Cheers to September Night Rides!

Night Ride Up at Sundown


On Wednesday, September 3rd, six adventurous souls cruised up to Crawford Estates behind Kelowna’s upper Mission area. Our mountain bikes were tuned and ready for our weekly Wednesday night ride, which begins at Venture Gear at 6 o’clock p.m. We hooked up some lights to our helmets so that we could see once it got dark, filled our hydration systems, and gave each other high-fives. There is absolutely nothing out in these woods, except for other like-minded folk who want to rip up some single track on their mountain bikes, or the occasional harmless bush-man who claims to live up there with his dogs.

We drove from Venture Gear, a local backcountry and mountain bike shop, which is located on Spall and Springfield, up to the main parking lot at the Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park, which is otherwise known as “Crawford” in the outdoors community. We arrived around 6:15 pm, and piled out of the vehicles, got our bikes in order, and were off into the Ponderosa pine forest, heading up towards the outskirts of the park. Lost Lake is where we were hoping to end up, however some of the faster cyclists got ahead and missed the turn; a minor error, which still lead us to an epic ride. The single track is endless up there, and every time I’ve ridden at Crawford I find something new.

The first section of the trail is tight single track, weaving back and forth in and out of the forest and a hydro-line. The dusty trails have been baking in the Okanagan sunshine all summer, which left me with gritty teeth and a chalky flavor in my mouth. We kept traversing around the hillside, and steadily climbing up into the burnt forest, due to the 2003 forest fires in Kelowna. The vegetation changes drastically throughout the park from small stand of old-growth Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Sub-alpine fir, Engelman Spruce and Larch trees. This offers some interesting riding terrain and views, and unique habitats for many different species of birds, plants, and animals. Wildlife that could be seen are Grizzly bear, Spotted bat, cougar, elk, deer, fisher, moose, and the occasional mountain goat on the steep banks of the KLO Creek. The large, burnt pines provide nesting habitat for Lewis’s Woodpecker which is declining in population, White-throated Swift’s, Flammulated Owls, and Western Screech Owls (endangered species).

Before Myra-Bellevue was classified as a Provincial Park in May 2004, it was considered a Protected Area, established in April 2001. The Park was created to represent the unique features of the North Okanagan Basin and the North Okanagan Highlands ecosystems. This was accomplished by making sure the park included a full elevational range from Kelowna’s outskirts to the mountain ridge that lies eastward of the park. Here you can find Little White Mountain, as well as a variety of sub-alpine lakes.

The extensive trails through out the park hold a plethora of historic background, and you can feel the history seeping through the soil that you tread on. While mountain biking on the cross-country trails, I focus on my breathing, keep my eyes to the trail, pump my legs, work my thighs, listen to my bike changing gears, sweat dripping off my nose, until eventually I reach the plateau of my climb. I stop, listen, and look around me, standing over my bike panting and waiting for friends who are behind. The trail continues in front of us, a steady uphill once again, a trail called “Heartbreak Hill” which takes you to the top of “Vapor”, a wild downhill ride on a XC bike. In those brief moments of catching my breath, I can look through the burnt trees straight through to Okanagan Lake, where it is a sparkling reflection of the setting sun. Beams of light push through the openings in the forest, and spin everything into gold. The trails take on a warm huge, and shadows begin to cast upon the valley behind us. I think about what it must have been like in 1916, when the KVR was finished being constructed and finally in use. I look towards “Teddy Bear Junction”, a large Ponderosa pine covered in teddy bears, used as a landmark through out the trail system, and I imagine how strange it would look some 93 years ago, before mountain biking is what it is today. I actually still find it kind of creepy, to see a tree covered in stuffed animals that have been nailed or stapled to its surface, however.

Once we all reached the junction, we continued to climb up, finally reaching our pivot point, where we began to descend into the abyss of twilight, as night was falling and making the trail hard to see. We were bombing down a section of trail that was full of rocky, technical sections, and with a relentless desire for adrenaline, I kept my hands off my breaks and pedaled every chance I got; thus, resulting in a major flat tire which I fixed on the trail, while the others waited. It was helmet-light time now, and we all searched for our battery packs that controlled our helmet lights. I turned mine on, and without surprise, it was not working at all. The light would turn on for 3 seconds, and then switch off. I was light-less. The others had lights, so I managed to follow them and keep up, however the trail became increasingly technical and difficult, and my depth perception failed me numerous times. There was deadfall across the later section of the 17km loop that we were riding, so we were steadily on and off our bikes, which helped keep the group close. While waiting for the guys in front of me to jump over a downed tree, I shook my helmet around on my head, and suddenly my light switched on. I had been saved! My world was instantly illuminated. The trail became crisp and visible, and my front wheel was screaming at me to press on as fast as possible. Rocks protruded from the sides of the trail, and steep, sandy switchbacks became manageable, as gravity pulled me down the slope.

We carried on our descent, and could see the twinkling lights of Kelowna in the distance. The city looks far more beautiful at night, especially from Crawford, in the brisk, clean air with silhouettes of burnt pine standing like flag poles on the hillside. We were all fully depending on our light systems to carry us safely to the main parking lot where we began this journey 3 hours before. This was the longest Wednesday night ride that I had participated in, and defiantly the blockbuster of all Wednesday night rides because I rode half of the night section without any light assistance. All of my senses were enhanced and I thanked my mother for feeding me carrots as a kid, and not allowing me to sit to close to the T.V.

We reached the bottom, and the energy was buzzing amongst the 6-man crew, and we were all thirsty for a nice refreshing pitcher of ale that awaited us at Boomers in the Capital News Centre. We generally head there after the ride to rave about the evening’s event, laugh and carry on for an hour or so until our legs cry pain, and we all get sleepy. This also allows people to get to know each other a little better if you’re a first-timer on the Wednesday night ride. All in all, it was the BEST Wednesday night ride I’ve been on without a doubt, and there is still so much left to explore; at night or in the day.

If you’re interested in coming out on a Wednesday night ride, please feel free to stop by the shop (Venture Gear on Spall and Springfield) around 5:45-6:00 pm every Wednesday night until the snow flies. The ride is free, and we are hoping to continue these rides until the end of October, and they will start up again in April once the trails have been cleared by B.C. Parks trail staff. Come out and join the action and fun, sweat a little, meet new people, and explore a new historic area of the Kelowna community. There are trails for all riding abilities, there is a mix of experience levels, and it is usually a co-ed group. If you have any enquiries about the Wednesday night ride, please feel free to contact me at my email address: sammieb7@hotmail.com or check out Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park online at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ , and for directions you can check out http://www.cyclepath.com/ and go to their trail descriptions, or pick up a trail map at Venture Gear or any other bike shop in town.

Happy Trails…

Welcome!

Welcome UBCO VOCO members!

Have you been on a thrilling trip lately and have the urge to tell the world about it? Are you planning a trip into the great outdoors and want to invite others for the ride? Maybe you are infact looking to jump in a car and escape the city buzz this weekend, and are unsure of where to go. Look no more, VOCO is here with a new blogspot for you to post you're excursion details, funny outdoor stories, passionate, lusty outdoor poetry, photographs, trip proposals, or anything else related to the outdoors that you want to shout out at the top of your lungs!
I can not provide the mountain for you to do so, but you can go find one, write a story about it, and post it here for everyone to read and enjoy.

Yours truely,

The UBCO VOCO team.