Around Vashon and Maury Islands (Moderate)

Let's meet at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal for a 39-mile hilly tour around Vashon and Maury Island at a Moderate (14-16mph) pace. Be in the bicycle loading area at the end of the ferry dock before 9:00am to board the 9:10 ferry. We'll have the required safety briefing once we land on Vashon and roll out after the cars have unloaded to avoid traffic on the hill up from the ferry dock.  All riders must attend the safety briefing to participate.

Please note, if you are driving to the ride -- please park in the upper parking lot at Lincoln Park (8001 Fauntleroy Way SW, marked on the Route Map) and bike down. Parking is not available at the ferry terminal itself and the lower Lincoln Park lot closest to the ferry dock is frequently full and has a 4hr limit that is aggressively enforced. Based on the ferry schedule, we will be longer than 4hrs and the upper lot does not have a time limit. 

The ride starts with probably our toughest climb of the day right from the ferry dock so gear down and get spinning. We'll then head down the westside of Vashon Island via Cederhurst, Westside Highway and Wax Orchard roads before rejoining Vashon Highway to loop back to Burton. We'll make a bathroom and coffee stop in Burton and then head on over to Maury Island, where we'll climb to the viewpoint and then head over to the Troll and Pt. Robinson Lighthouse. Then we'll wind back around the north short of Maury Island and the eastside of Vashon back up to Vashon center and then down to our ferry.

We'll aim for the 1:40 ferry return and try to adjust the route as needed based on rider pace to make that ferry. Note there's a 100-minute gap in the schedule after 1:40, so we don't want to miss that one. This route features four significant climbs and several other smaller ones for a total of about 3,000ft of elevation. We will climb and descend hills at our own pace, and we will regroup at the top of the hills. 

Restrooms are available at the start of the ride both at Fauntleroy and Vashon ferry terminals as well as on the ferry itself. We will stop along the way for restrooms at miles at Jensen Beach (17.4) and port-a-potties at Pt. Robinson (26.5). We’ll also aim to stop for coffee/snacks at Burton coffee stand (18.8) and/or Vashon Baking Company (34.4) depending on interest and pace (in order to make it back to the ferry). Please bring your own snacks just in case.

Bring a spare tube and tools to fix a flat, just in case. Other things to bring: phone; ID; cash and/or credit card for ferry ticket; ORCA card; water and a small snack. Ferry fare for adult with bicycle is $7.50 roundtrip, $4.25 for seniors. 

Note: If weather conditions meet the weather cancellation criterion listed above or if there are unforeseen hazardous riding conditions such as hard frost or other unexpected events, the Ride Leader will cancel the ride and all registered riders will be sent a notification email. If the ride is cancelled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location. Please check before leaving for the ride.