At last the seasons are changing. It has been a great winter thus far, and while it is not yet time to put the skis away, it is time to dust off the mountain bikes. Well actually, we just had to dust off Dee’s bike and pick mine up from the new bike store…yeah that’s right Mark got a new ride this year! The boys at Fresh Air Experience were kind enough to endure my persistent questioning throughout winter while they advised me and tried to help me decide what type of bike to get. Once we determined what type of bike we determined what brand and model. What an ordeal! Eventually we boiled it all down and I picked up a snot green 2008 Trek Fuel EX8.0…phewff! I’m tired from just saying the name.
Well Easter weekend means four days off work for both Dee and I. With snow still in the hills we had planned on heading to Roger’s Pass to ski for a few days, but the Hotel was booked solid. A quick change in plans lead us south towards Penticton to visit mom and dad to enjoy some good home cooked meals - a tough choice I know. We brought our bikes and Jim along with us, and stopped at Summerland to try and find the old BC Cup cross country course. Unfortunately all we found was motorbike trails, illegal dumping, and double track road. Feeling unsatisfied we threw in the towel after an hour of frustration and continued south. That afternoon we went on a wonderful ride with my parents on Parker Mountain and headed toward upper Kittley Lake. I fear that as time goes on this area that is so accessible to us for hiking and biking will be turned into a high end housing development and vineyard. Booo to development! I understand that man is inherently greedy, and the all mighty buck speaks to many of us, but can we not see the damage that we are doing to our wild and natural areas, and the effects that we are going to have on future generations and ecosystems? But that is another rant, and I’ll save it for discussion over a beer.
Saturday lead us into and area on the Naramata Bench called Three Blind Mice. It was fantastic! We started climbing up fairly steep double track and were worried that if we kept going at this grade we’d be headed back to the car exhausted within an hour. Thankfully though, the grade sallowed quickly and we climbed some exciting single track that gave us great views across the valley. With little or no direction we plotted our way up hill, flipping a coin at trail intersections to decide on which way to go. Eventually we reached the top of our trail, ate lunch in the warm sun and headed down. Fantastic single track lead us across and down the hill over varied terrain ranging from Moab style slick rock to tacky silt that held you tire like a WWF wrestlers death grip. Fast, flowy and fun! A quick stop off at Elephant Island Orchard Wines on the way home, and we were happy campers.
Sunday brought us back into Kelowna to explore Crawford’s Tails. We climbed up Fairlane which was relatively dry and clear of logs. The desent was a different story however. We tried to go down Natasha and Boris, however it turned out that we hiked out bikes down the trail as every 15 feet there was a downed tree. The deadfall that remains standing from the 2003 fires is all rotted out now and the lightest puff of wind sends them crashing to the ground. I fear that this season I’ll have to bring a fold up saw with me on the trails so that we can fully enjoy the downhills. On that note, anyone got a lead on a lightweight fold up saw?
Sunday we went for a quick burn up Knox Mountain which was fit in between garden work and errands around town. Now we're tired and in need of a day of rest!
Well Easter weekend means four days off work for both Dee and I. With snow still in the hills we had planned on heading to Roger’s Pass to ski for a few days, but the Hotel was booked solid. A quick change in plans lead us south towards Penticton to visit mom and dad to enjoy some good home cooked meals - a tough choice I know. We brought our bikes and Jim along with us, and stopped at Summerland to try and find the old BC Cup cross country course. Unfortunately all we found was motorbike trails, illegal dumping, and double track road. Feeling unsatisfied we threw in the towel after an hour of frustration and continued south. That afternoon we went on a wonderful ride with my parents on Parker Mountain and headed toward upper Kittley Lake. I fear that as time goes on this area that is so accessible to us for hiking and biking will be turned into a high end housing development and vineyard. Booo to development! I understand that man is inherently greedy, and the all mighty buck speaks to many of us, but can we not see the damage that we are doing to our wild and natural areas, and the effects that we are going to have on future generations and ecosystems? But that is another rant, and I’ll save it for discussion over a beer.
Saturday lead us into and area on the Naramata Bench called Three Blind Mice. It was fantastic! We started climbing up fairly steep double track and were worried that if we kept going at this grade we’d be headed back to the car exhausted within an hour. Thankfully though, the grade sallowed quickly and we climbed some exciting single track that gave us great views across the valley. With little or no direction we plotted our way up hill, flipping a coin at trail intersections to decide on which way to go. Eventually we reached the top of our trail, ate lunch in the warm sun and headed down. Fantastic single track lead us across and down the hill over varied terrain ranging from Moab style slick rock to tacky silt that held you tire like a WWF wrestlers death grip. Fast, flowy and fun! A quick stop off at Elephant Island Orchard Wines on the way home, and we were happy campers.
Sunday brought us back into Kelowna to explore Crawford’s Tails. We climbed up Fairlane which was relatively dry and clear of logs. The desent was a different story however. We tried to go down Natasha and Boris, however it turned out that we hiked out bikes down the trail as every 15 feet there was a downed tree. The deadfall that remains standing from the 2003 fires is all rotted out now and the lightest puff of wind sends them crashing to the ground. I fear that this season I’ll have to bring a fold up saw with me on the trails so that we can fully enjoy the downhills. On that note, anyone got a lead on a lightweight fold up saw?
Sunday we went for a quick burn up Knox Mountain which was fit in between garden work and errands around town. Now we're tired and in need of a day of rest!
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