My Kettle Valley Bike Trip

Here we are getting ready to leave at the beginning of our four day bike trip on the KVR (Kettle Valley Railbed) starting in Beverdell and going up to Castlegar. We drove 1.5 hours from Kelowna to reach our starting destination.

This is later the same day as we arrived at the Kettle River campground where we jumped into the river to cool down before once more heading down the trail.

Day two, taking a break for a drink of water before continuing our incline up the mountain.

Now had I been living back in those days I wish this could have been my place. In fact I wish it could still be my place.

Talk about picture perfect - complete with a creek running by the front door.

Riding the more desert land. The view below from the ridge we were on.

Entering one of the three caves we had to ride through. These are holes that were made right through the mountain for the train to pass through.

Over here we are entering the third tunnel which is 1 kilometer long and pitch black. We had to walk our bikes through this. Three of us had a small flashlight to help us find our way out.

Getting close to the outside entrance now. You can see our lights. Going through these my thoughts were with those miners from Chile who were trapped underground for such a long time. This was eerie enough for me. I can't imagine being stuck hundreds of feet below.

Close to the outside - the walls have been reinforced with huge beams.

This is the moss and the water that runs on the side of the walls just as we exit the cave. Beautiful to see.

A piece of the Trans Canada Trail that is flat and goes through a field.

Stopping for a break to stretch our legs and admire the scenery.


Riding above Arrow Lakes. We felt like we were on top of the world.

Lunch time. Every now and then there's a picnic table and an outhouse where people can stop and do what we're doing.

Another shot over the Arrow Lakes.

My bike which the other women christened "The Iron Horse" because it's a steel frame, very heavy, and had the wrong kind of tires for this kind of ride which meant I was working hard to get up those mountains.

It might not look that way in this picture but we are very high up here. Whenever someone else took a picture with my IPone for me they always stuck their fingers in the way.

We are on our decent into Castlegar here. On the last leg of our trip.

One of the dozen or so bridges that spans across the gorges and canyons.

Almost down to the end of our journey. I did get someone to snap a picture of us dismounting at the end but unfortunately it didn't turn out.

We travelled an average of 60 km a day. The weather was cool when we left at 6 in the morning but by afternoon it was excruciating hot. We were travelling in cougar and bear country but we took precautions and made lots of noise when the territory felt dangerous.

We met one bear but saw evidence of many others. We didn't meet up with any cats for which I was very grateful. We saw deer, fox, snakes, squirels, eagles, hawks, and rabbits in the wild. On the farms we saw horses, sheep, cows, lamas, and donkeys. It was a memorable trip. I would do it again in a flash but not with the same bike for sure.