Why this ride
273 km one way from Boyes Hot Springs - plan on about 5 h 02 of riding. The stops in between: near Inverness, Moss Beach and Daly City. near Stanford is the high point.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mount Hamilton and Mines Road · short arc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 273 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 02
- 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. San Francisco Bay Area
This is wine country in its quieter, older form, with small family vineyards on the lower slopes, oak savanna on the hills and old stone wineries, and it is far less crowded than neighbouring Napa. Sonoma itself, the historic town at the southern end, has a Spanish plaza, an old mission and an easy, unhurried feel.
Read the complete Near Boyes Hot Springs, on the way back write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
San Francisco Bay Area is where the day begins. Next is Food stop near Inverness.
2. Food stop near Inverness
The San Andreas Fault runs straight up Tomales Bay, and in the 1906 earthquake the land on the western side lurched several metres north in a matter of seconds. Inverness sits on that western side, on the shore of the bay, a small village of wooden houses among the trees, at the gateway to the Point Reyes peninsula. It is a quiet, slightly eccentric place, with a general store, a few restaurants and a lot of bird-watchers.
Read the complete Inverness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Food stop near Inverness is where this day stops to eat. Next is Mount Hamilton and Mines Road photo pull-off.
3. Moss Beach
Moss Beach clings to a low bluff above the Pacific, a scatter of houses, cypress trees and fields on the San Mateo coast between Montara and Half Moon Bay. It is a small, quiet place, often wrapped in fog, where the sound of the surf is constant and the air smells of salt, seaweed and eucalyptus. For many riders, it is a first taste of the wild coast just south of San Francisco.
Read the complete Moss Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 191 km into the recorded legs you reach Mount Hamilton and Mines Road photo pull-off. Next is Mount Hamilton and Mines Road checkpoint 8.
4. 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
Mount Hamilton and Mines Road checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is High point near Stanford.
5. High point near Stanford
Planning note
High point near Stanford tops the climb. Next is Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto.
6. Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto
East Palo Alto sits on the flat edge of San Francisco Bay, right where the Dumbarton Bridge launches its long, low span towards Fremont. To the west lies the wealth of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, home of Silicon Valley's giants; to the east, the salt ponds and marshes of the bay. It is a dense, busy corridor, cut by Highway 101, and for riders it is mostly a place to pass through, refuel and plan the escape to the hills.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto 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 298 km.
Leg by leg
Food stop near Inverness to Moss Beach
Food stop near Inverness → Moss Beach is 105 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
High point near Stanford to Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto
High point near Stanford → Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.