Report by Dan McGuire
The Fraser Valley Group inaugurated their first overnight ride in April, a ride from a traditional start place in Langley to the Skagit Valley in Washington, during the spring tulip festival. A total of 18 of us enjoyed the cycling routes and the flowers.
It was a very windy Tuesday as thirteen of us headed from Langley to Bellingham across the fertile farmland of the Nooksack valley. We arrived at the Colophon Cafe in the Fairhaven suburb just in time for lunch, where Janet and Mary joined us, having cycled directly from the Peace Arch. The cafe shares space with a bookshop in a former hardware store, amid the rejuvenated brick walls and timber beams and columns, where they serve a delicious and nutritious variety of soups and other calorie laden items guaranteed to keep the pedals turning. The Chuckanut Drive was next, about 18 km of undulating road through Larrabee Park and with spectacular views over Samish Bay. The hills gave way to the flat plain of the Skagit delta as we passed through Bow-Edison and on into Burlington.
Wednesday is our usual cycling day and the tulips were at their peak because of the cool spring. Doug led the group of eager beavers on the long route while the rest of us did a more leisurely study of the tulip farms. We visited a farm where part of the barn was used as an art gallery and the farmer offered cider from his apple orchard. Another had developed display gardens with many varieties of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.
We all met for lunch in La Conner; a tourist oriented town along the canal separating the mainland from Fidalgo Island. The delta of the Skagit river spreads flat and fertile between La Conner and Mount Vernon so there are a number of scenic routes available with quiet roads and picturesque farms and river views. The frequent sunny breaks made a very pleasant day of touring and picture taking.
Thursday we started with a hearty breakfast and headed back north. The roads included an old railway route, which helped climb the heights to the east of Chuckanut mountain, then down to Whatcom Lake for lunch. The little rain there was had stopped and the SW wind pushed us along the rural roads to the Canadian border and back to Langley.
This trip is worth repeating, so the Fraser Valley group will probably try it again in future years. The over-night concept worked well too, and we’ll be trying another, from Langley to Harrison Hot Springs on June 17th, and returning next day.