Why this ride
A 139 km one-way ride from near Kensington, about 2 h 32 of riding. Long stretches are under trees.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Skyline Boulevard and Alice’s · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 139 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 32
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Pacific Coast Highway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 71 km this is Pacific Coast Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 57 km
- Named road
- Pacific Coast Highway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Kensington
Planning note
Skyline Boulevard and Alice’s is where the day begins. Next is San Francisco Bay Area return.
2. Near Petaluma, on the way back
Eggs made Petaluma famous. In the early twentieth century this town in southern Sonoma County, an hour north of San Francisco, called itself the egg basket of the world, thanks to hundreds of chicken farms around it and an incubator invented here that helped revolutionise poultry farming. Today the chickens are fewer, but the town still has a strong farming identity, with dairies, cheese makers and creameries in the hills around it.
Read the complete Near Petaluma, 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 return comes up about 82 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skyline Boulevard and Alice’s food stop.
3. Bolinas
Bolinas does not want to be found, and it has made that clear for decades. Locals have a long tradition of removing the road sign that points to the town from Highway 1, so you may have to watch for the unmarked turnoff at the end of Bolinas Lagoon. The reward is a small, eccentric, salt-weathered village at the tip of a mesa on the Marin coast, with a few streets of old wooden buildings, a beach, surfers and an atmosphere that feels decades removed from the Bay Area just over the hill.
Read the complete Bolinas 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 148 km.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Kensington to Near Petaluma, on the way back
Fuel stop near Kensington → Near Petaluma, on the way back is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.