Hello friends. It’s been a few weeks since Emee and I got back from our week-long bike excursion to the San Juan Islands and the Skagit Valley. Overall, it was a great trip. We stayed at hotels/Airbnbs the whole time, meaning we could travel lighter. We used the Orcas Hotel near the Orcas dock as our home base for our islands days. The weather was good: it was generally sunny and highs somewhere between 75F-80F (24-27C). There was rain twice: once overnight when we were staying in Mount Vernon (and it rained pretty good!) and scattered drizzle and overcast skies on the last day.
Here’s things I’d do differently the next time:
- Get in better shape. Some of the riding on Orcas and San Juan Islands was HARD. It had been a while since I really rode these islands: I only rode Orcas once in 2015, and the full San Juan loop in 2013. (On the 2019 trip we basically only rode a few miles in Lopez and barely anything in San Juan.) I was in much better riding shape then and I should get more in shape the next time I tackle these islands. (Or do it on an e-bike–there were many e-bikes seen on the islands.)
- Take rest days. Because of the limited time on the islands, each day featured some riding. It would be nice the next time to follow up a hard ride day with chilling at the hotel or the beach.
- More Lopez! We only rode the four miles from the ferry to the village and then back (eight miles total.) Lopez is my fave island to ride, and generally considered the “easiest” riding (though it still ain’t flat!) There’s some cool stuff on the south end of the island like Shark Cove and Iceberg Point that I haven’t seen in years. I want to go there again.
Anyways, check out photos from the trip via the dynamic flickr album below.
Urban Adventure League 