It’s On….

Yeah, there’s been a couple of little rips here and there, but I haven’t been able to call the season a go until yesterday.  I had a call from Graham in Vancouver, said he was going to be in the area this weekend and was there something to ride up here yet? 

Yes…yes there is.  Oh, and it’s sort of dusty and you can wear shorts.

Some climbing pics, because that paint’s not dry yet.

Smith Creek is pretty close to our pad, and I don’t ride there anywhere near as much as I should.  It’s super rad up there.  A lot of little airs like this, and gully riding a lot like what you might find in Williams Lake.

Mike, Stu, and Lee were out as well, and showing fine early season form on the Smith Creek hits.

Well, maybe Mike was showing better form than Stu, but the red jersey helps.

Graham had to head back to the city, but we weren’t done yet.  We went over to Knox to check out the scene. I think every hottie who’s spent the winter on the stairmaster was out walking on Knox today.  There were also a few groups like this one.  Girls, bikes and dogs.  It’s just one beer short of total paradise.

With the access road up Knox closed, the long boarders were out as well.

It’s a tough little climb, but really short getting up Knox.  So Mike had to do some extra vertical and loft a couple of little drops on the way up.

The top….

Dropping in with McDougall Rim in the background.

This is Lee.  I see these guys together and all I can think of is them texting each other before the ride…. “What are you going to wear?”

A couple of poser shots.  I still don’t understand why we don’t see more of this sort of pic coming out of the Okanagan.  Dry fast and smooth singletrack under clear skies with a lake in the background.  Yeh, I can see why no-one is interested in that….not.

I had a rough day today. I’m in rough shape after this winter, I’m between bikes, had several mechanicals, and just generally had a great time taking pics.  This rock spine near the bottom of Knox was pretty cool.

It’s not as gnarly as it looks in this pic, but it’s still pretty cool to look at.

A full on good time all day.  Although reallly…I should have worn a chamois. 

Smith Creek XC

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.