Orcas Island, Washington. Bicycle Tour Trip
Spring 2015
I rode a touring bicycle around the Orcas Islands in Washington. The Orcas Island consist of 3 islands; Lopez, San Juan and Orcas island. They sit off the Northerly West Coast of Washington and are boxed in by Canada to the North.
Like most of my trips, I have found the "winging it" method provides much more adventure and randomness. With this method there is no time line, no worries, no stress. So I'm free to do and go where ever. This "winging it" method is best accompanied with a one way ticket to your destination and it helps to pack light. The uncertainty of this method may make people nervous and give them anxiety but through trial and error, I have found that every thing just works out. When shit hits the fan, keep smiling and the good people out there will help you. Trust this.
For my bike situation, I purchased a Surly - Long Haul Trucker. Its a bicycle that is outfitted for long road tours (hence the name). I was slow on purchasing the bike before my trip so in return I only had one day before to ride it before I had to take it apart, put it in a box and shipped it to Seattle, WA. (really thinking ahead on this one)
My panniers (panniers are those tough, water proof bags that hold your stuff) didn't show up before my departure date, so I had to improvise at my hostel in Seattle. My solution to this problem was to find a plastic crate, cut it in half, wrap it with duct tape and zip tie it to the bike.
For my route, I purchased a bike touring map from a great company called Adventure Bicycle Association. This company produces detailed maps for bicycle road tours all over the US. The maps provides great information for road cyclists such as; places to camp, grocery stores, bike shops and scenic sites to see. I have used these maps on past trips and they have worked great.
As you can tell this far I have most definitively half-assed myself up for success. :-)
I rode for 8 days before a friend picked me up and we continued down the coast. All in all, the trip was a success. Got rained on once, broke a chain once, made friends, caught sunsets, talked to strangers, laughed and smiled. So the saying goes "a picture contains 1000 words", I'm going to stop rambling and let the pictures tell the rest. Thanks for reading. Cheers.
Above is a outline of my route. The total mileage reflects distancec travel via bicycle/ferrys.
My first bike build......Really didn't know what I was doing, so handed it over to a pro to finish it off.
I brought to much stuff, including a gigantic brick of a laptop for photo stuff. You live, you learn.
After getting settled in at my hostel took a short walk over to the famous Pikes Market. It was after hours and the place was empty.
Landed in Seattle mid-afternoon and made my way downtown to my hostel. The plan was to pick up the bike from the UPS store but they had closed for the day. So killed time by aimlessly wandering around town. The next day was an adventure. Had to walk across town to the UPS store early in the AM to get my boxed bike. Lovely people/bums out that early. Dragged my heavy ass box about 1 mile to the local REI store, found a quite, safe corner and proceed to put my bike together.
Picture this, early morning, sun shinning, bike is assembled, rolling around on a squeaky clean new road bike, with a full day to explore the city. I felt like I was 10 years old again, off to explore the endless road of my tiny neighborhood with no care in the world. I was cheesing, smiling from cheek to cheek as I rode around the busy city. I checked out the space needle, ate street food, people watched and saw the fishermen at Pike's Market throwing fish.
My spot outside REI
The tourist thing to do. check.
That evening after a free mexican meal provided from the hostel. I started to macgyver my panniers in the hostel's main room hahah. I received many funny looks and answered the same question over and over. "Where are you going?" and "What are you making?".
Inside the hostel, building stuff. I defenitly received many questionable looks.
You know that saying "doing things the wrong way". F*** that saying!
Here she is. Doing it. I really wonder what people thought of me when they passed me.
Day 1
Left Seattle and headed north to meet up with an old friend, Alex. The ride was 30 miles to a ferry station which would take me to Whidbey Island, where I found Alex waiting for me.
Alex was a friend I made on an epic bicycle tour going from Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA back in June 2013. Early in that trip we formed a "mob" of other bikers going in the same direction. We had a crew of 10 or so and would ride all day and feast and drink cheap wine at night. Made some great friends on that trip.
It had been a couple of years since I had talked to Alex so it was great to catch up over a few beers and a beach fire.
Day 2
Riding took me about half way up Whidbey Island where I camped out at Fort Casey, an old military base over looking the Puget sound area. The Fort was built into the side of the island. It was housed with large canons that pointed towards the sea, this stretch of water was the main access to the ports in Seattle back in the day.
Breakfast and good conversation to start this day
Fort Casey
Day 3
The next day I made it to Deception Pass. What a wild place. The currents were ripping in and out. The water looked dangerous and the jagged rocks jetting out of the water gave this place a real feel of coastal awesomnesss.
Day 4
Lopez island, where I ran from rain and camped out with some new British friends.
life
Day 5
Orcas Island, my favorite of the islands. Had a pretty big day getting to camp but totally worth it.
Day 6
San Juan Island. The last of these 3 islands.
camp
Day 7
Jumped over to Canada for a day. Had a nice ride down the coast and stayed the night in Victoria. The hustle and bustle of the city was too much for me to stay another night. I had to get out of there, beautiful city.
British Columbia Legislature
Day 8
My last day of riding before a friend came by and picked me up. All in all, the trip was a success. Learned a bit and saw a ton.
