Month: September 2007

Smith Creek XC

Posted on by Smoke

Oh wow. Another local ride to add to the inventory. XC riding….weird. I must be getting older or something. What do you think, Barb?

Right. well, the Smith Creek “Gruel” isn’t exactly an inviting name for a ride, but as we found out it’s not really all that grueling. I guess if you tried to mid-ring it all the way up it would be a bit tougher, but overall it’s pretty mellow.

A few views, and 8 km of buff Okanagan singletrack carry you up to the top in about an hour to an hour and a half.

There’s a few short technical sections to push your anaerobic threshold, but mostly its just a spin.

Oh, and the occasional “obstacle” in your way.

Harley finally moved outta the way.

The top has a decent view, and there’s some old decrepit log rides to fall off.

Once again, Harley got outta the way in time.

The descent is fast, open, scenic, and is puntuated by little jumps every few hundred feet.

Oh, and there’s even a few rockfaces to play with.

Throw in a handful of big gaps (20-30 footers) here and there in the woods and you’ve got yet another reason to come up and visit.

Ryan’s Late Season Visit

Posted on by Smoke

Ryan came out last year with some regulars from Orange County, California. He liked it so much that he moved up to Whistler for the summer this year.

But all things come to an end, and his trip ran out like his money. Here’s his last few days of his canadian experience, spent with us in the interior.

A little warmup sesh on the local stuff. I’m still in awe of where I live. Really, there’s only 3 trails up behind us, but they are full of little options and alternate drop in points.

We got our skinny on a bit more than the huck today. Something about fall…

Well, Ryan always manages to grab some good air.

Hey, whattya expect when the sun shines outta your ass?

We also ran into some of the Vernon locs down for the day, like Jaysin and Sheffy.

And also Rob, who’s back on the bike after a 15 year hiatus. I think he’s remembering pretty good….

Sierra/North Again

Posted on by Smoke

Another blue sky day in paradise. We lined up some Penticton action today, as yesterday was going to be impossible to top.

Just as well that we stayed sort of local. The harsh shuttle roads finally took their toll on the van. Here’s what a busted lower control arm looks like.

Luckily with a bit of ingenuity we were able to get the van out of the bush to where it could get towed.

Oh, and it didn’t stop us from getting a ride in, even f it was a little bit shorter than I’d planned.

I love mine too.