Sun and riding and bears, again!

5 bike parks in 6 days takes its toll on the body. Joel's hands and shoulders are sore and so are mine, but my poor old hip joints and knees are really feeling it! The pain got too much and we had to stop riding earlier than we wanted.

There is a lot to explore at Sun Peaks, near Kamloops. It is steeper and rougher and more technical than Silver Star. The first blue (intermediate) track we rode would have been classified as black (advanced) at most of the other bike parks we have ridden. It was fun but steep and rough and challenging. Even the green (easy) tracks we rode to get to some of the other blue tracks, were bordering on blue level.

Sun Peaks poured on the sunshine and there were containers used as overpasses and tunnels

 Some really big jumps right under the chair lift so you would have an audience when you stacked or styled

 And really steep rocky sections

 and smooth trails through dandelion meadows

 and lots of obligatory (and fun) berms

AND - there was a wildlife encounter! No photos as it happened too fast, but - true story. I was pelting down a straightish section close to the bottom of the trails. Joel was maybe 10 seconds in front of me and didn't see a thing. All of a sudden, there is a black bear on the left hand side of the track, running toward it. Before I could react he had run right across in front of me about 10 metres away and in to the forest. Then, a second later, I am still rolling down the track quite fast, a startled deer bounces out of the forest from near where the bear went in. The deer bounds across the track, stops beside the track, about 5 metres in front of me, unsure which way to run, makes its decision and leaps to the left and off in the forest on the other side. I think I have seen enough bears now!

Squirrels are little dare devils too. I have lost count now of how many I have seen run across the track in front of me, run along the track in front of me, and run across the road in front of the van as I drive along.

What the?

What the heck is this thing? It's body is about 4cm long. It landed on my arm so I flicked it off and then it sat on the ground for a while before flying away.

Shining star

Silver Star is kinda different. Not your usual mountain resort architecture - no stone work, brown and grey colours and steep pitched roofs. Here is it bright bright colours - sort of wild west meets Holland, which is really weird when you consider that Holland doesn't have any mountains. There were several Dutch dishes on the menu at the Bulldog café where we had lunch so I think there is a Dutch connection somewhere.

 

And the village is not at the bottom of the lift. It is half way up. How do you get to the lift? I'm not sure what the sightseeing walking people do but if you have a bike you ride down the trails from the village and then take the lift all the way to the top and ride all the way down. When you decide you need to go back to the village where your vehicle is parked, and where you'll want to break for lunch, you choose to ride from the top of the lift down a trail which takes you down half way and to the village. It works quite well once you get your head around it. you can see the village on the right side of this photo. It was a very hazy hot day.

The trails are very nice, quite long, well maintained and designed, smooth and flowy, plenty of berms and jumps to play on or roll over... This is Shazzam! .

There are some wooden features, roots and larger drops. No - Jill did not fall off. Gloria is just having a rest while Jill takes a photo to show you a bit of a drop off down some thick roots on the right.

Silver Star is a bit of a star. We really enjoyed riding here. The lift was fast (unlike the ones at Kicking Horse and Fernie) and the trails were long and fun. Very good value.

 

 

Yam fries

Yam fries - or translated into Australian - sweet potato chips
YUM YUM !
and probably better for you than normal chips made from potato

Say hello to my little friend...

Gloria has a new friend to go riding with:

Live more simply and live more

OK - so I am sitting here, in Canada, having lived a nomadic life in a very small house on wheels with minimal possessions, for five weeks now, and thinking about the future. I am sitting at an old wooden picnic table, looking out at lush tree covered hills and listening to birds settling in for the evening. Admittedly there is a constant murmur of highway traffic in the background and the occasional mossie checking to see if I might taste good, but apart from that, life is pretty good right now.

And, I've been on facebook, as you do, and a girl I met through mountain biking a few years ago has just quit her very good career to live a more simple life doing what she really loves. She has decided to keep a blog of her journey to inspire others. I applaud you, Bec Foxen - you rock! (She is a rock climber extraordinare)

Follow her here at Life, the Universe and Rock Climbing: http://becfoxen.blogspot.com.au/

 

 It seems that the "live more simply and live more" movement is growing. It seems there is definitely a move within society that is rejecting the 'keeping up with the Jones's, you can have it all and more' idea of life.

Avalanche!

Avalanche!!  These are avalanche protection, built on roads and railway lines where avalanches are common. If you are watching the Tour de France, they often ride through some of these in the Alps. We drove through 8 today - but I don't think we were in any danger. The weather today is about 30 degrees.