Bert Groeneberg
Special to Tribune
This column is written as correspondence between Wanda the Wandering Cyclist and Byron the Bicyclist.
Dear Byron.
A few months ago, we discussed easy and safe local cycling. I have done these routes in the Williams Lake area. My partner and I are planning a summer vacation as well. Can you suggest other places in B.C. that are good safe recreational cycling options?
Signed, Wanda the Wandering Cyclist
Dear Wandering Wanda.
I sure can! In fact, our family has gone on many bicycling holidays over the years. Most of them have been in the Okanagan, mainly on former rail rights of way along the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR). The railway and its connecting trails go from Spences Bridge to Hope through the Okanagan all the way to Castlegar.
Parts of it are not passable but many are. Our first easy ride was from Princeton through an old tunnel to a mostly abandoned village. It had a great pub where we enjoyed a lunch stop.
Over the years, we have biked many sections in the Okanagan Valley from Penticton to Osoyoos. Near Oliver we biked around Tuc-el-nuit Lake where you can also visit wineries in the fall. But watch out for the roadside puncture vine which flattened both my bicycle tires. Bring a repair kit.
The most spectacular is the KVR through Myra Canyon near Kelowna. It is 12 km of trestles and tunnels and is the most spectacular section of the rail trail. We biked this before fires burned the wooden trestles down in 2003. We biked it again after it was rebuilt in 2008.
The 240-page guide book titled Cycling Kettle Valley Railway by Dan and Sandra Langford is detailed guide. As it was published over 25 years ago, parts of it are out of date. Somewhat more recent is the website kettlevalleyrailway.ca.
Happy summer cycling, Wandering Wanda!
Signed, Byron the Bicyclist.
Bert Groenenberg has been an avid cyclist for over 60 years.
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