Why this ride
A 153 km one-way ride from near Moss Beach, about 2 h 36 of riding. The stops in between: Daly City and Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto. near Stanford is the high point.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mount Hamilton and Mines Road · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 153 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 36
- 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. 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
Mount Hamilton and Mines Road photo pull-off is where the day begins. Next is Mount Hamilton and Mines Road checkpoint 8.
2. 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
Finish at Mount Hamilton and Mines Road checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is High point near Stanford.
3. High point near Stanford
Planning note
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto.
4. 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
Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto, late in the day. Next is Back to Mount Hamilton.
5. Back to Mount Hamilton
It is not especially high, but because it stands alone above the surrounding plains, the view from the top is among the widest in the world, taking in the Sierra Nevada on a very clear day and, some say, more of the earth's surface than any peak apart from Kilimanjaro. The claim is a local legend, and nobody quite tests it.
Read the complete Mount Hamilton write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Mount Hamilton. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
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.
Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto to Back to Mount Hamilton
Scenic stretch near East Palo Alto → Back to Mount Hamilton is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.