My travel took place on the ancestral lands of the Halalt, Penelakut, T’suubaa-asatx, and Lyackson (Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group), Samish, Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), S’Klallam, Semiahmoo, Tulalip, Suquamish, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples who have stewarded those lands since time immemorial.

I have been lucky to have been a cyclist for most of my life. After a few years living in Seattle without a car, and riding these hills with panniers full of all manner of household items and groceries, I figured that hauling camping gear would not be that much of a stretch. Since I love the outdoors but did not have a car, if I was carrying all of my camping gear I would not need a car to get out of town in the first place! I was also beginning to come around to the fact that I just do not like hiking — it is not a popular stance, but it is how I feel.

Seattle to Lopez Island

I decided I would attempt cycle touring for the first time after I finished grad school. I was both extremely excited and extremely scared. I decided I would take a bus north to Mount Vernon, ride to Anacortes, and catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands. I ran around the week before my departure trying to find cheap and second-hand equipment, and borrowing what I could from friends. I used a checklist from Swift Industries as a guide, and have since tweaked it to develop my own, complete with suggestions for meals and snacks. I took off on July 5th, to catch a bus to Mount Vernon and promptly got a flat tire. Thankfully I had left early in an attempt to quiet my anxiety and had enough time to get a new tube at a nearby bike shop.

After the repair, I made it to the Amtrak station without incident, and was able to relax on the 90 minute ride to Mount Vernon. The first few miles through the farm town were fine, with a wide enough shoulder, but the drivers in the area did not like having to make room for a cyclist. It got worse once I was on Highway 20, with logging trucks and semis whizzing by. I could have taken the very circuitous route down to La Conner and bypassed the highway, but I was trying to make a 6 o’clock ferry. I was able to leave the highway near the Swinomish Casino, and took side roads, a really love bridge path through a bird sanctuary, and designated bike trails the rest of the way to Anacortes.

The San Juan ferries travel in a circuit, and as a pedestrian or cyclist you pay when you embark in Anacortes, but do not need to pay for travel between the islands! My first stop was Lopez Island, which is well-known as a cycling destination because it is the flattest. I went right to Spencer Spit State Park, where there are primitive hiker-biker sites. My nerves were still shot from the adrenaline of getting a flat tire and being honked at on the highway. When I rolled into Spencer Spit State Park and looked around I was bowled over by the beautiful beachy inlet that had recently been deserted by Fourth of July tourists. It felt like I had the island to myself, save for a few sailboats moored a few hundred yards off shore.

Something about the San Juan Islands feels different. The light seems warmer, and life seems to move at a more comfortable pace. I woke up with the sun at 4am and took a long time making breakfast, packing up camp, and enjoying the feeling of humid, brackish air slowly warming and lifting off the Sound. I chose to explore Lopez Island’s set of adorable farms and art studios via a circuitous loop of the central part of the island, and visited Shark Reef Sanctuary and the one town on the island.

Riding through the island was one of the most serene things I had done in a long time. I rode through miles and miles of farmland, and saw hardly any other people. It took me a few hours to get to Shark Reef Sanctuary, where I locked up my bike and walked through walls of salal down to the rocky shore. The Sanctuary is supposed to be a great place to see all kinds of marine wildlife. I was not lucky enough to see any marine mammals, but I did see a ton of birds, starfish, and mollusks! The rocky shore is pretty incredible on its own — it is an undulating, marbled crest that would is either a lot of fun or very stressful to traverse depending on personal risk tolerance. I loved clambering around all the tide pools and marveling at the stripes of white quartz.

Lopez Island to Orcas Island

My disgusting knee wound and road rash, and the beautiful Mountain Lake

I caught an early afternoon ferry to Orcas Island feeling so full of life and confident about my ability to make it up to Moran State Park. It was going to be my biggest day of climbing with about 1,700 feet of elevation but I was feeling really good. I tore out of the ferry terminal and up the first hill, gaining speed as I descended on the other side. As I barrelled into the next segment of my journey, I felt so full of pride and excitement — and then I hit a pothole.

The impact sent my front pannier flying into my front wheel. My bike flew out from under me and I crashed headfirst into the ditch. I blacked out, and when I came to I was sprawled out on the gravel with three people standing over me, blocking out the sun. They were all talking to me at once and all I could say was “Please go away, please I’m fine, leave me alone”. My neck and right side were throbbing and I was bleeding from deep cuts and road rash on my knee. One of them said they were an EMT and started pulling at my limbs, and I screamed at them to stop. An ambulance was called and the EMTs were really kind — when they picked up my bike the front wheel was twisted and my front rack was cracked. The EMTs cleaned me up, put my bike in the back of the ambulance, and I went in the cab.

