Bike Tour Planning: (Relationship) Lessons Learned So Far
These are not lessons from a bike-touring expert by any stretch of the imagination. As a couple we’ve gone on three multi-day “sheets and showers” bike tours so far: Seattle to Lake Stevens and surrounding area: I planned this four-day outing as a test of touring a few years ago. Great Allegheny Passage/C&O Canal Towpath: […]
Bike Touring Northwest Washington State: How Our Bike + Ferry + Train Loop Worked Out
I started with an overall plan for bike touring from our front door in southwest Seattle that would take us north and west in a big loop. My general parameters: Start from our front door. Technically one probably always does this, but I meant to ride the first day, not pack our bikes, fly somewhere, unpack […]
Day Thirteen and Done: Anacortes to Southwest Seattle
Well, if the number 13 is unlucky for us, it’s only because it marked the last day of our fantastic multi-day bike tour through Washington state. Alas, the big loop is done. The final morning dawned bright and breezy, with enough clouds moving around that we donned leggings and sleeves for the ride to downtown […]
Day Twelve: Lopez Island to Anacortes
Tough to tear ourselves away from this tranquil little spot on Lopez! I fully expect to come back. We’ve been keeping notes on what makes for a great AirBnB stay and this one checked off almost everything people have done along the way plus some things no one else did. (Sounds like I had better […]
Day Eleven: Lopez Island, a Gentle Retreat
I woke to Hubs saying quietly “Honey — there’s a deer in the yard.” The description of our AirBnB had mentioned this possibility and sure enough, a small doe nibbled her way through the yard while we watched. The sun shone in blue skies above, only a few puffy white cloudlets left as a token […]
Days Nine and Ten: Friday Harbor to Lopez Island
We lucked into a really great weekend to be in Friday Harbor, sunny weather Saturday coinciding with the San Juan Islands Artists Studio Tour. Hubs went off on his bike to explore the local airstrip while my sister, her boyfriend and I visited studio after studio to see the talents of artists in a wide […]
Days Seven and Eight: Victoria, BC to Friday Harbor
My gosh, Victoria has so much fresh kermit! AKA new bike infrastructure with bright green paint. I rode in protected bike lanes on Fort Street, Antiques Row. Great use of occasional concrete pads for both traffic calming and bike parking too. The rain we’d seen in the forecast didn’t materialize and the breezy sunshine […]
Days Five and Six: Lake Crescent to Victoria, BC
Day 5 mileage amounted to zero, giving my legs (and saddle area) a welcome break. I did an hour of yoga outside in the sunshine by the gorgeous lake, feeling the stretch in hip flexors and in any posture that opened my body away from the forward/back of biking movements. I had tentatively planned that […]
Day Four: Port Angeles to Lake Crescent
Today’s ride: More sweating ups and coasting downs heading from Port Angeles to Lake Crescent for some quiet time off the bike. I planned this short day to follow the long day, which was a Very Good Idea. We ran a few errands in Port Angeles — chain lube, dextrose for the water bottles, snacks […]
Day Three: Port Townsend to Port Angeles
“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and can coast down them…. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motorcar only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country […]
Day Two: Mukilteo to Port Townsend
After yesterday’s mostly urban route, today’s very rural roads were a quiet relief — even more so thanks to the expert route advice of Island County planner Brian Woods. One of the reasons I blog about our travels is that those real-life experiences can be just what someone needs to decide whether a particular route […]
