Bike the Coast: A Scenic Ride Down Highway 101, Finishing at the Oceanside Pier

Overview

There may be no more beautiful way to see San Diego's coastline than from a bike saddle on Highway 101. Bike the Coast is the region's iconic annual coastal ride, returning to Oceanside on Saturday, October 24, 2026, with routes for every kind of rider — from a mellow 7-mile family loop to a bucket-list 100-mile century. Every route starts and finishes at the Oceanside Pier, where a lively finish festival awaits with food, a beer garden, live music, and ocean views.

The longer courses tour some of Southern California's most celebrated beach towns — Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar — along historic coast highway, while the family rides stay on the low-traffic San Luis Rey River Trail. It's welcoming to first-timers and challenging enough for seasoned cyclists, it benefits a great cause, and the post-ride party is open to everyone, riders or not. If you love the coast, this is one of the best days of the year to experience it.

What You Actually Need to Know

• Event: Bike the Coast — San Diego's coastal cycling ride
• Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
• Where: Start & finish at the Oceanside Pier (packet pickup/expo at 122 The Strand N, Oceanside, CA 92054)
• Distances: 100, 50, 25, 15, and 7 miles
• Finish Festival: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at the pier — food, live music, a beer garden (hosted by BJ's), and a sports expo, open to the public
• Benefits: Bike MS
• Info & registration: bikethecoastsd.com

Choose Your Ride

There's a route for every level:

• 100 miles — the full century, a challenging bucket-list ride for avid cyclists (wave starts ~6:50 a.m.)
• 50 miles — a serious ride down the coast through the beach towns (wave starts ~7:45 a.m.)
• 25 miles — an out-and-back on Highway 101 through Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas, with a turnaround near Moonlight Beach (wave starts ~8:45 a.m.)
• 15 & 7 miles — Family Rides — flat, low-traffic loops on the San Luis Rey River Trail, perfect for kids and small groups (wave starts ~9 a.m.)

All courses finish back at the Oceanside Pier for the festival.

What to Expect

A gorgeous, well-supported ride. The coastal routes roll through five of San Diego's best beach towns on historic Highway 101, with SAG stops roughly every 12–13 miles and on-course mechanical and aid support. It's a "rules of the road" ride, so you're sharing the route and obeying traffic laws — come prepared for a real ride, not a closed course.

A finish festival worth sticking around for. Every rider ends at the Oceanside Pier, where the celebration includes local food, live music, a beer garden hosted by BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and a sports expo. Finishers get a medal and a lunch coupon, and there's free, safe bike valet parking just past the finish line. The festival is open to the public, so friends and family can cheer you in and join the party.

Good to Know

• Register in advance and sign the waiver online during registration
• Grab your packet early — pickup is Friday, Oct 23 (1–6 p.m.) and Saturday morning (5:30–9 a.m.) at Betty's Lot (122 The Strand N); claim your ride number at least an hour before your wave
• Faster riders, aim for the first wave of your distance
• Parking: exit I-5 at Mission Ave and head west; use public lots or street parking near the venue (there's no parking in the packet-pickup lot)
• It's family-friendly — the 7- and 15-mile river-trail rides are made for kids and beginners, with the same great finish party
• Pace yourself — courses, the finish festival, and expo close at 5 p.m. (last call at the beer garden is 4 p.m.)
• Consider a jersey — an official Bike the Coast jersey is available during registration (through early September)

However far you ride, Bike the Coast is a celebration of San Diego's coastline, community, and cycling — beautiful, welcoming, and all for a good cause. For more happening around town, browse our full event calendar, or explore more of Oceanside.