diff --git a/wgengine/monitor/monitor_linux.go b/wgengine/monitor/monitor_linux.go
index ef867bae3..aef6d7ed9 100644
--- a/wgengine/monitor/monitor_linux.go
+++ b/wgengine/monitor/monitor_linux.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 package monitor
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"time"
 
@@ -37,7 +36,7 @@ type nlConn struct {
 	buffered []netlink.Message
 }
 
-func newOSMon(logf logger.Logf, _ *Mon) (osMon, error) {
+func newOSMon(logf logger.Logf, m *Mon) (osMon, error) {
 	conn, err := netlink.Dial(unix.NETLINK_ROUTE, &netlink.Config{
 		// Routes get us most of the events of interest, but we need
 		// address as well to cover things like DHCP deciding to give
@@ -46,7 +45,9 @@ func newOSMon(logf logger.Logf, _ *Mon) (osMon, error) {
 		Groups: unix.RTMGRP_IPV4_IFADDR | unix.RTMGRP_IPV6_IFADDR | unix.RTMGRP_IPV4_ROUTE | unix.RTMGRP_IPV6_ROUTE,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dialing netlink socket: %v", err)
+		// Google Cloud Run does not implement NETLINK_ROUTE RTMGRP support
+		logf("monitor_linux: AF_NETLINK RTMGRP failed, falling back to polling")
+		return newPollingMon(logf, m)
 	}
 	return &nlConn{logf: logf, conn: conn}, nil
 }
diff --git a/wgengine/monitor/monitor_polling.go b/wgengine/monitor/monitor_polling.go
index cdc995ca4..1bbbe2d90 100644
--- a/wgengine/monitor/monitor_polling.go
+++ b/wgengine/monitor/monitor_polling.go
@@ -7,62 +7,11 @@
 package monitor
 
 import (
-	"errors"
-	"runtime"
-	"sync"
-	"time"
-
-	"tailscale.com/net/interfaces"
 	"tailscale.com/types/logger"
 )
 
 func newOSMon(logf logger.Logf, m *Mon) (osMon, error) {
-	return &pollingMon{
-		logf: logf,
-		m:    m,
-		stop: make(chan struct{}),
-	}, nil
-}
-
-// pollingMon is a bad but portable implementation of the link monitor
-// that works by polling the interface state every 10 seconds, in lieu
-// of anything to subscribe to. A good implementation
-type pollingMon struct {
-	logf logger.Logf
-	m    *Mon
-
-	closeOnce sync.Once
-	stop      chan struct{}
-}
-
-func (pm *pollingMon) Close() error {
-	pm.closeOnce.Do(func() {
-		close(pm.stop)
-	})
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (pm *pollingMon) Receive() (message, error) {
-	d := 10 * time.Second
-	if runtime.GOOS == "android" {
-		// We'll have Android notify the link monitor to wake up earlier,
-		// so this can go very slowly there, to save battery.
-		// https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/issues/1427
-		d = 10 * time.Minute
-	}
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(d)
-	defer ticker.Stop()
-	base := pm.m.InterfaceState()
-	for {
-		if cur, err := pm.m.interfaceStateUncached(); err == nil && !cur.EqualFiltered(base, interfaces.FilterInteresting) {
-			return unspecifiedMessage{}, nil
-		}
-		select {
-		case <-ticker.C:
-		case <-pm.stop:
-			return nil, errors.New("stopped")
-		}
-	}
+	return newPollingMon(logf, m)
 }
 
 // unspecifiedMessage is a minimal message implementation that should not
diff --git a/wgengine/monitor/polling.go b/wgengine/monitor/polling.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4b8f81291
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wgengine/monitor/polling.go
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2020 Tailscale Inc & AUTHORS All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+//  +build !freebsd,!windows,!darwin
+
+package monitor
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"runtime"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"tailscale.com/net/interfaces"
+	"tailscale.com/types/logger"
+)
+
+func newPollingMon(logf logger.Logf, m *Mon) (osMon, error) {
+	return &pollingMon{
+		logf: logf,
+		m:    m,
+		stop: make(chan struct{}),
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// pollingMon is a bad but portable implementation of the link monitor
+// that works by polling the interface state every 10 seconds, in lieu
+// of anything to subscribe to.
+type pollingMon struct {
+	logf logger.Logf
+	m    *Mon
+
+	closeOnce sync.Once
+	stop      chan struct{}
+}
+
+func (pm *pollingMon) Close() error {
+	pm.closeOnce.Do(func() {
+		close(pm.stop)
+	})
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (pm *pollingMon) Receive() (message, error) {
+	d := 10 * time.Second
+	if runtime.GOOS == "android" {
+		// We'll have Android notify the link monitor to wake up earlier,
+		// so this can go very slowly there, to save battery.
+		// https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/issues/1427
+		d = 10 * time.Minute
+	}
+	// TODO: detect if we're running in Cloud Run, and reduce frequency of
+	// polling as its routes never change.
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(d)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	base := pm.m.InterfaceState()
+	for {
+		if cur, err := pm.m.interfaceStateUncached(); err == nil && !cur.EqualFiltered(base, interfaces.FilterInteresting) {
+			return unspecifiedMessage{}, nil
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-ticker.C:
+		case <-pm.stop:
+			return nil, errors.New("stopped")
+		}
+	}
+}