Approaching the weekend for the bike camping trip the weather forecast did not look very promising. As a ride leader it is hard to make the right call. Should I risk it or play it safe? I only go bike camping once or twice a year so I really wanted to go. I decided to take the plunge and go. Not wanting to put others in misery I emailed all the registrants and told them I would understand if they decided to cancel with the very questionable weather forecast. Well 6 brave souls joined me, 4 from COGS and two others from MBBC. Friday we launched from the Fairhaven Terminal. Things started well along Chuckanut Drive. We had a lunch stop at Old Edison Inn and when we were ready to depart it was raining pretty hard so we all just waited under cover in their patio for a half hour. When it started lightening up we left in light rain and pretty soon we were out of those conditions. Next stop was ice cream in Anacortes. We made it to the campground afterwards, got our tents set up and had dinner before the rain would come that night and it did rain pretty hard that night.

On Day 2 we woke up to a lot of moisture and some of us had some inside our tents. But everyone dealt with it well and were in good spirits for what this day would have in store. We had coffee or breakfast at Moka Joe’s along the way. As we pedaled towards Burlington the skies were very ominous. It looked like we were riding where the rains were falling with very dark clouds. I was a little worried of what lay before us. Surprisingly our route followed a narrow path where we skirted rain that was on both sides of us. We stopped at The Fairhaven for lunch and enjoyed some sunshine. The rest of the ride was mostly on Cascade Trail and it felt stormy but the rains held back. We seemed to have very good fortune of riding this day where rain seemed to be falling to the north or south of us but not along the trail. We got to camp at a good time where we had some sunshine and could dry out some of the moisture in our tents. Before long the rain did start again but not before having our dinner. That night it was mostly light rain continuing through the night.

Day 3 was again a wake up call to a lot of moisture and light rain. By the time of our departure the rain ceased but would catch us on the way to Sedro-Woolley. We avoided the Cascade Trail this day and stuck to pavement mostly on side streets to avoid Hwy 20. We had coffee or breakfast at The Local Shop there. As we approached Bellingham again the sun started shining with rising temperatures. While we had to have a little more climbing due to closed roads we took a very nice approach into Fairhaven that brought our trip to a delightful close.

What made this trip great were the group of cyclists who came. Some who came had little experience with bike camping but took the plunge in these conditions anyways. Everyone was very flexible and willing to help each other out. They always seemed to be in good spirits making the best of every situation even though it wasn’t always ideal. Having a good attitude goes a long ways. Things won’t always be ideal in bike camping or touring but being flexible and having a great attitude goes a long ways to enjoy the journey and accept whatever comes our way. I was very happy with how things turned out this weekend, yet knowing I still need to be careful when taking risks and putting others in these situations. There are still times when canceling a trip is the best course of action.