Most days, Eastmoor/Westmoor earns its name; the microclimate is one Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be quite comfortable with. The road is wide, residential, and has little traffic. It winds through Daly City, gradually climbing, until it hits Skyline Boulevard after 2.5 km. Go straight through the intersection with Skyline, then turn left on Skyline Drive immediately afterwards. Skyline Drive is similar in character, though perhaps slightly steeper; the climb peaks after a total of 4 km of riding and 150 meters of climbing. The descent is a little hairy; it's fairly steep, there are a couple of stop signs with some cross-traffic, and a little after a sweeping right-hand turn we'll be turning left onto a small street called Crenshaw. From there, make an immediate right onto Palmetto.
Palmetto continues the descent in a more controlled fashion. A wide sweeping downhill left turn provides one of the more dramatic approaches to the seaside in the area; you'll often pick up the first tailwind of the day along with the first great view. Palmetto gradually flattens out and and heads into Pacifica. It passes through a couple commercial districts with moderate traffic. Take Palmetto about 5 km to Paloma Street, then turn right.
Paloma goes out to the beach, turns left and becomes Beach Street. It's a pleasant, narrow one-way street overlooking Sharp Park Beach and the fishing pier. Take it to the end, then turn left on Clarendon and bear right on Lakeside. There's a bail-out route up Sharp Park Road, but I don't recommend it unless you've already realized you're over your head. Follow the "bike route" signs around the Moose Lodge and onto the Highway 1 bike path, which is a perfect example of horrible highway design. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars grading down what was a steep path and widening the road, and instead of just providing a shoulder wide enough to use, like the other 1300 kilometers of Highway 1 in California, they made a narrow shoulder and a curb-separated bike path, which is always, of course, covered with debris. Take the bike path to where it ends, then get on the shoulder, which is wider at that point.
Highway 1 is my kind of road. There's quite a bit of traffic, but the payoff is a brisk tailwind, gentle grades, and beautiful and often unexpected views of the canyons and coves along the coast. We'll see a few before we even leave Pacifica, and Pacifica is just about the least attractive place on the coast this side of Pismo Beach. Between the tailwind, the lack of cross-traffic and the relative flatness of the road, you can make some serious time headed south on Highway 1. SF-to-Monterey is a great two-day bike trip for anyone who wants to get into touring; SF-to-Santa Cruz is a fun overnighter.
There's a short climb and descent heading into the last commercial district in Pacifica, then we start the climb to Devil's Slide at the 14.5 km mark. The road on this climb is fairly narrow, and there's a steady stream of traffic, so be careful. The last few hundred meters are the worst, as the road starts to flatten out but also gets narrower. Don't try to ride the fog line on this last section; it's too close to the pavement edge. In all, the climb is 2km long and has 130 meters of altitude gain, for an average grade of 6.5%. At the top there's a place to stop, look out over the cliffs, and rest for the descent.
The descent would be fun if there weren't so many cars around. As it is, it's annoying. Take the lane when you need to, but let people pass when you can--there are some rises and flat sections on the descent. On the fastest part of the descent, take the lane. After that there are only a couple more turns and then the road hits bottom and gets wider heading into Montara.
This is where Highway 1 starts to get fun. Montara to Half Moon Bay--well, really, all the way to Santa Cruz--is the best big-ring cycling in the Bay Area. Great views, wide, flat roads, and the everpresent tailwind combine to provide a peak experience. If I power over the rises and keep my legs moving on the descents and I can crank out a good 40kph average into Half Moon Bay. (Lance Armstrong, for comparison, cranked out 54kph sustained for an hour into a headwind. Ouch.) Unless someone wants to stop at one of the fruit stands along here, or to check out the beach at Half Moon Bay (which is one of the truly beautiful places on the coast), we'll crank it on in to the commercial area just before the intersection with Highway 92, after a little over 33 km. This is the last civilization for a long time, so make sure you have enough food and water.
Turn left on Highway 92. The flat section of 92 is narrow and has fairly heavy traffic. Once you get to the hill, after about 4 km, there's a wide shoulder, but it's still not very pleasant. The hill is not too steep but it seems longer than it really is; total climbing from Highway 1 is 250 meters in just under 8 km. At the top there's a "vista point" off to the right that's worth a stop. After the peak, there's a reasonably fun descent--don't let cars pass you, as the road is still rather narrow. The road flattens out just before the intersection with Skyline; turn left on Skyline.
Millbrae is residential, twisty and quite steep at first, with a couple of stop signs; keep your speed under control. It starts to straighten out when you get to the flatlands, and after a couple of stop lights, crosses El Camino Real. The BART station will be on your left after you cross El Camino. Total riding is 65 km.
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The road climbs for 15 km, gaining almost 600 meters altitude. Most of the climb is fairly steep; it maintains a 9% average grade for several klicks. It's a little like a longer version of Claremont. At the peak, rest a while, then go straight across the intersection with Skyline and head down Kings Mountain Road.
Kings Mountain isn't technically part of Tunitas Creek, but it's one of the reasons I enjoy the Tunitas Creek ride so much. The turns on the descent are pretty sharp, and not all of them are marked as such, so be careful. The grade is steep enough that you can really attack coming out of the turns; it's a fun one. There's not much traffic other than bikes. After 8 km, turn left on Woodside Road, which has more traffic and a bike lane, and rolls into Woodside at the 71 km mark. There's a store and a water fountain here where you can replenish supplies.
At the five-way intersection across from the store, turn left on Cañada Raod. Cañada Road is one of the most popular biking roads in the area, and on Sundays during the summer half of it is closed to auto traffic. It's pretty, slightly curvy, and rolling without real climbs. There are wide shoulders and not much traffic, even if it's open to cars. Cañada ends at the intersection of 92 and Skyline; turn left on 92 and right on Skyline.
Skyline is a fairly nice, rolling road with little traffic and views of the various reservoirs and hills. It will likely be much hotter than the ride down the coast was. There's usually a lot of bike traffic. After a climb and a descent, it passes by Poser Camp Trail, where I saw a guy taking a dual-suspension mountain bike out of his car so he could go ride on the paved trail at 10 kph. Ride past there and sneer at the posers and continue on Skyline. Skyline becomes discontinuous; about 5 km from the intersection with 92, at Golf Course Drive, you have to turn right, cross under the freeway and turn left on the other side. 5 km later, at Trousdale, you have to get on the freeway for a couple hundred meters; get off at the first exit and continue straight, then turn right on Millbrae Ave.
Millbrae is residential, twisty and quite steep at first, with a couple of stop signs; keep your speed under control. It starts to straighten out when you get to the flatlands, and after a couple of stop lights, crosses El Camino Real. The BART station will be on your left after you cross El Camino. Total riding is 105 km.