We awoke to a blanket of fresh snow covering the ground. I started to get the fire going to warm the tent while mom went to get us some hot coffee from the lodge. We enjoyed our coffee tucked into our warm beds and wrapped in blankets. We decided we would take our time and leave as late as possible in hopes that the weather conditions would improve. We ate a leisurely breakfast in the lodge, loaded our gear onto our bikes and said goodbye to our warm tent.
The trail after Chute lake lodge is nice. It is covered in snow, but the riding is quite easy. The trail is closed to motorized traffic and the terrain is ideal. Although the gradient does not look much different, we can coast a lot more than we could yesterday. A nice treat for our sore legs and knees. We are both wearing almost all of our layers as well as our toques and mitts to keep warm. Definitely worth their weight in our bags! My feet are already wet and I am surprised that that the peddling is not enough to warm them up. Although we are a bit cold, we are still happy and excited about being on the trail. The beauty of the surrounding forest, fall colors and fresh snow are worth the cold fingers and toes.
Originally we had planned to ride to Vaseux lake. We quickly realize that is quite a long ride for beginners like us! We start to throw around the idea of finding a hotel in Penticton. A good idea since the weather is not improving and we are now riding in rain.
The forest has changed now. The larch has been replaced with beautiful ponderosa pine. I love the long needles which give the trees a soft appearance. We enter Rock Ovens park named after the rock ovens which were built between 1911 and 1915 during the construction of the Kettle Valley Railroad. We coast easily along the trail, enjoying the scenery, the solitude of the forest and the intimate connection to nature and history. There are a lot of nice places to stop, but it is still early so we continue on our ride. We are heading down the mountain. The trail does a couple of long switchbacks as it heads towards the valley. We can see stunning views of Okanagan Lake, and the valley, filled with beautiful fall colors. The many vineyards on the lower slopes and hillsides are visible now and soon we are riding amongst them as we head towards Naramata. As we ride on to Penticton we are passing hundreds of grape vines loaded with ripe grapes. They are so close I feel like I can taste the wine. We ride through some clay cliffs, and as I look around the valley, I can see many clay cliffs surrounding Penticton and Okanagan Lake. They are quite beautiful. As we come into town, we decide to head along the lake front to find somewhere to have lunch and to stay for the night. We ride down the hill and see a nice little bistro and market called Bench Market. It looks funky and there is a bike rack so we figure they are a bike friendly joint. We stumble off our bikes and head inside for a nice warm lunch and hot coffee. Next time we ride in poor weather we are definitely bringing some hand and foot warmers!
After lunch we consult the map and decide to try the Casa Grande Inn for the night. They have good reviews and a garage to lock bikes. We grab a few snacks at the market for dinner and on our way to the Inn we stop at the Great Estates Okanagan Wine Experience for a bottle of wine. We head over to the Casa Grande Inn, lock up our bikes and head inside. We get a room with a jacuzzi bathtub. We have definitely earned a hot bath! We hang up our wet gear to dry, and I place my shoes over the heater. This was a great idea after a long ride in the rain. Our room has a small patio and we have a view over the lake and the S.S. Sicamous Sternwheeler – a museum and heritage site. The Sternwheeler is lit up at night and is a great view to enjoy over our wine and homemade smoked fish. We road a total of 43 km today! Not a bad day for two newbies. I think that’s worth celebrating!
