Mountain Biking the Kettle Valley Railway
There are some outdoor experiences that start out a little dicey. A little sketchy. You wonder if you made the right decision to be with mother nature.
Today was one of those days. We made the decision to take in one of the last nice days before the cool weather really settles in here in Western Canada.
We chose to get out the mountain bikes and ride the recently repaired Kettle Valley Railway. From our home, we ascended about 2,000 vertical feet by car to the parking lot where the Myra Canyon Trestles are.
These trestles all burned in the well known Okanagan Fire of 2003, not far from our home in Kettle Valley. You’ll notice most of the trees in these pictures have been burned.
All of the Trestles have since been rebuilt and I rode on most of them today.
The weather started out very cold, windy and even snowy, but quickly turned calm and sunny – revealing some tantalizing fall colors and epic scenery (“epic”, by the way, is NOT a word that I use loosely – however, judging by the photos and video below, I’m sure that you will agree).
The entire trip was about 20 kilometers round trip and on mostly flat grade – as one would expect from riding an abandoned rail bed.
The scenery, fresh air and connection with nature was exactly what the doctor ordered.
While there’s lots to say with text about the experience of mountain biking outdoors in this kind of climate and geography, the pictures will say more than I ever could with written words.
This whole trip …was … totally memorable.
If you ever get to this part of the world, I highly recommend you take in this experience on on a bike or on foot. It is breathtaking.
Enjoy.
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