San Juan Islands Tour – July 8-11
The San Juan Islands are the more touristy, less hippy-dippy siblings of the BC Gulf Islands. This used to be an annual tour for the VBC and is due for resurrection. This 4 day tour will explore San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez Islands by self-supported bike. It starts in Anacortes Saturday morning, where we ride to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry for San Juan Island. We spend the first night at Lakedale Resorts and Campground which is blessed with campsites, a hotel, and everything in between. The 2nd day, we take the ferry to Orcas Island and camp at Moran State Park for 2 nights. The goal is to ride up to Mount Constitution the third day. On the 4th day, we take a ferry to explore Lopez Island, before taking one last ferry back to Anacortes and our waiting vehicles.
Lodgings: Although the leader will be camping, riders are welcome to book the fixed roof lodgings available at both sites. Keep in mind the self-supported riders will be slower paced. Getting to the start of the ride is the responsibility of the riders.
Costs: $30-40US for camping, $30US for return ferry, gas to and from Anacortes, health insurance, meals
Meals: breakfast and dinner likely in the campsite, lunches on the road
Bring: a bike in good working order, tools and parts for simple repairs, passport or Nexus, toilettries and clothes, camping gear if you plan to camp
Distances: Expect to ride up to 60-70km/day. Anacortes to Ferry: 6km, San Juan Ferry to Lakedale: 8km, Orcas Ferry to Moran State Park: 21km, Moran to Mount Constitution: 10km one way, mostly climbing. Not a beginner tour. Routes: Day 1plus 6km to ride to ferry, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
Meet: Cap Sante Marina located at 1019 Q Ave, Anacortes, WA 98221, at 830AM on Saturday July 8.
RSVP the leader: Teresa
Open to VBC members only.
Pointless preamble: I like the way cycle touring keeps life simple. All you have to worry about is where you’re going to eat, what you’re going to eat, and how you’re going to eat. Those things, and when you can lie down.
Six of us embarked on this adventure; only five came back. We did not eat her. Rather, she continued south to San Francisco. As an aside, she will become an imposing 4 foot wall of thigh muscle on her return. This tour was not without its challenges: it combined big hills with cumulative exhaustion and sleep deprivation to form a perfect recipe for what could have been cyclocide, but was mutual support instead. Group cohesion was strong, even when the leader abandoned everyone to go her own way. Thank you for sharing your food, good humour, New Yorker magazines, and tools! We had 2 flats, one broken spoke and a cantankerous disc brake. None of them kept us from summiting Mt. Constitution. We covered three islands in 4 days: San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez. All were beautiful in their own way. But don’t take my word for it….
Enjoy the photos:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPM31VhdIis9-akBl-qa4ojEGD-swEgNjVfDcNZh9hXfxPCFDff8UPCKSrTK1luRA?key=TlBUN202bnBZZFUtUjktOGdaLU5jaElGOGRuUVJ3