The Dirt Bug!

YES..... it's rattlesnake season on the Kettle Valley!

As an aside... after purchasing two "Baja" brand Chinese mini-bikes last year, I hauled them to BC for our summer Naramata trip.

B.C. as many of you know, has much more fluid off road regulations than Nazi Alberta does. In 1975, when I sat as a consultant figthing for the rights, which we were about to lose, to riding my dirt bike, ATV or snowmobile on public lands, I saw the writing on the wall. No matter what valid information and point of view we proposed, the government spurred by special interest groups with financial backing, closed much of the province to recreational off road use.

We were herded onto tiny tracts of land where we were regulated and watched. (Sound familiar to Native groups?) Since then of course, mostly due to ignoramuses (and you thought they all died 65 million years ago) eagerly watched by the ever present powers that be, even more public lands have been curtailed from responsible off highway usage.

Anyway, we tried to do a little Dirt Bugging on the KVR. This didn't prove particularly successful with little ADHD Anna girl.

She can ride the little thing well enough and loves puttering around, but somehow the whole concept of "danger" and "consequences" escapes her. Anna truly knows 'No Fear' She could have been the poster girl!!!

As the KVR has a gravel base, and protruding rocks, it can be somewhat unpredictable and dangerous. Toss in sheer drop offs on both sides at times hundreds of feet into the void, and having a little rider that isn't paying close attention to what the more experienced of us two is saying, well... that is a recipe for disaster. After only 4-5 kms, I pulled rank and curtailed our adventure for the day. opting to find a flat piece of ground preferably grassed to try it some other time... with the words "I know...!" still ringing in my ears.

KVR Continued...

I rode only a tiny portion of the abandoned railbed this time around... family obligations and time constraints precluded any multi day trips. No matter, it's always calming and peaceful if not totally relaxing. Like Baja travel, mistakes can be costly here, you may not see another soul all day once away from the populated centers. On one mistaken detour just outside the Adra tunnel, I rode what I believed to be the bypass, only to get into thick mud, deep ravines and fading sunlight. I am not certain where I was headed, although there were several painted arrows and hanging colored surveyors ribbons along the ATV tired track, but after 4 km and a particularly nasty looking downhill creekcrossing and several hundred meters of muddy ruts, I decided to turn back.

Eventually I found the actual tunnel bypass and made good time after that detour.

Many years ago I recieved an excellent book on 'Cycling the KVR' by Dan and Sandra Langford. Of course the book is designed for cyclists of the pedalling variety, but does offer extensive information on the track itself. If you want to try this, pick up the book and carry it with you...

The temperature during my week in the Naramata area was quite warm thru the days. The railine climbs high above Okanagan Lake in shaded coolness and offers spectacular views of the opposing mountains and the lake below.

Chute Lake Resort provided a view of life in the Okanagan in the fifties. Even the campground and boat docks and boats themselves, looked like something from an early Chevy Chase movie...

During the 34C heat late day, Adra tunnel especially, provided a cool haven... sitting on the concrete blockade staring into the depths, imagining what it must have been like a hundred years ago, the little steam locomotive that could, winding it's way across the wilderness.

Since my last report... I have had an interested party, expressing interest in riding the Kettle Valley Railway. We shall see, maybe there is yet another of the Doctors's "Magical History Tours" in the offing...

Serow on the KVR

That's not... 'sorrow'

Serow is Tibetan for Mountain Goat, or some such thing, if I remember from Yamaha's original literature describing the XT 225!

In fact... still visible albeit somewhat scratched from years of Baja, the Mojave and Rockies, it says 'Mountain Trail' right on the sidecovers.

An apt description as it turns out. You know, sometimes the brochure advertising really (and I do mean Really) is a misnomer. Calling an LS 650 a Savage... or an Indian Enfield 500 a "Bullet" or even a Big Kawa V twin a Mean Streak... ya gotta wonder sometimes. I mean a '72 H2 had a mean streak... why didn't they use it then. When I first rode one of those, I remember being scared near outa my pants, while laughing so hard, I almost peed them. Now there was a Mean Streak if I'd ever ridden one. The slightest twist of the loud handle and the thing wanted to loop you over backwards and mash you into the pavement! Yikes!!!

Anyway... I digress.

Here I am on the KVR riding my little mountain goat Serow. It's the middle of July, we have seen one of the wettest years in Western Canadian history and riding opportunities have been few and far between. I'm looking forward to the days when I don't have to work, when I can ride my bikes whenever I want to, wherever I want.

There are many advantages to a lightweight bike, be it on the street a racetrack or trail. This is no exception. I have several dualies to choose from when I go riding. I have my old DT 50W that I rode through the back country in BC in the fire (now that was a Mean Streak) season of '03. I have my little Doctor DR200 at my place in Glendale, my garage contains two identical XT 225's and one XT600. I even have an old Trail 90 that will eventually get back on the road, ummm... trail.

This time around I chose the Serow for a number of reasons. Equipped with a 6 speed transmission, it's fast enough to carry me at 100kph, slow enough to putter along the tight trails (yes I got lost a couple of times) has decent suspension, great fuel mileage averaging 80-100 MPG, and is low enough to the ground that I can't really hurt myself when I fall over. (Yes... I did fracture my ankle on a Baja mountainside...)



A great choice for the KVR!

I had ridden several sections of the abandoned southern BC railbed several times over the years. Not all of the trail is open to motorized traffic. There are Mtn bikers, hikers, deer, squirrels, ATV users and kids walking their dogs. Common sense warrants keeping your speed in check (ltd to 30 kph) and respecting other trail users. Besides, smacking a Bambi at 80 KPH is guaranteed to ruin both your days! BC is still Kilometers ahead of us Albertans in OHV trail use, not having near the restrictions that we have in our province. Check before you ride.

The KVR is actually a conglomeration of tight twisting rail lines that serviced much of the Okanagan and Southern BC early in the 20th century. In fact between rail and stern wheelers such as the SS Sicamous and Moyie, now permanantly on display in Penticton and Kaslo, short of having a Mule named Number 7 and hiking it through the back country, they were pretty much the only 'civilized' means of transporting material, people and news in those days of gold and silver.

From Spence's Bridge to Hope, Castlegar to Osoyoos, and places in between, this little railine and it's steam powered locomotives serviced faithfully, the multitude of tiny settlements for many years.



Google the KVR and you'll be surprised.

Someday yet I will ride as much of the trail as I can. Perhaps in the company of other enthusiasts.

Any takers.......?

I'm Loaded...

Well even I deserve a Holiday...

Aha... I can hear the snickers now. But it's true. I travel around, ride my bike, see exotic locations, visit historical sites.

That's not what I'm talking about here. What I AM talking about is being a 50 something typical tourist. Packing the RV and joining the throngs on the road. Slugging it out uphill in 2nd gear, backing into little camping spots, turning the steering wheel this way and that...

After weeks (well days) of preparation, we are off headed West into the Great beyond. At least the Okanagan Valley.

Since my early childhood days, the South Okanagan has been like a second home to me. In fact, my Mum and Dad moved there in 71 and lived the rest of their lives operating first a small motel (the Peach Bowl) and then later a small house on Phoenix Avenue. Dad fished the lakes and streams for years, passing away in '89.

Mom, after decades in that little home, passed away in '08.

So really, it was my second home and once again, I was heading back...