San Francisco Bay Area: West Bay Trip Report

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The Greater San Francisco Bay Area is loosely defined by geographic regions. The locals refer to them as “Bays:”

The North Bay starts at the San Francisco Peninsula and folds into the Napa and Sonoma wine regions.

The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay.

The South Bay is the southern region of San Francisco Bay and Southeast of the San Francisco Peninsula.

The West Bay is the peninsula between San Francisco and the South Bay.



Each area has wonderful motorcycle riding opportunities. This Thread is the first of a four-part series I will post about great rides in the Bay Area.

Today, I traveled from my Pleasanton, CA in the East Bay to the Moore Road Pier in the West Bay to see the Golden State Bridge. It is one-hundred-mile round trip.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/moore-road-pier-sausalito

Interstate 580 is a major thoroughfare that runs through a series of valleys and gentle hills. Rush-hour driving jams are common and a source of constant frustration, but the hills are environmentally protected between Pleasanton and Oakland. The weather is generally mild, but it can get hot from time to time. It was 65 degrees when I left at 10:00 AM.



The interstate is well maintained. When all goes well, it is a 70-mph ride into Oakland.



In Oakland, the scenery changes from rural and pretty to urban and industrial. But yet there is still beauty to the odd tapestry of bridges, highways, blue skies, and the ocean. The roads and bridges twist and turn delightfully.



The Bay Bridge connects the mainland with the San Francisco Peninsula.



Although everything passes quickly because the posted speed limits are 70 mph, the views are sustained and stunning. All of the Mapping Tools will route you to Moore Road Pier. When you leave the interstate, the roads leading to Moore Road Pier twist and turn. You will feather a clutch and counter steer and enjoy every minute of the ride. When you arrive, the Golden Gate dominates the landscape:










Because this route is more of a local thing and not a tourist thing, parking is a little makeshift. That said, it was available on a glorious Sunday morning without any problems. If you like the path less taken, this view of the Golden Gate Bridge is for you. I would like to believe my CB1100 fit into the landscape nicely:



The engineering and ride of a CB1100 is perfect for Northern California. The weight and balance of the motorcycle is perfect for managing the speed of traffic and the wind coming off the ocean. The handling is outstanding for the variety of roads. At 52 miles per gallon, the cost of the trip was the best investment I have made in quite some time. I spent 60 minutes enroute, an hour at Moore Road Pier, and an hour to return home. Life is good.

This is what I miss about living in San Jose. I could ride for 10 minutes and be in the hills away from everything and just have a nice, pleasant ride all to myself. I might see 1, 2, or no other vehicles on the route I would ride. It wasn't too technical, but it was fun enough and I didn't have to worry about other riders thinking it was a racetrack.
And if I wanted something a bit more challenging, I could make the ride up to the Lick Observatory on top of Mt. Hamilton. Lots of tight switchbacks and no guardrails. The view once I got up to the observatory was always with it.

I feel the exact same way. San Jose is also a great place to ride. I will make sure I include it in the Motorcycle Tour of Northern California! David