Last September a group of friends and I decided to take advantage of opening weekend for singletrack riding on Orcas Island and make a bikepacking adventure out of it. While people tend to ride trail bikes out there we figured bikepacking may lend itself a little nicer to gravel bikes and opted for a 2022 Rove DL, 2022 Rove AL, 2021 Libre CR DL, and a 2020 Sutra LTD. We grabbed our bikepacking bags, a bunch of food, and our best foul weather gear. The forecast was calling for torrential rain but we weren’t planning to let it dampen our adventure spirit!
The ferry ride is just over an hour from Anacortes to East Sound on the island. It’s just long enough to chill, drink some coffee, see some views, and build up the anticipation for the ride ahead. The skies were gray but held off on unleashing their fury. When we arrived to East Sound we decided to take the longer way to our final destination of Moran State Park. This route had much more gravel and much less traffic. We were also pulling a doggo, so less traffic made us all feel safer about that.
Along the way, we passed a roadside farm that had fresh eggs for sale. While we’d packed plenty of food we were curious to see if a dozen eggs could stand up to the bumpy road and decided to experiment by strapping a dozen to one of our racks. We had bets and guesses as to how many would survive. After a few hours of potholes, braking bumps, and plenty of fast descents we were thrilled to find that all eggs were intact! I guess it goes to show you how smooth a good bike can be on rough roads.
Over the bridges and through the woods to Moran State park we rode! We passed sheep and alpaca farms, got chased by dogs, and had plenty of waves from the friendly locals. Tourism is a big industry on this little island, and all the drivers are accommodating to cyclists no matter where you ride. Once we set up camp we headed straight to the top of Mt. Constitution, a beautiful climb on a paved road that takes you to an absolutely breathtaking view of the ocean and far northwest coast of Washington State. On a clear day, you get a great shot of Mt. Baker’s glaciated peak.
Because we were on such capable bikes, we decided to give the singletrack a try—Rosiedog did too! Lots of rock, roots, and some fun exposure made sure we were on high alert the whole descent. Sure, mountain bikes make for a more comfortable ride, but the spirit of adventure thrives when hitting singletrack on your drop bar bike!
After a good night of consuming the most delicious hard-boiled eggs, a hot campfire, and copious amounts of hot cocoa we fell asleep to the sound of the arriving rain on our tents. There’s something oddly comforting about the pitter-patter of drops merely inches from your face while you’re all tucked in and warm in your sleeping bag.
The next day was a nice slow wake-up and some morning fishing. Bikes and rods seem to be a popular couple these days, so we were eager to see if anything was biting. A few casts netted a few little fishies to greet the foggy morning with. We watched them flit away once they were released and decided it was also our time to go. We packed up our tents and pedaled back to the ferry in driving rain. It felt fitting to end the trip like this. We’d expected terrible weather all weekend, but we were treated to the sun on the first day. When the rain arrived it felt like Ma Nature’s way of saying “You’re welcome, now pedal home safely.” And with that, we crusied our way back to the ferry to bid farewell to our eggselent adventure.
