San Juan Island Trip Report with Pictures

[TromboneAl]

Just got back today. Great trip.

San Juan Islands Trip

 

[deserat]

Awesome trip! My aunt and uncle live on Whidbey Island and have a sailboat -they talk about sailing the San Juans a lot. You guys are in great shape, too. I'm not much of a bicyclist - my husband and I like hiking more.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[jambo101]

Thanks for sharing.Are those islands what they call the sunshine coast?

 

[chinaco]

Al, Thanks for sharing the Pics.

It looks like you had great weather.

 

[hankster]

DW and I fell in love with the San Juan Islands on our first trip there in 2007. We live about 300 miles inland and the islands are a great escape from the hot, dry conditions of July and August inland. We plan to make the islands our summer headquarters after we ER.

 

[MGYog]

Just got back today. Great trip.

San Juan Islands Trip

Nice pics. We live in the Midwest and took a trip to the NW corner of the U.S. for a conference about 4 years ago. We decided to do a little exploring before the meeting, and decided to go to Orcas island via RORO to a resort. It was a great trip!!!! We even met a distant relative through a gal who owned a small souvenir shop in the main town of Orcas Island while we were browsing through her shop. Talk about a small world.

 

[donheff]

Nice trip Al. DW and I would love to do that but we would have to rent bikes if we came out there. It looks like Lina is hooked on riding. Wasn't it only a few months ago that you found her a bike?

 

[simple girl]

Wow, T-Al, thanks for sharing! DH and I just read through your story together. We are living vicariously through you guys. Sounds like a bicycle-road trip we did a few years ago. We went to Lake Erie, Niagra Falls, and the Grand Canyon of PA.

I'm impressed you guys still tent camp. I have a tough time sleeping on the ground (too many aches and pains, even at 40), so we use those fold-up Coleman cots, which help quite a bit, but it's still tough. I've really gotten spoiled by our big King-size bed.

 

[TromboneAl]

Nice trip Al. DW and I would love to do that but we would have to rent bikes if we came out there. It looks like Lina is hooked on riding. Wasn't it only a few months ago that you found her a bike?

Yes. She used to bike pretty much, but it was just last July that we found her a bike. I think she's just now realizing what a strong biker she is.

I have a tough time sleeping on the ground (too many aches and pains, even at 40), so we use those fold-up Coleman cots, which help quite a bit, but it's still tough.

I know what you mean. I seem to have found a good position on my thermarest, and can usually be totally comfortable, but DW's shoulder still gets sore even with two.

But I can't seem to recapture the thrill of tent camping that I had when I was a kid. I guess I've done it too much.

 

[Midpack]

Wow, thanks for taking the time to put that together and sharing it with us. A beautiful area of the country and clearly a wonderful trip for you and Lena. You're quite a character (in a good way)...

 

[Goonie]

Thanks Al!!! That was sooo cool!

 

[Nords]

Excellent, except for the parts about it being cold during freakin' September!

 

[Sue J]

Thanks for taking us along. I enjoyed your pictures. And food.

 

[Buckeye]

T-Al,

Do you have a link of something to read that will help me adjust my handlebars and seat to a comfortable level/relationship? We don't have any pros anywhere close to help. I have basically given up riding my bike because it's so darn uncomfortable.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks Al , I love your travelogs .

 

[harley]

T-Al, great diary! Excellent photos too. I've never been out in that part of the country. It's on the list now. No way I'll be able to bike it though.

I'm impressed you guys still tent camp. I have a tough time sleeping on the ground (too many aches and pains, even at 40), so we use those fold-up Coleman cots, which help quite a bit, but it's still tough. I've really gotten spoiled by our big King-size bed.

SG, I would suggest Aerobeds (or some similar product) in place of the cots. Easier to carry, and incredibly more comfortable. When I car-camp, I always take the Aerobed, and usually sleep like a baby.

 

[yakers]

Al, great trip report. DW & I love the San Juans, we have stayed on Orcas and SJI and visited Lopez, it is supposed to be the good one for cycling. These islands are a great place to kayak although you have to know what you are doing as the tides can get really big. Its nice that the ferry worked for you. And all those pictures of sunshine. I tell DW it never rains in Seattle (where she was born) and it never did for those times I visited.
No surfing in Puget Sound?

 

[simple girl]

SG, I would suggest Aerobeds (or some similar product) in place of the cots. Easier to carry, and incredibly more comfortable. When I car-camp, I always take the Aerobed, and usually sleep like a baby.

Every time we've used an air mattress, it seems they leak and by the middle of the night we are rolling into each other as a big "pit" develops in the middle of the mattress. So, does this not happen with the Aerobed?

 

[harley]

They're pretty tough, no leaks so far. And for camping, I recommend 2 twins to avoid that particular problem. You can always share one for whenever you might need a mattress while still awake.

 

[simple girl]

They're pretty tough, no leaks so far. And for camping, I recommend 2 twins to avoid that particular problem. You can always share one for whenever you might need a mattress while still awake.

Thanks for the tip, however now that I think about it, maybe that's the the reason for the leaks?

 

[dessert]

Just got back today. Great trip.

San Juan Islands Trip

Boy, now that's what I call having fun during retirement. Thanks for putting the log together for the rest of us. I really enjoyed it and will show it to DW later.
We scheduled a bicycle tour in Alaska a few years ago and she is still mad at me about that. Let's just say that "going downhill was a lot of fun". To make matters worse, all of the other tour participants looked like they just got back from the Tour de France.

 

[TromboneAl]

Do you have a link of something to read that will help me adjust my handlebars and seat to a comfortable level/relationship? We don't have any pros anywhere close to help. I have basically given up riding my bike because it's so darn uncomfortable.

It really doesn't need to be uncomfortable, though it usually takes a number of rides before your butt adjusts to the saddle.

Links to bike fitting calculators, technology, and bike fitting systems. The FitStik.

Or go to bikeforums.net and ask a question.

 

[Buckeye]

My bicycle seat is nicely padded (don't go there) but it always feels like the seat or the handle bars are too high or too low or I'm slipping forward off my seat.

 

[tjon72]

Very nice, Al..........

 

[Rustward]

Al, you do the best trip reports. Thanks.