Day 6: Penticton to Kelowna

As I had left Dennis and Jane back in Keremeos, I thought I would allow myself a slightly later start this morning and allow them to catch up. I have enjoyed riding with them so far.

Sitting on the bench in the campsite, I just happened to look up at the exact moment that a pair of yellow panniers zoomed past me. Dennis!

They were early. Not that we had set a meeting time or anything, but I certainly didn't expect them to come through this early!

I saddled up and set about trying to catch them, but could see no sight of them.
Had they simply vanished into the Penticton Suburbia? Were they on a mission today?

Hmmm...

Summerland

Oh well, ride your own pace Kevin.

Exiting town, 4 'roadies' pulled out in front of me and I tagged onto the back wheel of the group. With the tailwind in effect today, we were soon zooming along, quite effortlessly, at over 30km/h!

I got chatting to the guys and they explained the current flooding situation in Penticton and surrounds.
Big spring rains, combined with 140% snowfall and associated runoff, had seen the Okanagan Lake fill up dramatically, with the overflow canal unable to deal with the surge. Sandbags had been placed all along the shore to prevent flooding.

With all this chat, the kilometres were ticking by. The roadies pulled off at Summerland and left me to myself. Thanks for the tow guys!

The Okanagan valley is a veritable fruit bowl. Vineyards, (apparently) the best cherries in the world, peaches, apples all line the road up towards Kelowna.

We had gleaned snippets of a weather forecast from passing people over the last few days, and they all mentioned strong winds in the region we were in.
Mid-morning now and the winds are building, thankfully from behind and pushing me up the valley.
Riding into this wind would have been ridiculous!

SDSBs

I stopped in Peachland for lunch, on the lake shore, and watched the wind whipping the lake surface into a frenzy. Thankfully it wasn't cold, but it certainly was blustery.
The Shore Defence Sand Bags (SDSB's) were taking a battering, the waves were increasing in size and I was at risk of getting wet.

The park I was in had free wifi (!), so I checked the SPOT to see where Dennis and Jane were. They were in town!
I messaged them and we met up shortly afterwards. They had seen me zoom past them in Penticton, they were stopped on the side and I hadn't seen them. Oops!

Bridge over troubled waters

We left Peachland, following highway 97, climbed the last climb of the day and were soon zooming down towards the bridge that crosses the lake to Kelowna. The wind was still building and it was singing through the railing on the bridge as I rode over.
One of my water bottles jumped ship coming down the bridge, but luckily stayed away from the edge. I didn't know what the sound was, I thought I had a flat but Shirley was still riding true. Only at the bottom of the bridge did I realise I was 750g lighter!
The bottle is now a bit scuffed and roughed up, but it has a story.

Only one campsite in town, and it was 'lush' to say the least. Long-term campers littered the place, and places that weren't occupied were flooded with rising lake water.
For $150 I could have stayed for the week!!

SDSBs were everywhere along the lake, and the whole town  had come down to the lake shore to witness this spectacle. The water levels were 1 metre above normal!

I met Jane and Dennis for dinner and caught a bit of the Stanley Cup finals...riveting stuff.

Dinner with Dennis and Jane. Jane can eat!

Distance: 73.8 km
Time: 3:26:46
Height gained/lost: 657m /-649m
Calories: 2461

Kelowna campsite