This is a bike camping opportunity in the San Juan Islands. This will be mid-week and after Labor Day weekend in hopes of lower traffic on the islands. This trip is a good introduction to bike camping with some of the routes being ridden on unloaded bikes. Some of the routes are optional. This will be led by Peter Krippner. Registration is limited to 12.
Day 1 - Anacortes - Lopez Island: 42 miles; 2336'. We will meet up at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal to catch the 9:35 AM Ferry to Lopez Island. When we arrive at 10:15 we will ride directly to Spencer Spit State Park to set up camp, or if we are too early, to drop off our gear. We will stay in sites 47 and 48 and, if needed,, we will use Hiker/Biker sites. After setting up camp or securing our gear at a safe location we will do a counterclockwise loop around the island with a lunch stop in the village. Supplies can be picked up here too. Dinner tonight will be at camp. Please note that there are no showers at the campground so you may want to take a dip in the ocean.
Day 2 - Lopez Island - Orcas Island: 32 miles; 3055'. Breakfast in camp. We will ride directly to the Ferry to catch the 10:00 AM departure to Orcas Island. The new ferry schedule does not allow us to do Shaw Island on this trip. Once on Orcas Island we will ride to Moran State Park and can stop in Eastsound on the way for lunch if desired and to pick up supplies. We are at campsites 29 & 30 and if necessary we can overflow to the hiker/biker sites though they are in a separate area of the park. After setting up camp there is an option to ride to Doe Bay and back with our unloaded bikes. There is also time to include Mt Constitution or other riding in the area. Dinner will be at camp.
Day 3 - Orcas Island - Anacortes: 36 miles; 3500'. After breakfast in camp there is an option to ride up to Mt Constitution with unloaded bikes for those who didn't include it on Day 2. After the Mt Constitution route we will pack up our camp and do the Orcas Island excursion route. We can stop for lunch in East Sound, however we need to plan to catch the 2:20 PM ferry departure since the next one isn't until 5:15 PM. Arrival into Anacortes for us will be 3:10 PM. For anyone interested we could ride around Washington Park before heading back to our cars and have dinner in Anacortes before heading home.
On our bike camping trips everyone is expected to be self-sufficient and make their own decisions on the gear to bring and what type of bike to use. This trip will mostly be on paved roads with a possible 8 mile gravel road section on Orcas Island. For bike camping I recommend minimum 28mm wide tires. While everyone is self-sufficient we are also there to help each other out as anyone can have trouble at any time. For resources on bike camping please check out these sites: Adventure Cycling Assoc. ; Gear Lists
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