naramata

More Banana Bread

Posted on by Smoke

Nicole and Al are back, and a little over 4 months after having a little girl are ready to shred.  Oh, and they’re engaged, too, so ‘Congratulations!’

Also, Elton John is playing a show in Prince George this summer, so in honour of that here’s a pic of a fabulous bridge.  Yay rainbows!

As Nic has been off the bike for a while, I took Al and her down High Pony to start.  It’s fun and straightforward, a great place to get your stoke back.

Nic seems to be one of those women who become better riders after becoming a mom.  This isn’t a terribly difficult move, but it does look really weird as you ride up to it.  She nailed it no problem on sight.

After a great first run, we stepped it up slightly for a second lap on Drops A Lot, where we promptly ran into 3 bears.  Momma took off, but I got shots of the two little ones.

As proof that Nic is riding exceptionally well, I didn’t get any shots of the drops or gaps on the trail, as we non-stopped the whole line until this wood gap.

Which was no big deal, she just wasn’t set up the first run in. so she went back and nailed it.

Cliched flower huck shot.

…and a couple more angles on the same jump.

We also had a fast round #3 on the Beer Run, and totally shredded it high speed.   That’s almost 10K’ on the day.

And for a change we had nice sunny weather, but not too hot.

Just right for a nice family visit on the beach with our friends.

Pretty sweet day, and a nice total for trails.  We’ll be doing a couple more days with Nic and Al and a bunch more old friends in a few days.  It’s Al’s 40th birthday, so we gotta take care of him in style.

Kate and Hamish – Day 1

Posted on by Smoke

Talk about yer mixed nuts…  Kate is an XC rider from London, and Hamish is another one of those Jedi Council types from Hertfordshire.  This could be challenging keeping them both satisfied.  We’ll see how things go in Naramata first.

So far so good.  Kate keeps the wheels on the ground, but can deal with just about anything and is fit enough to go all day.

Meanwhile, Hamish is not fazed by anything.

For a Herts rider, this is nothing.

Your affable hosts hang out on the beach between runs.

Round two, and it’s a bit more about Kate as we go for a slightly more pedally flavour on High Pony.

No Hamish, you can’t go bowling.

She’s all smiles, it must be OK…

There’s always a couple of hits around to keep Hamish happy.

Hamish and I got a a bonus lap in on the Beer Run, so that he could exercise his demons (not a typo, they needed some fresh air).  I don’t know where Tony finds these guys, but this one can seriously ride.

These are some fairly hefty moves that are kind of sketchy at best, and he nailed them all on sight.

I think tomorrow we’ll hit up Powers Creek and McDougall, and give Hamish a bit more of a workout.

Shock Monkey Okanagan – Day 6

Posted on by Smoke

I think our rain curse is finally over, and we’re going back to Naramata for a rematch.  Gotta do these ones in the dry.

I know they felt bad about not hitting this steep line too (it’s way steeper than it looks in this pic.  You’re totally out of control in the middle).

Yeah, full house on that one.  No worries.

As easy as skipping rocks into the lake.

Round 2 and we went to Drops A Lot, which I wasn’t going to do in the wet.  I tried that earlier this year and it was supergnar with wet rocks.  In the dry, it’s way too fun.

Had the whole crew busting out drops and gaps the whole way down.

Even on the tech part of Jack and Jill, which is arguably one of the most tech lines we did in two weeks.  Tippie called this his favourite part of his visit recently, actually.

Come on Karen, the water’s just fine.

See?

Yeah, get in there Simon…

…but I think it’s too late for you anyway.  Enjoy your sofa tonight.