THE RIDE
On my days off I go for long rides on my bike. I cycled out past Naramata yesterday....there and back probably about45km's. It was one of those rides you could keep going and going, just a light breeze and a perfect 12 degrees. There is a trail called the Kettle Valley Railway, the old railway bed that runs thru the Valley here and is no longer in use. It connects to the Trans Cananda Trail as well so you could keep going and going....I only really discovered these trails this year. The ride towards Naramata has a slight hill upgrade of maybe 1 to 2? percent so you need to have a little bit of push, and coming back is easy sailing. It' s quite bumpy, rocky, sandy, hilly, mucky in spots so it's always interesting. The scenery is absolutely stunning.....and this inspired me to pick up my camera one day, an old instamatic. And the next day I borrowed my brothers digital camera, and with some much needed help, got them on my computor. Now I' m thinking this could be fun! Should I buy one?
Spring is coming on very fast and I see the changes daily. As I rode out of town even the air was fuller with that fresh green smell. The Trail is high above Okanagan Lake, and follows along it' s shores all the way, that in itself is a spectacular sight. This strectch is mostly clay bank, and lots of Sage Brush, which to me is the fragrance of the Okanagan. It's a lot of fun to scramble along the banks here on foot and hike down to the lakeshore where there are a few empty beaches. There are interesting formations of clay on this hillside, like hoodoos. Back to the Trail, then I pass thru several km's of Orchard and Vineyard, the trees are beginning to push out swollen buds and soon to be laden with masses of flowers. And as I go farther and higher up I come to the most gorgeous display of rock as the terrain becomes more mountainous. There is so much color here, with the rock covered in mosses and sprayed with unbelievable colors, rusty oranges and rich cumin yellows. And the formations are stunning.... cracked, shattered, layered, wedged. One can feel the huge force that split and shifted this rock and left it behind like pieces of a puzzle. Further down the trail I come alongside a creek and I follow it up a little ways on foot to the waterfall above, listening to the crashing roar....like the silence of music! I continue as the path wends it's way along the mountainside, there are many spots where the rock was blasted to make way for the train tracks. I stop beside a peaceful pond, a good place to sit and reflect....just as the trees and pair of Mallard ducks are reflecting off the water like a mirror. Now I'm beyond, the spirit is soaring.....elated! And I keep going, the Trail is narrow in spots where the rock was blasted thru and I feel encompassed, cradled by huge stone arms. Up in the distance I see a Tunnel like a dark cave, an enormous archway that was built out of the mountainside to allow passage for the train. And as I approach I can see bright blue sky and trees coming thru at the other end as though in a picture frame. And the ride just keeps going like this. There are a few Inukshuks along the way, keeping a watchfull eye and I passed only one pilgim.....we stopped, traded some almonds for cashews, drank water and continued on my way until I found a spot to rest before my return journey. As I was lying on my back looking up at the clouds I could see two birds circling high overhead. I tried to get a picture of that last time, the only time I had the camera with me. The pictures came out all sky and no bird!!! I was chasing them, they were eluding me. And then a big shadow swept over me, a Raven. He soared slowly above me and so closely, as if to tease me, and all I could do was chuckle to myself as I'm sure he was too.
Spring is coming on very fast and I see the changes daily. As I rode out of town even the air was fuller with that fresh green smell. The Trail is high above Okanagan Lake, and follows along it' s shores all the way, that in itself is a spectacular sight. This strectch is mostly clay bank, and lots of Sage Brush, which to me is the fragrance of the Okanagan. It's a lot of fun to scramble along the banks here on foot and hike down to the lakeshore where there are a few empty beaches. There are interesting formations of clay on this hillside, like hoodoos. Back to the Trail, then I pass thru several km's of Orchard and Vineyard, the trees are beginning to push out swollen buds and soon to be laden with masses of flowers. And as I go farther and higher up I come to the most gorgeous display of rock as the terrain becomes more mountainous. There is so much color here, with the rock covered in mosses and sprayed with unbelievable colors, rusty oranges and rich cumin yellows. And the formations are stunning.... cracked, shattered, layered, wedged. One can feel the huge force that split and shifted this rock and left it behind like pieces of a puzzle. Further down the trail I come alongside a creek and I follow it up a little ways on foot to the waterfall above, listening to the crashing roar....like the silence of music! I continue as the path wends it's way along the mountainside, there are many spots where the rock was blasted to make way for the train tracks. I stop beside a peaceful pond, a good place to sit and reflect....just as the trees and pair of Mallard ducks are reflecting off the water like a mirror. Now I'm beyond, the spirit is soaring.....elated! And I keep going, the Trail is narrow in spots where the rock was blasted thru and I feel encompassed, cradled by huge stone arms. Up in the distance I see a Tunnel like a dark cave, an enormous archway that was built out of the mountainside to allow passage for the train. And as I approach I can see bright blue sky and trees coming thru at the other end as though in a picture frame. And the ride just keeps going like this. There are a few Inukshuks along the way, keeping a watchfull eye and I passed only one pilgim.....we stopped, traded some almonds for cashews, drank water and continued on my way until I found a spot to rest before my return journey. As I was lying on my back looking up at the clouds I could see two birds circling high overhead. I tried to get a picture of that last time, the only time I had the camera with me. The pictures came out all sky and no bird!!! I was chasing them, they were eluding me. And then a big shadow swept over me, a Raven. He soared slowly above me and so closely, as if to tease me, and all I could do was chuckle to myself as I'm sure he was too.
posted by Wendy at 8:34 AM
2 Comments:
Sounds thrilling. I do a lot of biking here too when the weather allows it. There are some very beautiful trails up and down the mountains around my town. But my most favourite route heads towards the Austrian border. The direct connection would be on asphalt but that's okay sometimes when you want to go a bit faster. I think it's about 2-3% going up.
But then there's another route which goes directly through the mountains and through the forests up to a lake already in Austria. 80km (50 miles?) altogether. But you need to stop first on the peak because the view is so nice and then of course at the lake (which is called Plansee).
This sounds like a great ride Borya, what a gift to see such beauty! I have enjoyed your pictures on Flickr, the snowy ones are lovely, we don't get that much snow here but there is a ski hill very near and snow is abundant!
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