Our spring break train-bus-ferry-bike trip to Whidbey Island
Last week was spring break for Seattle Public Schools, so we went on a family trip to south Whidbey Island. This was our first time traveling there since the Lynnwood light rail station opened, so my spouse Kelli, our first grader, and I decided to test out the new and improved transit connection from Seattle to the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal.
To plan a multimodal trip like this, the first step is to figure out what the biggest limiting factors are. Our trip would involve taking a bus, and so most of our decisions have to work around what is not only possible on a bus but also what is comfortable and reasonably reliable. The electric cargo bike is not allowed on light rail, and it definitely will not fit on a bus bike rack, so we would be riding our pedal-only bikes. Even though the bike racks on the bus we would take (Community Transit's Route 117) do have space for three bikes, we decided to only take two bikes so we wouldn't be relying on an empty bike rack or forcing some other poor soul to wait for the next bus. Bringing two bikes means the 7-year-old would be riding on my bike rather than her own. The bus also meant that we would want to pack our stuff into as few bags as possible since you can't leave your stuff attached to your bike like you can on light rail. Large panniers to the rescue.
The bikeFirst, let's talk about the bike setup. We aren't camping this time, so packing all our stuff into four panniers and a couple handlebar bags was easy.
Our first grader still barely fits on the kid seat on my road bike, so this spring and summer will be the last hurrah for this set-up. I cannot recommend this minimal style of kid seat highly enough. The one I have is by a company called Do Little, but there are a bunch of different designs and styles by different companies to fit different bike styles. I love this style of seat because it is minimal and lightweight enough to just leave on at all times, so my bike is always ready to carry a kid. It also fits kids for many years since they can start riding on one as soon as they are old enough to hold onto the handlebars without being strapped into a seat. Depending on the kid and your comfort level, that could be as young as 18 months. Then they can fit on the seat for many years. My kid is 7 and still barely fits, but because her weight is centered on the bike and my arms make sure she is always leaning with me the bike feels perfectly stable even with a bunch of gear in panniers on the front and rear racks. No other non-cargo-bike kid seat has this kind of longevity. It's also by far the cheapest kid seat I've owned.
After a short, leisurely bike ride to U District Station, we were on the train to Lynnwood.
The transit
Then my kid was overjoyed to see that we lucked out and got a double-decker bus for our 117 run. The 117 seems to use a mix of bus types, so you can't rely on the double-decker, but she loves sitting at the front upstairs and pretending to drive. She kept steering us into branches and stoplights, and though she said Oops" I think she was doing it on purpose. Then she got bored and turned on the auto-drive feature, which she said was mostly safe and only crashes into people some of the time. Sounds about on par with commercial autonomous driving services available today. Still, I think I would prefer a professional driver on my next bus ride.
About an hour and $6 total in transit fares later, the three of us were at the ferry terminal ready to get on a boat to Clinton. It was cheap, low-stress and fast. The 117 runs half hourly on weekdays, but only hourly on weekends. For those who are nervous about putting a bike on a bus rack, this is also a perfect test case because you load and unload at the first and last stops. You have plenty of time to get the bikes on and get settled into a seat before the bus starts going, and there's no need to feel rushed getting your bikes off at the end.
After making a short loop around the terminal to go through the regular vehicle fare booths, a green bike lane leads to the bike waiting area. As always, biking on to the Washington State Ferry was easy, and the short trip to Clinton was lovely.
Once we got to Clinton, we had a hilly but wonderful eight miles of biking to our vacation rental off Maxwelton Road. South Whidbey is a fantastic place to bike. There are low-traffic streets through the woods, lovely towns and beautiful beaches. They also have a free transit system that can take bikes if you want to go beyond the south end of the island. We met up at the vacation house with friends who drove, and Fiona ended up riding with them for most our island adventures, giving Kelli and I time to take some lovely rides together like in the old days.
The return
For the return, we just did everything in reverse. Because it was a Saturday, we ended up with a 50-minute wait for the next 117 once we landed in Mukilteo. But we were also hungry, so some Ivar's hit the spot. I know transit funding and service hours are complicated, but it would be amazing if the 117 could at least run as often as the ferry even on weekends (half hourly most the day). We were in no hurry, but the time penalty for barely missing an hourly bus is steep and could easily put off potential riders. I would also like to reiterate my longstanding wish for dual-direction Sounder service. We did look into taking the Sounder from Seattle to Mukilteo, but the times just don't work out because the Sound only goes south in the a.m. and and only goes north in the p.m. This is a very commute-oriented service schedule that leaves out a lot of other potential trips.
One in Lynnwood, we discussed whether to take the light rail or to bike back on the Interurban Trail. But the kid was feeling tired and wasn't too eager to sit on her somewhat cramped bike seat for that much longer, so we took the train. All in all, it was a relaxing and low-cost trip with plenty of adventure but also plenty of options for reducing the miles pedaled as desired. I would do it again.