Julie, who helped me guide this week, had a full house of Quebecois et Quebecoise in the form of her sister and some friends out for a quick riding visit from Squamish.  They managed to hit a perfect day.

It was only myself in the group that had ridden in from the reservoir, so that’s where we went.

It was a good crew, so we didn’t hang out too much.  I managed to snap these shots during a little break for a flat tire near the end.

Emily is a bit of a shredder.  She just started riding a year ago.

Pretty damn good for a rookie.  Ryan’s been riding for a while, so I expect him to shred.

This one is for Johanna.  There’s a nice pic of your hunnybunny. 

So very, very cold…

Awww, it’s not that bad.  After all, all we gotta do today is pack up, ride down the canyon, and hop on the bus for home.

Well, and clean up some trash.  Looks like one of the local hounds didn’t approve of the boys’ antics.

We still managed to get out of there pretty quick.

They were still slow enough for the guides to take a quick dip in the river, and honestly….it’s not as cold as usual.  Even with the frost last night and the flurries the night before, and it wasn’t as bad as usual.

Some more scenery in the canyon.

At last, Vermilion Forks.

The last two are for all the mothers of these darlings.

See?  They know how to do dishes now…

Yup, it’s the infamous race day.  Complete with high intensity relay hand offs.

I’ll let you enjoy this sampling of the action without smartass comments. 

It was an awesome competition.  See saw action, but in the end my group lost by about 50 m.  I was reelin’ em in, but I just ran outta track.   The locals were amused, but then again, they’re easily amused.

As we are at Granite City, it’s time for a picturesque shot at sunset.  This is hands down the best campsite of the trip.

Plus, we get to do the tour of the ghost town and cemetery.  I think I actually caught a ghost in this shot.

Look how scared the boys are…

I like how they all start to huddle together as it gets darker.

Another low light shot of our camp, as the crew beds down for their last night out.

Of course, as is tradition, the guides stayed up a little later to celebrate another great trip.

After a short break to fuel up on candy, we’re right back at it with the longest tunnel of the trip, followed by the first of several trestles.

This is probably the coolest section of the whole KVR.  The Tulameen Canyon is much quieter than the more famous Myra Canyon, and also is right at river level.  Fewer trestles, perhaps, but I like the flavour of this portion of the trail the best.

There are many cool points of interest in the first several kilometers, including another gazebo at Tulameenie Falls.  The curved tunnel is in the background.

The riding overall is much easier than yesterday, but there were a few notable sections.   This part is quite narrow and falling into the river.  Luckily, we didn’t lose anyone…this time.

Most of the time it was smooth sailing.  Although technically uphill the whole way, the surface is hard for most of the route so it’s not so slow.

From Coalmont to Tulameen, however, it’s very soft.  Combined with a stiff headwind and the uphill grade it made for some heavy pedaling.  The last 5km were as tough as the first 20!  I started to worry a little about the boys when I saw the vultures gathering nearby, but once again, we all made it.

Had to take a break and wait for stragglers at the infamous Tulameen Shoe Tree.

Here’s a typical bike that these guys bring.  That’s full rigid, with a lovely sheepskin seat cover.  Just some advice…the Peugot Attitude is not the most comfortable bike of the past…ever.

Soaking up some local culture at the Tulameen Trading Post.

We got to Otter Lake in the mid afternoon, so we took some time to play bikes and try out some new skills.  Here we’re answering the age old question, “If a tree falls in the forest, will some kid try to ride his bike on the log?”

…and we will finish with the traditional overbuilt campfire shot.

Near the end of the worst sand, we took a lunch break at the tunnel. Seriously, in 30 km all you get that’s neat to look at is one tunnel and one trestle. The rest of the time it’s a straight slog in sand with the occasional set of ATV ruts heading across into the forest.

After you get past the tunnel, however, it’s much nicer. The boys were pretty stoked to hear that from this gazebo (an old water tower for the steam engines), it was more or less downhill to the next campsite.

