Riding around Moran State Park on Orcas Island should be good fun. The
roads are going to be narrow though with not much, if any, of a
shoulder. You should still be able to find some places off the beaten
path where you can ride without having too many cars. The problem with
Moran State Park is that most of the off-road trails are closed to bikes
until the last half of September. If you're planning on bringing your
muni you'll find most of the trails on Mt. Constitution closed to bikes
this time of year. There's some double-track on and around Mt.
Constitution that I believe is still open to bikes this time of year.
Could be good for Coker riding on the open double-track. There is going
to be climbing involved though for many of the double-track trails on
the mountain.
The off-road trails on Mt. Constitution are mostly smooth and buff.
They're definite XC style trails. The challenge comes in the climbing.
Don't expect technical muni.
I'm not certain of the grade of the road climb up Mt. Constitution.
I've seen numbers that say 12% or 15%, but I'm not sure if that is just
the maximum grade in the switchback turns as the bottom or the grade for
just a short section or what. It certainly isn't 12% all the way up.
It would definitely be a grind to get all the way up. I haven't ridden
up the road climb yet. I have ridden down the road on a bike and up on
the single-track a year or two ago.
I'm thinking of going to Orcas this year sometime after mid September
when the trails open to bikes. I'd bring the muni and the Coker. I do
need to do the road climb up Mt. Constitution on the Coker. At least
I'd like to do the road climb on the Coker. I hope I'm up to it if/when
I try it. I'll be using 170's if/when I try the road climb up Mt.
Constitution. The rest of Orcas and the other islands would be fine
with 140's or 150's.
If you find some good reliable numbers for what the grade is on Mt.
Constitution please report back because I'm curious. I know the grade
is steeper at the bottom than it is up at the top. It's not a constant
climb.
San Juan Island is a good place to ride around. It has up and down
hills. Cumulative climbing for a ride will be impressive but no big
extended climbs. Roads are mostly narrow. Some with a shoulder and
some with no shoulder. I did a little biking with family on San Juan
Island last time I was there. It's a fun island for biking. I didn't
have the Coker with me on that trip.
The problem with going to the islands this time of year is more car
traffic. Later in the season (like after September) the traffic is less
but the weather is also worse.
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