Keith F. cycling Chuckanut Drive:
It turned out to be a beautiful weekend for a little bike jaunt down to the US and A. After organizing gear and leaving cars at 165th Street and 8th Avenue (good spot) it is a 5 min ride to the border. The plan was to bike from Vancouver but I changed the trip to Sunday-Monday as Saturday was looking really poor weather wise and wanted to get where we were going. When biking past 100s of cars to easily get to the front of the line, it is hard to not feel a little smug. Then again you must be honest with yourself and realize usually you don’t bike across the border and you usually sit with the masses of cars. But today was not one of those days: 5 min border crossings.
Using a map from a local phone book we sufficiently meandered our way around Birch Bay State Park and then around the lovely BP refinery and arrived at Bellingham. The I-5 is not the nicest stretch of road, but all the side roads we took are great. Luckily we were thirsty and hungry after biking down and we happened to land at Elizabeth Station bottle shop and bar. Good sandwiches, beer on tap, and lots of options for taking many many different beers home.
After this it was a quick shot to Fairhaven. It is touristy and nice for sure. We all relaxed on the lawn (greenest lawn in Fairhaven I reckon) in front of the Colophon Café. We then made our way down Chuckanut Drive. The weather was great and Larabee State Park is not that far down the hills. We pulled into one of the walk-in sites and set up camp (no reservation). There are few food options on the scenic drive (and the possibility they might be closed) so after biking for a bit in the night we elected to turn around as the road is tight and windy – not fun in the dark.
We slept well, it is kind of insane to think a train is going to come barreling through your tent in the night, but that’s what it is like when they pass by. We got up and went up the few hills (they are over really quick) and back into Fairhaven for some breakfast. We did a little shopping in Bellingham and meandered our way to the border and back home once again. Fun group, fun trip!
Trip by the Numbers…
- Number on trip: 4 (reduced max from 8, Rebecca, Susanna, Cheryl, Keith)
- Km’s biked: approx 160 km
- Borders crossed: 2 (US and Canada)
- Animals seen: 1 Possum, one toad (both road kill), 59 cows, 14 sheep, 5 dogs
- Animals lives saved: 13 (helped 2 adult mallards, and 5 ducklings safely cross a road North of Bellingham; slowed down on 99 and put 4 way flashers on for 6 more to way to meeting the group) I wouldn’t say I’m a Super Hero, but others might 🙂
- Fear a train might come directly into the campground in night: 4
- Insane irate driver who disliked cyclists: 1
- Insane irate driver who avoided a heart attack after he relaxed and drove away: 1
- Oysters shucked: 0 (they closed before we got there)
- Options for more trips in Whatcom County: many