See how excited Jordan looks?

OK, these guys are feelin’ it. Marc and Palmer (I think it’s Palmer…) were near the front of the group all week.

Yep, that was a tough ride. No worries, we broke the back of the trip today. There’s plenty more to go, but nothing as hard as the first day. Enjoy the campfire.

PS — Happy Birthday to my sister! It was yesterday, but close enough eh?

We hit up the 3 Blind Mice, as per usual, for a Freedom Bikes shop shuttle session.  I brought along the trusty chainsaw for a little early season maintenance, and we managed to not only clear a few big downed trees but also this lost nugget.

I don’t know who built this originally, but Karl the Gnarl had the line zeroed in.  It kind of peters out after the bridge, so we knocked together a quick group effort and cleared out a new option that leads straight into the lower half of Drops A Lot.

Also, our new friend Jason from California broke his big rock hymen on this one.  We’ll make a Canadian outta that guy in no time.

Just a few weeks ago we were playing in the lake.

How fast it changes…

Well, it’s game on for snow.  See you on the hill.

Just another shred in Naramata today, checking out a bunch more singletrack I don’t know yet.

After a bunch of wandering around like Three Blind Mice, we ended up on Jack and Jill, where the colours were just too good to pass up a photo op.

Oh, and the larches were in FULL explosion. Like riding on a carpet of gold…

I did a ton of riding this month with the Rabbit, who I worked with for several years back in the old country. It was XC stuff mainly, and we rode at old school pace (no stopping…ever). I’m pretty sure there was one point where I didn’t put a foot down for over 2 hours. Lots of killer rides all month, but no eye candy for you. Just this little fella:

Can’t believe that was the first snake I saw all year. Everyone was raving about how many and how large the snakes were this summer, and I see this puny little one in the last week of herpetological friendly weather. He is quite pretty in those yellow leaves though.

Coolie is getting out for more rides now. She got a 35-40 km day in at the end. And slept it off in one day. She killed it until the last couple km of the last lap, when she started to limp just a little bit. Pretty amazing…and a bit scary. Next summer could be a chore keeping her exercised.

Another little scenic window into my neighbourhood. I got into a bunch more trails in the Naramata zone. Figuring out tons more routes to play on for next year. Would you believe it? I rode that zone over 20 times this year alone, and just in the last couple of weeks did over 5 hours on stuff I haven’t seen before.

PS – Happy 73rd Birthday, Dad.

I just couldn’t resist. Sorry guys. Super stoked to see you come out actually. You’re enough fun to make my dog want to jump off a cliff.

Which was inspiration enough for Ralf. Looks like he’s recovered from the crash last week in Pemby.

The boys also brought along a new guy, Jeremias. I get the impression this ain’t his first rodeo. He’s been in country for a while, and he seems to have acclimatized.

Oh, and big ups to Vance for fixing the booter at the Gnarnia junction. It’s just a small jump, but it’s one of the more fun ones in the zone. As the guys found out, you don’t need too much speed for it (although landing flat ten feet past the tranny is kinda fun.).

As we had time for a few runs, we went with a Beer Run to finish off the day.

Perfect timing led to the Golden Hour in the grass.

Besides the Germans, we also had a random ONtario XC guy in the person of Ken joining us today. Gotta give full props to the guy for this, as he was in well over his head with this group, with a borrowed bike and first time shuttling, and still went the distance on the day.

Of course, no Beer Run is complete without hitting Ivy League.

Way to get your feet wet in the world of BC Freeride, Ken.

See more pics from this crew in their gallery over at the Geile Titten Gallery.

“You’d better not be lying to me, Johnny Smoke.”

Yes yes, we know. You Germans have ways. Why don’t you go huck yerself?

Surprised that Holger hadn’t made it over to the SSC yet actually. He’s ridden most spots in BC, funny that he’d missed out on this one.

