Hard As…

Yesterday’s private session went so well, I decided to introduce Ryan to some of the locals.

I think this was a good call, as the plan was to hit up Trout Creek Canyon on the XC bikes.  With the crew feeling like winter has been hanging on too long, the pace got a bit out of hand.  Feeling that climb, Ryan?

Travis in particular was charging like a man that’s been cooped up with the wife and kids a lot lately.

The later part of this lap was a battle between mashing pedals and hanging on to Don’s back wheel or trying to take in the view without hitting a tree.  I  opted for views over hammering as much as possible.

I even managed to snag this over the shoulder action shot of Jens in the lower meadows.  That’s some sweet Okanagan single track for ya right there.

Top it all off with some big cones, and what could be better?

How about some alternating shots with beer?

Yup…better. 

Ryan and I went for another ride in the afternoon, when it got a lot warmer and sunnier, but that lap was all about keeping the pace up.  So no pics of High Pony, but I should be up there again very soon, and the sun is coming back with a vengeance so hopefully I can post up some more epic sunset shots later in the week.

Shorts in November

Ok, so this is another one of those weather anomalies, but I’m not complaining.  We are solidly in an El Nino cycle in the Interior.   It’s been wetter for longer since we moved up here 6 years ago.    But that still isn’t anywhere near as wet as the Coast, and today was a terribly nice day.

So I took Barb (oh, and Terry, that’s him above) for a run down the same trail I rode last weekend.  I know, it’s not like me to ride the same thing twice in a row, but this is a particulary nice ride.

It’s a very easy one overall.  Nothing very technical, maybe a bit of a grunt for a few minutes on the climb.  And you get views like this…

Just another fall day in the Okanagan. 

Oh, and since it was Guy Fawkes Day, we blew up some stuff up after, but we were in a hurry, so no pics. 

I think it will eventually get colder, but the riding is ULTRA prime right now.  If you’re feeling a bit waterlogged in Vancouver, don’t be a stranger. Come on by.

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

Snow, rain, mayhem, earthquakes, FRANKENSTORM!

But here in our little bubble it’s actually quite nice.  Exhibit A…

Back with the same crew that I rode Brent with back on Thanksgivin’r.  The alpine seems to be done for the year, but the low elevation is the best it’s been since spring.  No more dust, and as usual, random chance occurrences.  I didn’t even know we had an airport for model planes in Summerland.

This guy was pretty rad.  It seems like it would be harder to fly model planes than real ones (they agreed).  You must have a special kind of spatial awareness to fly like this.  After several minutes of watching insane aerial acrobatic moves, I had to force myself to leave.  I’m going to go back with Chevy though. It’s just way too cool to watch.

After a quick but nasty climb, we were well above the Trout Creek Canyon, and looking at a 12km or so descent back to town.

That is, when we weren’t gawking at the scenery.  With speeds of up to 50km/h on this ride, it was a good idea to not get distracted.

Just ask Tim.  He pulled an amazing two wheel drift on those pinner little tires.

Once again, the Okanagan delivers.  That was a 20 km loop of trails I have not seen.  And people STILL don’t know that you can ride here!