Keremeos to Osoyoos
On the road by 7:55 am for 5 minutes! We decided to have breakfast in Keremeos (highly recommend The Ranch Restaurant) because of a very strong wind that blew all night and this morning. Keeping a stove lit would have been impossible! On the road for real at 8:45. A Wiarton like hill met us as we climbed out of Keremeos.
The story of the day was "up one side and down the other". A series of sharp hills plagued us all day making for some challenging climbs. Again we were following the Similkameen River with it's incredible views as we traveled through cattle country. Yesterday we waited for cattle to be herded across Hwy 3 by a horse and rider and a Border Collie. Today we saw bulls being herded by a cowboy. (I guess quads have not found there way into BC ranching yet). The River then turned south and since we did not bring our passports we had to leave it behind.
A 7 km climb to Richter Pass (elevation 682 metres which did not even warrant a sign so we could celebrate) was at grades that we could actually ride all-be-it with frequent stops. Then came the 8 km drop into the resort town of Osoyoos at the southern end of the Okanogan Valley where we are camped. The NK'MIP RV Park and Campground will be our home for 2 nights with its hotub and incredible views of Lake Osoyoos. No you did not read that wrong. We have decided to give our legs a rest for a day before we tackle the Anarchist Mountain climb, the climb that is etched in our brains from our trip through here in 2008. 27 kilometer climb with the first 10 to 14 km (depending on who you talk to) a series of switchbacks. I am also going to see if I can have my back wheel looked at by the local bike shop as I have a spoke that continues to come loose.
Met a guy today at the Osoyoos Information place who was riding a fold up bike that was pulling a trailer. The trailer is actually a suitcase that the bike fits into. It just looked like an old time hard sided suitcase. He was heading off into the US and in August for a bike tour in France.
Daily Distance = 65.78 km. Time on the bikes = 4 hours 49 minutes. Average Speed = 13.63 km. Maximum Speed = 57.73 km. Wildlife Sightings = rattlesnake (dead on the road), California quail