Classic day over there. Not exactly sunny though.

We also ran into more Germans. There were two young’ns camping up at the top on a POS car, and we let them tag along for a few runs.

They kept us amused, and even sucked Holger into a crash or two on the swivel totter.

It is a very Cunning Stunt.

As we continued to cram more runs in, the weather got worse and worse.

So bad, you couldn’t even see your wheels (look closely…).

OK, pic of the day, IMO. Funny how some guys just get the shots. Probably has a lot to do with that Eurotrash outfit he’s rockin’, but you can’t deny the man’s got style.

Some more of our strays, sending it in the dj zone.

Possibly the heaviest bike EVER on the roof of the van. Yes, that’s three brawny Nords struggling with the “Peterbomb”.

The boys at the beach, celebrating the fact that they never have to put Peters bike up on the roof again.

…and the traditional victory shot.

Good times as always, ya Lawnmower. Looks like I’ll be seeing a few of you guys real soon.

So cheesy, they’re even staying in a faux Bavarian haus in Whistledog. Of course, it’s run by a pair of Brits, but when in Whistler…  Being a Brit, we got Martin to drive our shuttle today.  Which he did famously, which only makes sense as he’s a former World Rally Championship driver.

As their first day outside of the park, we were off to Pemberton today. C’mon boys, it’s not that steep!

I wonder if that log is slippery?

Ahhhh, that would be somewhat greasy then.

Seriously though, who even rides these things anymore?

Look close, there’s people on bikes in there someplace.

It’s been a while since my last Pemby confession, and it seems there’s been a few changes. Even old faves like the Mackenzie Cruise are seeing a few upgrades.

There’s also some new lines, like the rusty Trombone.

It’s basically like every other trail in Pemby, but even more so. Open rock, views, lots of green moss. Oh, and steep…

The PeterBomb, on final approach. Funny how the lightest bike AND the heaviest bike in this group are both 7″ travel Nicolais.

Holgie earning his Lowenbrau.

New favourite Pemby trail: Stimulus.

It’s also is steep, with lots of open rock, not to mention ultra flowy and quite long by Pemberton standards.

Oh, and there’s this one spot where you can catch some air off a small drop.

Then get kicked sideways into some rocks and eat a big pile of moss.

Oh, and put a nice size dent in your Giant Glory.

So long as you don’t fall off this drop, it’s all good.

There you go, the classic view over the river to Mt Currie.

Prost!

… one of my favourite pics of the day. I call this, “Germans splitting the tab.”

Oh, and a big thumbs down to the Whistler Brew House for easily the worst meal I’ve ever had in that town. Those guys used to be good, what the hell happened?

Forgot to take pics.  Here’s one from near the bottom when I remembered to bring out the camera.

Or just a super day. Whatevs.

You can always tell when the group is fast, because you’ll get a lot of shots like this where we’re standing still. It’s about the only time I get the camera out on days like this.

Sickbird.

Somebody has good style…

Quite the dusty day out there.

Round two we had to hit up Drops a Lot. The Germans loved the drops.

The Canadians? Well, Nigel found the landing the hard way.

It’s Aaron’s turn this time, and since last time we rode we cracked off 8 runs on the Sunshine Coast I figured we should probably do a big vert day on Kobau.

As always, it’s dry as a bone out here.  So much so that I managed a pretty decent crash in my first run when I missed a small ramp at speed and flipped over some logs.  Good thing I had padding on for a change.

All crashing aside, it was a solid session of brown pow today.

My old coach and current boss at the Ski club was our driver today.  He’s never really been exposed to the reality of mountain biking before.  He was a bit shocked to say the least when he saw us shredding through the sage at high speed.  I think we may have a convert.

Round two got me yet another crash, and this time I got it good.  Forgot my pads for one, and also it was one of those ones when you tag your bars off a tree at high speed.  I got a gnarly hemaetoma on my right thigh, and lost a bunch of skin on my left knee and arm.  Crap.  At least I could still ride, but I did cry a little when nobody was looking.  That one hurt.

