Pics are in the previous entry.

Day One, Home to Orcas via San Juan Island
Vixens met up at Smokey Point rest area, and headed to the ferry in Anacortes. Destinations this day were first San Juan Island, and then Doe Bay on Orcas Island. I met up with the rest of the group in Friday Harbor, where we ate a mediocre lunch at a crab restaurant. Surly waitresses. (Sorry, gals, if the tourists are driving you nuts. Maybe you shouldn't work in a tourist town if that ticks you off.)

We rode several loops on the island, mostly from my memory since I left my printout of the itinerary at home. Last year, we rode around the perimeter of the island counter-clockwise; this year we took a more loopy route so we could see new sights and try new roads. We found a couple of well-pack dirt and chip-seal roads on this random route, and we found some amazing valleys, mountains and curvy stretches.

(A note on the San Juans during summer: you will encounter many small mopeds and scootcars hugging the shoulder at under 25mph, their tall orange triangles waving at you. You will have to pass each and every one of these tiny vehicles, giving their inexperienced riders a wide berth. These creatures are slow, awkward and unpredictable. Proceed with caution.)

Roads to take include Beaverton Valley and Mitchell Road. Take them each twice, once in each direction. Lots of tasty curves and hills for you.

At the ferry dock, we witnessed a real ferry-lane cluster****. The semi truck with the mail in it was parked in a holding lane above where the bikes were parked (ours and Dave's; we'll get to Dave in a minute). When it was time to load onto the ferry, the driver realized he needed to maneuver to get down the lane, take a hard left, and then a hard right. When the dock worker told him to back straight up, he turned instead, taking out the mirror on a large passenger truck. All of the Vixens (and Dave) scrambled to move our bikes! The dock guy said we didn't need to, but it was clear once the truck was on its way toward the dock that our bikes would have been in harm's way if we had left them. Dude, don't tell us not to move our bikes. Just don't.

Dave. Dave is the other bike that was in line with us to go back to Orcas. I thought I knew him from somewhere, and it turns out that he owns LuLu's Pasta Rustica in Eastsound. After chatting with him most of the ferry ride, we followed him to LuLu's and we all ate an excellent dinner together. He split before the check came, and when it did, we realized he'd given us a DEEP dinner discount. We're sending him a bottle of wine for his hospitality.

After a quick trip to the grocery store and the gas station, we arrived at Doe Bay, well-fed and eager to hit the tubs. Ahhh! Such a nice reward after a day on the bikes.

Day Two, Lopez Island
The morning was a bit dreary, and it was pretty obvious that we were in for rain. Ugh. Hardy souls that we are, we kept our plan and headed to Lopez Island. Lopez isn't too big, and we didn't have much time between boats, but even so we had time to stop at the Saturday Farmer's Market in Lopez Village. It was really sweet, with cool crafts and a lot of stuff we could have gone broke buying.

On our way to Shark Reef State Park, the rain started in earnest. Those of us prepared enough to have brought rain gear put it on, and we kept going. Too bad it wasn't a day to visit Shark Reef; it's a beautiful spot. The rest of the island was much like the first half, though we took a different route back to the dock. We waited at the dock for a while, got on our ferry, and went back to Doe Bay.

Barb and Sandy met us there. They are semi-new to the WMC, and I must say they are a kick in the pants! They fit right in, and joined us for a tasty dinner of burritos. Some folks headed to the tubs, but came right back because there were underage kids in the tubs (after 6pm it's adults only). The situation was rectified handily, and further tubbing occurred. We watched Talladega Nights, which held the interest of some. Then we all fell asleep.

Day Three: Orcas and Home
Three bikes decided to try the Mt. Constitution road, despite the wet pavement, while two bikes stayed behind to get/give a massage. The report from the mountain is that the road was ridable, though riders broke traction a few times. They still had a fun time, and managed to get some amazing pictures.

All of the Vixens met up at the Orcas ferry dock for the boat home. I said goodbye as they loaded, and then went back to my little cabin at Doe Bay.

Another good ride for the WMC. But I think we can forego Lopez next year. It's pretty, but I'd prefer the more winding roads of San Juan Island. Here's to next year's San Juan Island ride!