Family bikers in Seattle, come be part of the worldwide #SwiftCampout!

• Facebook event page
• Swift Campout main site
• Madi cell phone: (206) 612-4970

Routes:

• Group ride to Ferry: KeyBank at Fremont Bridge to Seattle Ferry Terminal
• Saturday to camp: Bainbridge Ferry Terminal to Fay Bainbridge Park
• Sunday from camp: Fay Bainbridge Park back to Bainbridge Ferry Terminal
• Alternate scenic (and hilly) route from Bainbridge Ferry Terminal to Fay Bainbridge Park
  (this is for families who want to break away from the flat-seeking main group and meet us at Fay via the scenic route used by Chilly Hilly and Bike for Pie)

Ride with us to the ferry from Fremont at 9:00 a.m.
– or –
Meet at the ferry at 10:15 a.m.

Group ride to ferry details:
9:00 a.m. Saturday, June 20th in front of Fremont KeyBank (601 N 34th St, the NW side of Fremont Bridge).
PCC Natural Market is a block away if you need to time your arrival early for groceries and/or potties.
*** We will leave very soon after 9:00 a.m. If you are running late, please text and catch us en route! ***

Saturday, June 20, 2015 – 10:35 a.m. ferry (ARRIVE AT LEAST 20 MINUTES EARLY)

Ferry information:
From the Bicycles on Washington State Ferries webpage:
“Bicyclists should arrive 20 minutes prior to departure time to be loaded at the beginning of loading process. If a bicyclist arrives after vehicle loading has begun, they will be loaded at the end of the load.”

So arrive by 10:15am. BUT if you’re late, they’ll still put you on–just after the cars load. I love how versatile they are with bikes! But it’s so super fun to roll onto the empty ferry so be early if you’re meeting us there. Plus we can socialize in the bike lane before loading.

If you have an Orca card, there is an automated tollbooth at the far right–no waiting behind the cars! But otherwise you need to wait in the rightmost car lane to pay.

Once on Bainbridge Island we generally stop for quick snack and run-around break, but we’ll see what the collective mood dictates. There’s a grocery store in Winslow for any forgotten items.

Our campground is in Fay Bainbridge Park which features a great playground (!!) and BEACH. There are outlets in the bathrooms and picnic shelter (which might be reserved) for those who need to charge e-bike batteries or other things.

Here’s a recap of last year’s summer family bike camping trip. And this year’s FLATTER route I found on my scouting trip.

Note: We’ve been doing group summer camping trips to Fay for several years now and haven’t had kids riding their own bikes. This isn’t to say it’s not allowed, of course, but both the quiet scenic route of years past with its lack of shoulders or bike lanes and the highway we’ll take this year with its very wide shoulders but spots of 50mph traffic are not what I would consider exceptionally kid friendly. Bainbridge Island is very bikey with drivers used to seeing bikes on the roads, but it’s definitely busier (even the quiet, scenic route) and hillier (even the flat highway route) than my Seattle kids are used to.

At this point no concrete plans for when to head back Sunday. We’ll most likely have an early crowd and a later crowd. I’ll probably be part of the later crowd. Our slightly different route for the way back allows us to avoid the long line of cars waiting for the ferry as well as an uncomfortable uphill bike lane sandwiched between two car lanes before one of the intersections near the south end of the reverse of our inbound route.

Don’t despair if your June is booked! If this weekend doesn’t work for you, we’ll also camp at Fay Bainbridge Park August 15-16.