All of the spots on Lopez Island Ride that will be taking the San Juan Safari (SJS) ferry trip have been filled. As mentioned, if this were to happen, I would try to put together a second group that might go over on the Washington State Ferry that morning. I reached out to some prospective new leaders but was not able to find anyone that was able to do so. If you think this is something that you might be interested in doing, please contact me. I will be more than happy to walk you through the process of what’s involved with posting an event in the calendar and sending out a Quick Alert. Here’s the details of the ride that I’m leading with a second group possibly meeting us over on Lopez.
My group will be taking the SJS ferry boat from Anacortes, which arrives at Odlin County Park dock on Lopez Island instead of the WASDOT ferry terminal. The boat arrives 40 minutes after the 9:35 AM Washington State Ferry, but because cyclists often have to wait for the cars on the ferry to first clear out, it would be easy to arrange a meetup. Conversely, at the end of the ride, each group will cycle to their prospective boats.
If you haven't ridden on Lopez, it's a cyclist's haven. Beautiful scenery at every pedal of the way. Most of the riding will be on not-so-busy roads where the drivers tend to be quite considerate and friendly. Get this, it's not uncommon that as they pass, they'll give you the "Lopez Wave" by lifting a finger or two off the steering wheel (who wants to give me a nickel every time that happens?). There should be enough time to have a quick lunch in The Village. Most days there's a couple of food trucks about town and a deli in the market. Of course, there'll always be one or two riders that decide to have dessert first and get an ice cream at the Lopez Creamery.
Westbound logistics: The San Juan Safari group will be arriving at Odlin at 11:00. The second group would catch the WSDOT 9:35 ferry arriving at Lopez at 10:40. You’ll want to be sure to get there at least 20 mins early, and don't forget to ask for the senior discount if applicable.
The second group can either decide to do the same route as our group or choose to do a shorter ride with everyone possibly meeting up for lunch. Walt Farmer sent out a Quick Alert stating that he would like to do a shorter ride. Walt, do you want to put a group together and lead it?
My group will be doing “LOPEZ ISLAND- SBC SOCIAL RIDE- 36 MILES-2100 FT.”
Eastbound logistics: The SJS group will catch the 3:45 boat at Odlin, arriving back in Anacortes at 5:00. The WSDOT lot has the option to return on the 2:40 or the 4:25 ferry.
Again, please feel free to reach out to me if you want to help lead a second group over to the island. The more the merrier!
Barry Antler (831) 428-5203