If you can see Mt. Baker, you are part of The Experience
Being told to stay in your lane isn’t a dis when it comes to the annual Dandy Daffodil Tweed Ride in La Conner.
In fact, it’s a badge of honor.
“A tweed ride is a throwback to a slower, simpler time long before computers and cellphones consumed our lives — a time when families would don their Sunday best, pack a picnic basket, and take a leisurely bicycle jaunt through the countryside,” explains Damian Vines, one of the popular event’s organizers.
In the case of the March 21 tweed ride here, it will be a user-friendly trek from La Conner Swinomish Library to Christianson’s Nursery for lunch and then back to town.
Choosing La Conner and its stunning nearby daffodil fields as the focal point for a tweed ride has been a winner on several levels, says Jonathon Royer, another of the local cycling venture’s coordinators.
“La Conner itself is a picturesque city and a perfect jumping-off spot for this event,” Royer says. “It’s an unhurried event where the only thing you’ll need your smartphone for is taking pictures.
“The key element for me is the social aspect and riding slowly, chatting and making new friends,” he adds. “The route is relatively flat through the farm fields of La Conner and the Skagit Valley. On a clear day you can get incredible views of Mount Baker in the distance. And the picnic at Christianson’s Nursery is always a highlight.”
Another bonus is that the Dandy Daffodil Tweed Ride is a fundraiser for the La Conner Swinomish Library Foundation. Proceeds from the $25 ticket sales are donated to the foundation in support of the library. Ticket info is available at dandydaffodil.com.
Typically, Tweed Ride participants arrive here from throughout Washington state, with about 85% being residents of Skagit or Whatcom counties. Some hail from British Columbia, Vines says.
For the 2026 event, there are also registered entrants from Connecticut and California.
Those in the La Conner area on Tweed Ride Day will likely catch peeks of several bikes from bygone eras.
“There are usually a handful of vintage bicycles, and it’s always exciting to be riding next to a Penny Farthing,” Royer says.
Style, of course, rivals substance for tweed rides.
“We really encourage people to dress in tweed or period garb,” Royer says. “It makes the ride very unique and if it rains, wool is water repellent.”
Still, riders don’t necessarily have to bust their clothing budgets to join in.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” Royer says. “I’ve found several tweed sport coats and pants while thrifting.”
What if you don’t have tweed? Organizers offer other options.
“Tweed is king as we like to say,” Vines says. “Wool is also very popular. Any vintage clothing from the past is highly encouraged — vests, bowties, bowler hats, knickers, scarves and gloves. It’s a sophisticated ride.”
A laid-back and relaxing social ride with beautiful scenery, Vines promotes the Dandy Daffodil Tweed Ride in quite English terms, referring to it as “a jolly good time.”
Royer estimates that about 100 cyclists will enter the 2026 La Conner ride, which was founded by Corey and the late Bonnie Stout. It is in its eighth year after being temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They had started riding events in New Mexico that are still going strong to this day,” Royer says of the Stouts. “They moved to Camano Island and thought that the Skagit Valley would be a great place to do additional events.”
One of the beauties of La Conner’s tweed ride, Vines and Royer say, is its inclusivity.
“Your riding ability doesn’t matter,” Royer notes. “This is not a race. It’s for the human race, but it’s definitely not a race.”
Plus the opportunity, if ever so briefly, to explore a cherished bygone era.
“I just want people to come, take a break from technology, feel the wind in their face — and maybe some rain — and ride together as a community,” Royer says.
The setting couldn’t be better.
“We slowly meander through the valley among the daffodil fields,” Vines says, “in hopes of getting a glimpse of the yellow splendor.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
