AdventuresNW
You’ve probably been car camping, but have you ever tried bike camping—commonly called bikepacking? It’s a great way to enjoy a short autumn getaway while pedaling right from home to the nearest campground—no automobile required.
The abundance of ferries in the Northwest and in Seattle, where I live, makes it easy to roll onto a ferry or water taxi with our bikes and gear and disembark on Bainbridge or Vashon islands, the Kitsap Peninsula, even a foreign shore when bringing our bikes aboard the Victoria Clipper.
Electric bikes have made bike overnighters even easier. My wife and I load up our Tern cargo bike without concern about overpacking or traveling light. E-bikes enable a car-lite lifestyle where every outing is a healthy adventure.
Not into sleeping on the ground? Try bike glamping. Katie and I recently drove to the Anacortes ferry terminal, parked in the long-term lot, biked onto the ferry wearing a light backpack of clothes and toiletries, and spent two amazingly comfortable nights close to nature on Lopez Island.
Our destination was Lopez Farm Cottages, an idyllic organic farm with sheep and chickens, walled tents on platforms, a queen-sized bed inside, and hot showers and clean bathrooms nearby. Lopez is the least populated and most bikeable of the San Juan Islands, with lots of camping options and relatively light traffic.
September and early October are the perfect times to visit Lopez due to smaller crowds and milder temperatures. As summers have heated up and gotten smokier, fall has become my favorite biking season.
Two of my favorite fall bike events are the three-day Lake Chelan Tour on September 27-29 and the Kitsap Color Classic on October 6. Both are organized by Cascade Bicycle Club, the statewide nonprofit whose 54 years of advocacy have made Washington one of the most bike-friendly states in the nation.
This year, bikers will celebrate the 30th annual Kitsap Color Classic with routes of 25, 33, or 54 miles, and food stops at Norwegian Point, historic Port Gamble, and the Scandinavian town of Poulsbo, plus a finish line party in Kingston. Hope to see you there.
Bikes represent freedom because the outdoor adventure begins immediately upon pedaling away from home. That sense of freedom and joy I get while bicycling is tempered this year by uncertainty about our democracy.
Instead of voting by mail, I plan to bike my ballot to a drop box. It will be a symbolic gesture in light of the fact that bicycles and the cleaner world they represent are on the ballot.
Bicycles are on the ballot in Seattle, and I will vote yes to raise my property taxes to fund more bike lanes and safer streets. They are on the state ballot, and I will vote no on Initiative 2117, which would kill Washington’s Climate Commitment Act.
Bicycles democratize transportation. Join me this November in biking to the ballot box. It could be the most important bike ride of our lifetimes.
Paul Tolme, the Journalist on the Loose, is an outdoors writer, award-winning environmental journalist, and blogger for Cascade Bicycle Club. He lives with his wife in a Seattle houseboat crammed with bikes, skis, snowboards, kayaks, and paddleboards but no regrets. His work can be seen at paultolme.com and cascade.org/news.
