By Julie McInre Corey
San Juan Island
I fell in love with driving our country roads around the island. In 2004, when we moved here, every Sunday, we would drive the whole island looking for something new to see or do. It was a new adventure we never got >red of. The first >me my husband and I got behind a BIG bike group, it was an eye-opening moment in more ways than one. The big bike group was primarily men, and the husband kept commenting on all the spandex backsides of all those men and we were forced to watch for 30 minutes. I thought it was quite a show!!! But it is very upsetting how they take over the road, and you cannot do nothing about it. There was only one group that came once every year back then. Last summer, I counted seven different groups! I get it. Everyone in the world knows about San Juan Island now. A lot can change in 20 years! There is so much more traffic, cars and scooters and bike riders and Ebike riders and walkers never looking both ways when they cross the street. And remember the animals that have lived here much longer than humans!
We are an island that is dependent on tourism. Paradise comes with a price.
Our granddaughter was here for a visit; she just received her WA State driver’s learner’s permit! It is such a milestone event in anyone’s life. She could not wait to drive. I picked her up from the airport, handed her my keys, and said, “You’re driving today” ” She jumped in the car, adjusted the mirrors, put on her seat belt, and said, “Let’s drive in Paradise! Every time we passed a speed sign, she would say 35 mph, then 45 mph. I was so proud of her skills and confidence! Then a car got behind us and would get super close and leave their engine and the roadway had a double yellow line! She said, “Meme, what do I do?” I said, “They cannot pass you. It’s a double yellow line, and the car behind us honked its horn at us! I told her she could pull off the road and let them pass, but she said there was no shoulder! I told her I usually step on my brakes just a little, so they would back off. They honked again at us. I told her to ignore them that they would pass us eventually, and they did so on a double yellow line. We calmed down, then came around a curve, and bam! A group of bikers!!!! They were not in a single line; they were not split up so you could pass them safely.
I asked if she had ever passed bikers driving. She said no, but her driving teacher gave them a lesson on how to do it. Thank goodness! We chose not to pass and stayed behind them. Two days later, the same thing happened again on our drive to Roche Harbor; a driver wanted to pass us and did the same thing! We talked about driving in a hurry and what to do. First, leave earlier, and second, do not harass drivers following the speed limits!
In the last week, so many people have passed me speeding! I have seen fawns and deer ea>ng grass so close to the road that I have had to honk my horn to scare them away because the cars approaching them the other way were driving so fast! Please slow down on our skinny country roads, be kind to others, and watch out for the wildlife and locals!!!
