San Juan Bike Touring

Last weekend Val, Nathan and I covered around 200 miles of road via bike.  I had suggested a touring ride to Val and she ran with it!  I owe her a huge thank you for all the planning she did to make the trip happen!

We started at 6am from Val and Nathan's house in Lake City.  Each of us packed light, but Val took the true minimalist route with a 1-pounder sleeping bag and small ground cloth.  I borrowed panniers from a fellow grad to use with my recently jury-rigged bike rack.  My gear consisted of a sleeping bag, emergency bivy, fleece pants, a fleece jacket, hard shell and some snacks.  Light and fast!

Biking north along the Interurban trail, we linked up bits and pieces of bike paths all the way to Edmonds, WA (~15 mi).  The sun was up and the roads still clear of traffic, gotta love summer mornings!  From Edmonds we caught a train to Mt. Vernon (22.00$).  The transition from bike to train was seamless with the use of Amtrak's bike storage (only $5 more than a passenger ticket).  From Mt. Vernon we biked to Anacortes, WA, located on the northern tip of Whidbey Island (~20 mi) where we caught the ferry to San Juan Island.

The ferry ride was a nice respite following our last 20 mile leg and the views were fantastic.  The rocky coastlines with pine trees clinging to their edges reminded me of my summer in Bar Harbor, Maine.  I took full advantage of  the onboard cafe's Chowder and soft pretzels!  Best biking food ever.

From the ferry terminal on San Juan Island we set off to loop around the island.  I inadvertently cut off a chunk of Val's originally planned route, but the shorter version still logged a good 30+ miles and brought us to Lime Kiln State Park just as a pod of Orca whales were passing!  It was amazing to hear their spouts as the whales surfaced and dipped back into the water.  Just prior to reaching the park Nathan discovered a missing screw in one of his cleats and could no longer unclip from his pedals.  Due to the missing screw and the onset of knee pain he rode back to the ferry terminal while val and I finished the island loop.

Reunited at the ferry terminal we indulged in ice cream and sat in the midday sun until our next ferry arrived.  Our next loop took us around Lopez Islansd, another 30+ miles.  Then back on a ferry to Shaw Island where we freedom camped in a small clearing by the bay. 

With Nathan's knee issues and anticipating a slower pace we decided to head directly home the following morning.  We took a ferry back to Anacortes and biked the 60 miles down Whidbey Island, stopping for hand tossed pizza and calzones along the way!  From Clinton we ferried to Edmonds and biked back to seattle via the interurban trail, (approximately 40 miles by bike).  We made it back to Val and Nathans house around 10pm. 

If you want to do this trip you can find the biking routes in a book on bike touring Washington (sorry I forget the actual book name!).  Also, the ferry fee ($15.50) only has to be paid once!  Once you are in the San Juans, island hopping via ferry, with a bike, is free!

Final stats, 180 miles covered 6,000ft gained.