At least I’ve got conditions like this to keep my mind off the pain.

After two laps on Cawston Creek it was time for the finishing run on TKO.  I was thinking that with how dry it was that it was going to be ultra gnar and loose, but it was actually as good as I’ve ever seen it.  Truly an epic lap.  Even managed to forget how much the leg hurt.

Here’s the crew (minus one casualty from the first two.  Tired and beat up from the weekend).  I think we all crashed out pretty hard at one point today, but it was the sort of day for pushing limits.

Managed to get lost down lower too.  This run was way longer than it needed to be, but it was still pretty nice cruising game trails in the desert.

A final group shot at Hester Creek before bugging out.

Oh, and if you see this little BBQ hut in Oliver, you gotta drop in.  Unreal eats for cheap.  Can’t believe I’ve never stopped there before.

Way more pics here in this slideshow.  Enjoy…

[ngslideshow id=201 w=640 h=480]

A lot closer to home than the last one.  No rattlesnakes this year, but lots of moose.  Now if I could only get a pic of a cougar….

We had to fire up two rides, though.  Do you realize how hard it is to come up with 19 large mountain bikes to rent in Penticton?  Thanks to the guys at Olympia in Vernon for some spare rides.

Since these guys are here to play hockey, they really weren’t going to be able to ride any single track.  Instead we just did the quick blast on the KVR back to town.  I did try to push a couple of them off a cliff, but they’re pretty wily.  Hey, if I’m gonna pick a favourite, I’m still a Vancouver guy.

Uh oh, now they’re after me.  Well, at least they can’t ride very fast.  Wouldn’t want to trade any punches with these kids though.  They’re all hulks.

Round two, and at this point we did manage to lose Kevin Lowe and some of the trainers.   Totally not on purpose…..no really.  Canuck Nation, yo.

Seriously, though I think these guys were just glad to be out in the sunshine instead of at the rink.  Must get pretty low on the vitamin D living under those lights.

Fun little afternoon.  A couple of rips on the KVR is not the worst way to spend a day, even if Buchberger was there the whole time.

Looks like the Oilers won’t be the cellar dwellers for much longer.  Some decent athletes in this gang, looking forward to seeing some more of that Nugent-Hopkins kid in the regular season.

Took my sweetie too.  Thanks to my cousin for watching jr. so we could shred together.

Random Iggle Piggle sighting…

Of course, what day at the Star would be complete without a wet t-shirt contest?

Mission complete.

Ahhh, he’s fine.

Didn’t really tell Blair what  our riding is like either.  We just threw him into the situation.  Full props, he dealt with it; no worries.  Chris has some mileage, so he was loving the trail.

I think having a bluebird day like this probably helped.  Summer is winding down on the calendar, but it seems like there’s plenty of heat left.  Here’s another one of Blair looking fly in those striped shorts.

Oh, and Barb was able to come out today too.

Even Coolie the Collie came along.

Barb, up to speed with only a few rides in three years.  Wonder how she’d do on a big bike?

Can’t ride Naramata without a visit to Laughing Stock…

So good.  As it’s still warm and sunny, we went for a swim. Here’s Coolie attacking her reflection.

And one of my beautiful daughter on Okanagan Lake.

Another flying dog shot.  Bummed that I blew the focus, but whatevs… it’s still pretty rad.

Here’s one of the full moon.  Yup, today had it all.

Well, for the clients it’s the last day.  I’m still hanging around, so I went for a lap with some of the locals and staff.

But all good things must come to an end so I bugged out mid-day for home.  Got this great shot of our local moose first though.

Great times at the lodge.  I can hardly wait to see what it’s like in the winter, but before that happens I have LOTS of riding left to do.

Cat Sass Retreats
Retallack Lodge