They dropped me off at Wildlife Cycles and the mechanic looked vexed at the severity of the damage. I was shaking from the aftershock of my crash, and even though I was not crying per se, water kept streaming out of my eyes. One of the EMTs volunteered to take me and my bags to Moran State Park, and he dropped me off at the ranger station shaking, crying, covered in grass stains and blood. A really sweet family that had seen me on the side of the road earlier gave me and my panniers a ride to the hiker-biker sites. When I peeled off my cycling shorts, I found that my right hip had road rash and a huge gash, even though the shorts had not ripped. I took myself down to the north end of the lake where I thought I could get some solitude and potentially stop crying. The EMTs had told me to go in the lake to help the swelling, so I alternated between sunbathing and swimming until I calmed down a little. It was late afternoon by the time I got back to my camp and the mosquitoes were setting in so I made a huge fire and set up my tent.

As I was finishing dinner, I saw two of the EMTs from earlier walking up to my campsite — with my bike! I was so overwhelmed by the kindness, but it was difficult for me to express surprise and gratitude properly because of the concussion. I remember wanting to smile and cry but being so exhausted I kind of stared blankly while saying “thank you” over and over. I realized I had not thought through how I would get back to town without my bike, and I was happy to have my bike back in working order. I fell asleep before the sun went down and woke up feeling better but still in a painful fog. My whole body was stiff and it took a long time for me to be able to pack up and start riding. I rode down the mountain to Eastsound and found the bike shop, where I was expecting to settle a repair bill. However, the mechanic told me that the EMTs had paid for the repair!

My triumphant return to the Orcas Island ferry, with some gross new cuts and a concussion… This photo was my holiday card in 2017

Orcas Island to San Juan Island

The ride back to the ferry terminal went smoothly and I was excited for another chance at this bike touring thing. I got off the ferry at Friday Harbor, the biggest city in San Juan County. I biked past lots of farmland, wineries, and a lone camel in a field, and stopped to peruse second-hand goods at CT Recycling in Roche Harbor. It is a recycling center/thrift store for everything imaginable from clothes and home goods to construction materials and farm implements. I took the north spur of Roche Harbor Road to visit the San Juan Island Sculpture Park, which was a really cool place to get off the bike and take a stroll. There were a lot of local artists featured, and many of the sculptures had kinetic or interactive properties.

My next stop was Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm because alpacas are adorable and weird-looking. I would recommend dropping by to ogle at alpacas, but the clothes in the shop are not particularly fashionable, and the odd people that worked there were pretty odd and dismissive. Too much time spent talking to alpacas perhaps?

I kept riding, and as I moved through the more wooded and hilly western side of the island, I passed by some really funny fruit-shaped troll houses in someone’s front yard. They seemed to be more or less Spongebob Squarepants themed, but I do not have a TV or watch cartoons, so I may be wrong.

I kept riding on to Lime Kiln Point State Park, which I had mistakenly assumed had primitive campsites available. It was a really beautiful park, but unfortunately what I thought was going to be a really simply 30-40 mile day was going to have to be extended until I could find somewhere to camp. The San Juan County Park I passed earlier was packed to the gills, and did not seem promising. I went back to Friday Harbor where I was hoping I could find a hot meal and ask about a place to camp. By the time I made it back to town, I had ridden about 65 miles (with a concussion, cuts, and road rash on my knee and hip). I had never ridden that far in my life, especially not with a fully loaded bike. I locked my bike up next to a bar and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, wine, and a full caesar salad. I finished all of it so fast the salty regulars were giving me side-eye. I felt so energized after eating it all, I realized I had not been eating enough the last few days. After a few calls, I found the Lakedale Resort which had campsites for $40 (outrageous) and I got the last one. It was nice because they had showers, a convenience store, and room for me — it was not nice because it was really crowded with families. I made my fire and tried to think about how the next day would go.

San Juan Island to Seattle

When I initially planned my trip, I had considered taking an extra day to camp at Deception Pass State Park before heading back to Seattle. However, having gotten in a wreck I was not feeling my best and decided I would just try to do the 80-mile slog back and take my time. I made it to Deception Pass and felt pretty great, but that did not last for long. I made it to the farm stand north of Oak Harbor and gave up against the sun beating down on me, my headache, and the unrelenting traffic. I put my thumb out and was picked up by an adorable family of five, the father of the group told me he had hitchhiked and bike toured a fair amount in his younger days and was happy to give me a ride to the Clinton Ferry 35 miles away — they even had a bike rack! The kids seemed bewildered but curious, and the oldest one loved that I had a shaved head, since they had short hair too.

I bid them farewell at the ferry terminal, braved the horrible uphill out of Mukilteo, and finally made it to the Interurban Trail which was basically a 30-mile straight shot back to my apartment in north Seattle. Before I got home I rolled into a hipster Central American restaurant in Greenwood. A 22-year-old with an asymmetric haircut gave me an up-and-down look (I was filthy, still bloody, and had grass stains on my shirt), and sat me outside. I told them to bring me a pitcher of water and ordered a plate of nachos which I demolished. The other day-drinking hipsters kept staring at me over their shoulders. If only they knew how I persevered over the last four days…

The San Juan Islands: My First Bike Tour

Seattle to Lopez Island

Lopez Island to Orcas Island

Orcas Island to San Juan Island

San Juan Island to Seattle