Why this ride
A 156 km one-way ride from near Daly City, about 2 h 43 of riding. The climb of the day is near Portola Valley.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Marin Headlands and Point Reyes · part 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 43
- 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 Daly City
South of San Francisco's city limits, the land runs out abruptly. Daly City's houses, the ones with the colourful matching boxes that inspired the song Little Boxes, cover the hills right up to the edge of high, crumbling sea cliffs, and below them the Pacific pounds a long empty beach.
Read the complete Near Daly City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marin Headlands and Point Reyes checkpoint 8 is where the day begins. Next is Marin Headlands and Point Reyes scenic road.
2. Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is where the Peninsula's mountains finally meet the Pacific. The town sits on a wide coastal plain, backed by the green flank of the Santa Cruz Mountains and fronted by a long crescent of sand, and it feels like a different state from the busy bay side only twenty minutes away over Highway 92. Fog arrives most summer afternoons, so mornings are your best bet for sun.
Read the complete Half Moon Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marin Headlands and Point Reyes scenic road comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is High point near Portola Valley.
3. High point near Portola Valley
Planning note
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Back to Marin Headlands.
4. Back to Marin Headlands
That tells you something about how this ride ends: after a long day on the coast the route finishes on the far side of the water, among the suburbs that fill the shelf between the bay and the dry brown ridges behind. Fairview and Castro Valley are a few minutes away, Hayward a little further, and the whole district sits directly on the Hayward Fault, which is a fact most locals have made peace with.
Read the complete Marin Headlands write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Marin Headlands closes the day.
Leg by leg
High point near Portola Valley to Back to Marin Headlands
High point near Portola Valley → Back to Marin Headlands is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.