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Make tracks for Washington state
Date published: 8/2/2009
By CAREY J. WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SAN JUAN ISLANDS, Wash. --Bicycle touring is a whale of a good time on the magical San Juan Islands.Riders flock to this bicycling paradise for its varying terrain, quiet two-lane roads and scenic beaches. But the abundance of wildlife draws visitors too. Every tire rotation during my seven-day, 269-mile tour of the islands, some 80 miles north of Seattle in Puget Sound, was validated when I saw a pod of whales swimming the shoreline of San Juan Island. The Washington State Ferries serve the four biggest islands in the San Juans. We spent the short ferry rides taking pictures, snacking, napping and studying maps of the islands. WELCOME TO SHAW ISLAND Shaw Island was idyllic for getting us in the island groove. The island has only one store, a post office, a school and a campground. After setting up camp, our nightly routine consisted of preparing mostly canned food dinner and looking for abandoned firewood. We needed the fire to keep warm as we had decided to leave our sleeping bags behind in the Seattle heat. That turned out to be a mistake; neither of us slept well during the trip because of the cold nightly temperatures. MOVING TO LOPEZ ISLAND Day two of riding took us from Shaw to Lopez Island, which proved to be a true cycling paradise. The mostly flat island has little car traffic and features many beautiful public beaches. Each of our rides on Lopez ended at a scenic beach with the exception of trips into town for groceries and to join the locals for fresh cinnamon rolls at Holly B's bakery. NEXT UP, SAN JUAN We were a little hesitant to move onto our third island, San Juan, because of crowds we expected to encounter in Friday Harbor. At this point in the trip, it seemed like we had seen more wildlife than people. We'd seen a bald eagle, a great blue heron, harbor seals and numerous black-tailed deer. Happily, we weaved through crowds and got out of town. Once again, sunny skies and mild temperatures were perfect for riding. We noticed a van on the side of the road. The passenger was pointing to the water. When I got closer, I saw Orca whales popping in and out of the water--the first time I'd seen whales outside of SeaWorld. HELLO, ORCAS ISLAND From San Juan Island we went to Orcas Island. Fueled by our first showers of the week, we reached the top of the 2,500-foot mountain and enjoyed the 360-degree views. It was a perfect cap to a wonderful trip.
Date published: 8/2/2009
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