— by Susan McBain —

Dan Christopherson at Wildlife Cycles in Eastsound

Biking is big in the San Juans. And the number of bikers is going to keep growing, especially in the summer, says Dan Christopherson, owner of Wildlife Cycles in Eastsound.

“First, the number of tourists keeps increasing, and lots of them are bikers—individuals, families and bike touring groups. Second, use of electric bikes is really picking up, and those let older people continue to ride into their 70s and 80s.”

Dan should know what’s happening. He opened the first bike shop in the San Juan Islands in 1978, in a converted chicken shack on Lopez. When Wildlife Cycles, started by Brett McFarland and Jill Sherman in 1989, came up for sale in 2008, he bought the business and moved to Orcas. The shop now has a satellite rental facility at the ferry dock, so customers can ride bikes from the moment they arrive.

“About 20–25 percent of our business is bike rentals,” Dan says. “But the majority is sales of new and used bikes, accessories, and service and repairs. We sell new Trek road, mountain and electric bikes, and we work on all standard and electric bikes.

“This is our 26th year of hosting the Wildlife 100 tour of the San Juan Islands, which happens this Sunday, the 20th. The $10 donation goes to the Orcas Park and Rec, which provides year-round activities for youth, teens, adults, and families. The Tour will start at Wildlife Cycles at 6 a.m. but anyone can meet up with the group at any point of the route. This is an unsupported ride.
Schedule:

6:00am: Meet at Wildlife Cycles
9:15am: Catch ferry from Orcas to Lopez, arrive Lopez 9:50am
1:05pm: Catch ferry from Lopez to San Juan, arrive around 1:55pm
5:30pm: catch ferry from Friday Harbor to Orcas, arrive around 6:20pm
Food and Refreshments in Friday Harbor at the Marina prior to catching the ferry back to Orcas

For mmore information, call Wildlife Cycle at 360-376-4708 or go to https://wildlifecycles.com/wildlife-100/.)

Dan continues, “We also sponsor island bike rides; every Thursday in the summer there’s a social bike ride for whoever wants to join in. And we also have summer Thursday night BMX rides at the Camp Orkila dirt track from 6:30 t0 8 p.m. There is no charge and BMX bikes and helmets are provided.”

As far as riding on Orcas Island, Dan says West Beach, North Beach, and Buckhorn Beach are all good destinations. Serious bikers can ride out to Deer Harbor or up Mt. Constitution. “In fact, Mt. Constitution is one of the three major hill climbs for bikers in Washington,” says Dan (the others are Mt. Rainier and Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics). For families, he recommends going up North Beach to Bartell, then to Terrill Beach, Buckhorn Road to Buckhorn Beach, and back on Mt. Baker Rd., cutting through the Crescent Beach Preserve trail to ride back into Eastsound.

“Both San Juan and Lopez have better roads for bikes than Orcas,” says Dan, “with four-foot paved shoulders on each side on main roads. We need more roads like that here. The county has improved the main road from the ferry dock to Deer Harbor Rd., and it plans to make improvements from Nordstrom Lane to the Exchange. But what I’d like to see is four-foot shoulders all the way to Moran State Park. And shoulders on North Beach Rd. from School Rd. to Mt. Baker Rd. would be a big help for school kids. Many kids could ride to school but don’t because parents don’t think it’s safe.

“Look at Mt. Baker Rd. Some people thought widening it was a waste of money. But it’s used much more by bikers, joggers, and walkers than it was before, now that it’s wide enough that people feel safe using it. And increasing use of bikes could reduce car use by both residents and tourists.”

Something we’d all like to see!

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