point and the Presidio, with Sausalito across the strait on the Marin side. There is no grander way to start or finish a ride along the Pacific Coast Highway. When it opened in 1937, the bridge had the longest suspension span in the world, and its colour, officially called International Orange, was chosen partly to stand out in the fog. It still feels astonishing to ride across, with the towers soaring overhead and the Pacific opening up beyond the strait.
Read the complete Near Sausalito write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Waypoint 1 is where the day begins. Next is Waypoint 2.
2. Waypoint 2
Big Sur is where California's coast shows its teeth. Between Carmel and San Simeon, the Santa Lucia range rises almost directly from the Pacific, with slopes that climb more than a thousand metres in a few kilometres, and Highway 1 is bolted to the cliff like a ledge. The area gets few services, no big towns and a lot of fog, and because the mountains cut the coast off from the interior, it stayed wild long after the rest of California was settled. In 1937 the highway opened, after many years of work, and made the coast accessible by car for the first time.
Read the complete Waypoint 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Waypoint 2 comes up about 234 km into the recorded legs. Next is Waypoint 3.
3. Morro Bay
Morro Bay announces itself with a rock. Morro Rock, a smooth, rounded volcanic plug 175 metres high, stands at the mouth of the harbour, guarding the entrance like a stone sentinel. It is the westernmost of a chain of ancient volcanic peaks called the Nine Sisters that march inland toward San Luis Obispo, and Spanish explorers used it as a landmark from the sixteenth century, naming it El Morro, the crown. Peregrine falcons nest on its face, so climbing is banned, but you can walk the sand spit to its base, and the beach is a pleasant place to watch surfers and sea otters.
Read the complete Morro Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 386 km.
Leg by leg
Waypoint 2 to Morro Bay
Waypoint 2 → Morro Bay is 152 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.