Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon – Day 2

Posted on September 12, 2008June 6, 2011 by Smoke

Well, that was a pretty good first day. Since it went so well, I thought we should try something a little tougher. Our old pal Vance agreed, so we all hooked up for a lap of Rock Oven.

I should have figured it would be an adventure when I broke my seatpost in the first two minutes. Ahhh, it’s a steep enough climb I can just stand the whole way anyway.

Gotta even it out for the tourists, or it’s just not fair, eh?

Vance showed us this cool overhang I didn’t know about before.

I could live there if I had too.

Oh, and did I mention that it was another hot and sunny day? At least it cooled off a bit from the day before.

Andre was lovin’ the tech climb.

Hard to believe that ski season is fast approaching. Apex looks pretty dry right now.

Richard was more interested in eating his sandwich and getting back on his bike than thinking about skiing, I think.

I think I see why….

Yeah, 1st aid for bikes. Good thing I carry a 1st aid kit.

I’m not sure why I don’t ride this trail more often.

I mean, the scenery is kind of OK…

But I guess it looks just like any other part of Wales.

Vance split at about this point. I guess we were taking too much time with the cameras.

Do you blame us?

Graham also had a ton of flat tires to add to the woes of the day.

As we had a bit of split in the crew, I let Richard (who was dominating today’s ride) go on ahead while I hung back with Mandy and took some pics.

Ooops. Richard got a split in his leg. What a drag. He didn’t even really crash, just slid his front wheel on some pine needles and sliced his leg on a sharp rock. Talk about dumb luck.

Hey, at least I had a 1st aid kit, right?

It’s only a flesh wound, we kept on riding.

It just keeps on giving, as we went on down the endless rock slabs towards Skaha Lake.

I think Rob was really liking the steeps here.

Oh, too much fun. Take a break, Holly.

Ah, finally the lake. Shall we go to the hospital then?

Sorry, no map today. You’ll have to settle for this panorama.

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon – Day 1

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Smoke

Our first day of the tour and we’re off to check out the sunny southern reaches of the valley. Oh, and our first wildlife sighting of the trip…

That’s a bear having a snack on my parents grapes.

I thought we’d start off sort of mellow. No point in going too hard on the first day. We rode out easy on the rail grade in Naramata.

As it was oppressively hot (34 C!) I decided against the singletrack climb. As much as I dislike going up gravel roads, it was just too hot to try to grind up the hard way. This may have been hot, but we got up there fast.

Hmmmmm…is this a good trail yet?

Graham says “YES!”

Holly and her first of many log hops.

Yep, it’s an epic start to the tour.

For those of you wondering, this is exceptional September weather. I always expect it to be sunny, but it was seriously nice out.

Here we are starting the descent of the V-Line.

A little lunch break and a lake view.

Mandy, also having fun.

OK, skills assessment time. Who wants to try a drop?

Apparently everyone. OK, who wants to try a bigger drop?

I guess that would just be me then. No worries, we’ll stick to the lower stuff.

Like this bridge…

All in all a fine start to the trip.

Of course, nothing beats some fine wine at the end of the ride, right Graham?

Want to see where we were? Here’s a map….

View Larger Map

Four And A Half Men – Day 1

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Smoke

No, it’s not a cheesy new sitcom. Neither is it a reference to our often larger than normal clientele. This time, it just means that these guys brought along a smaller than usual rider.

They got here yesterday afternoon, and I think Will is still on North Carolina time…

We have a special surprise guest guide with Super T hanging out with this group. That Tyler sure knows how to party.

OK, enough preliminaries. Here’s the “half” showing the old farts how it’s done. Trip is twelve, so let that be a warning to you.

Yup, Matt got sucked in by the young’n.

Bryon wasn’t letting himself get upstaged so easily.

But upstaged he was, nonetheless.

Todays woldlife shot, a green rattlesnake. Right when I was telling the story about the last one we saw too. Phil found it when he was looking for a place to pee, which reminds me of this joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto….

We did a couple of laps on the Bog, and then ripped over to hit up another run on Drops A Lot.

It was another epic day up there. Here’s T on the drop.

Trip keeps getting these epic pics. Do you think it’s the white wheels or what?

Justin, who figured out that cotton is better than poly on the hot days.

Oh, it looks like Matt figured out to drop some of the padding too. It’s just shy of 100F or 37C right here.

The Sheep Shagger wasn’t as astute. He’s not as experieenced with the desert heat, and didn’t bring enough water either. I think maybe the fact that he’s on his honeymoon might explain this little lapse in judgement. He’s still riding half decent anyway…