Day 7: Kelowna to Enderby

The storm that was supposed to hit Kelowna overnight never happened. Or at least the rain never happened. I remember being woken in the night by the wind, and branches falling off trees. But no rain.

Lake Country

Working my way through town was a bit of a chore this morning. Most of highway 97 out of town was under construction, with no shoulder to ride on, so it took a little longer than usual to escape the madness.

Once out though, the going was good. The sun was out, all traces of the storm had vanished, and it was a great day to be on the bicycle.
Still riding up Okanagan Lake, the terrain was rolling but smooth, with god scenery all around.

While riding through Lake Country, one of the little towns along the route, a car pulled alongside and rolled its window down.
Oh oh, what's going on here?

Car: "Howzit?"
Me: ?
Car: "Howzit boet (brother), go South Africa! Geniet jou dag (enjoy your day)."
Me: Big smile

And then he drove off.

Random encounters like this were starting to become the norm. I liked it, and looked forward to it, waiting to see in what form it would appear.

Bike swap?

I finally managed to catch up to Dennis and Jane just outside Vernon, and rode with them into town, where Dennis needed air for his rear wheel. He had punctured and couldn't get the right pressure into his tyre.
Jane knew of all the little back roads and we were soon in Vernon, buying lunch and contemplating swapping a bike for an electric cart. Where would one charge it up though?

Lunch was in the shade at the Rec centre, where Derek arrived and proceeded to tell us all about his trips, by bike, across Canada. He had a pump for Dennis and soon had him up to the required pressure.

Country lanes

The day was heating up so Dennis decided that Canada needed to see his Village People impression.
Shirt off, Hi-Viz vest on, let's roll baby!
Classic Dennis!
(I wasn't allowed to take a photo)

Derek had suggested an alternative route through to Enderby, avoiding the highway. It was a beautiful, and quiet route, through farmland and around lakes.
It was another warm and humid day, so I had my top unzipped in an attempt to keep cool. Zipping through the farmland, bugs and flying things of all shapes and sizes come buzzing out of the undergrowth along the verge. A couple pinged off my helmet and sunglasses, but then I felt a funny scratchy feeling around my shoulder.
I had a quick look while still moving, and could feel something in there.
Stopping a quickly as possible, I turned my sleeve out, and let out quite a large bee!
Thankfully no stinging the Kevin!

We stopped in Armstrong and had a quick bite to eat after that.

Fun fact: Jim, the OneWheel guy from Keremeos, has a family farm in Armstrong!

In Enderby I checked into the local campsite, next to the Enderby Arena. A softball tournament was on the go, so I spent the evening in the bleachers watching the games. One even went to an extra innings. While others were sinking beers I had a can of peaches to munch on.

Simple things.

Distance: 107 km
Time: 5:16:45
Height gained/lost: 984m /-1014m
Calories: 3580

Big sky