San Juan Island Cycling
Wheel Life column - 7 August, 1999
by Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort - Victoria Transport Policy Institute

We are lucky to live in such a lovely region. If you don't believe us, just ask a tourist who has traveled hundreds or thousands of kilometres to enjoy sites and activities that we often take for granted.

Before you spend a fortune visiting Europe, South America or New Zealand, take advantage of the wonders in our backyard. Many nearby islands are delightful places to explore by bicycle, and conveniently located from Victoria.

Although each has its own, unique personality, they share many common features. They are small, friendly and full of pleasant attractions, such as art studios and small country stores selling ice cream cones.

Rule number one when visiting the islands is to slow down, relax, and appreciate what you find. The islands don't need more harried, pushy city folk making inconsiderate demands, particularly during peak tourist season. If you need big-city amenities, like big supermarkets and fast food, don't go to smaller communities because you won't like them and they won't like you.

These islands have sensitive environments and most have limited fresh water so minimize your impacts. Don't bicycle on trails or camp without landowners' permission.

Islands are hilly and roads are narrow. Show consideration to motorists and most will be considerate to you. Ride single-file on the right of the roadway when traffic approaches, and get yourselves and your bicycles completely off the roadway whenever you stop.

Traffic tends to be congested at the ferry docks. It's usually best to wait a few minutes until most automobile traffic has passed before bicycling up the steep hill that inevitably begins your island bicycling adventure.

For an international trip, Pride of Victoria Cruises has daily ferry service from the Oak Bay Beach Hotel (1175 Beach Drive, Victoria, phone: 592-3474) to Roche Harbor, on San Juan Island. It leaves at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and returns at 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The trip is 70 minutes each way. The round-trip price is $49 for adults, $35 for children, plus a $10 fee for bicycles.

You can also get to San Juan Island by the Washington State Ferry, which leaves Sidney at 12:20 and 7:25 p.m. daily, but only stops at Friday Harbor on the evening run. The one-way fare is about $20 Canadian ($9.10 U.S., plus $4.60 U.S. for your bicycle).

For a real treat, stay at Roche Harbor Resort or one of the many bed-and-breakfast accommodations on the island. There are also camping sites. Once at Friday Harbor, you can easily travel to other islands by ferry.

There's plenty to do on San Juan Island. Today's map shows the main bicycling route. The San Juan County Fair takes place August 18-21. While in Friday Harbor be sure to visit the Whale Museum. There are also the English and American national historic parks at opposite ends of the island, remnants of the Pig War, when our two countries nearly went to battle over posession of the territory.

For more information and a calendar of community events, visit the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.sanjuanisland.org.

We received lots of positive feedback on last week's column which described what to do after a bicycle accident. You can now access that information in the legal education section of the GVCC website (http://www.gvcc.bc.ca/legaled.htm) in case you need to refer to it in the future (although we certainly hope you never do).