- Tour Leaders: Brigitte Relling (604-926-8385; brelling@telus.net) and Doug McIntyre (604-987-3187; d.r.mcintyre@shaw.ca)
- Tour Dates: September 8th to 21st, 2015.
- Participant No: Maximum 24, minimum 16.
- Tour Rating: Intermediate-Advanced.
- Tour Fee: $1400.00.
- Registration Opening Date & Time: Monday, February 16th, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. (1700 h) Pacific Standard Time. Registration (non-refundable fee of $2.00) online at http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g .
Tour Description: This is a 14 day/13 night, van-supported, motel loop tour covering the scenic Okanagan, West Kootenay and Boundary areas of BC, with a short optional section in the U.S. (please bring your passport if interested in this option). As the title suggests, participants will be riding a most beautiful and scenic area of BC: Views of mountains, e.g. the Monashee and Purcells, and lakes e.g. Okanagan, Shuswap, and Kootenay, will be near-daily occurrences. The total route distance will be about 900 kilometers, over 11 cycling days, averaging 82 kilometers per day, including a free day in the scenic town of Nelson. There will be several mountain passes and numerous other hills–this is BC after all–, thus it is recommended that cyclists be at least at the “intermediate” level for both fitness and bicycling skills. Participants will take a turn driving the tour vehicle, a U-Haul panel van. The vehicle will be for luggage, and injured or sick cyclists only; others will be expected to cycle each day’s ride.
Riding Conditions: Road or Touring bikes are recommended with a good gear range of lower gears for hill climbing. The route is nearly always on paved roads, including highways where no alternatives exist.
Tour Fee includes 13 nights motel/hotel accommodation, vehicle rental and ancillary costs, three dinners, four breakfasts, happy hour snacks, tour information packages for participants, and one tour leader’s recompense, calculated as the least sum of either 5% of total tour fees or one tour fee.
Tour Fee does not include long-term parking in Oliver ($20.00 for the duration of the tour), most meals, alcoholic drinks, and other personal incidental expenses during the tour.
Participant Selection: Participants will be selected on the basis of date and time of registration; their experience and fitness in relation to the tour rating (see above); and on double occupancy rooming arrangements. If the tour fills, registrants can be placed on the waitlist, but will be expected to inform the tour leader if they no longer wish to participate. Other conditions follow:
- Registrants will be contacted within 72 hours of registering, and if accepted will pay the first instalment ($700.00) online (http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g). Those cancelling will not be refunded monies spent to cover fixed costs unless a replacement member is found; and
- A second deposit of $700.00, to be paid online, is due July 15, 2015.
Itinerary: Participants will arrive at Oliver’s Maple Leaf Towne Inn on September 8th. A meeting will take place at 5:00 p.m., where riders will introduce themselves, learn about tour protocol, and establish a driving schedule for the Tour’s van. Questions will be answered by the Tour’s leaders.
Day 1: September 8. Arrive in Oliver, attend tour meeting and meet fellow cyclists at the Maple Leaf Towne Inn.
Day 2: September 9. Oliver to Peachland, Davis Cove Resort (77 km).
Day 3: September 10. Peachland to Vernon, Super 8 Motel (78 km).
Day 4: September 11. Vernon to Sicamous, Best Western (75 km).
Day 5: September 12. Sicamous to Revelstoke, Alpine Inn (73km).
Day 6: September 13. Revelstoke to Nakusp via a scenic ferry ride, Selkirk Inn (105 km).
Day 7: September 14. Nakusp to Kaslo, Kaslo Motel (92 km).
Day 8: September 15. Kaslo to Nelson, Mountain Hound Inn (70 km).
Day 9: September 16. Rest day in Nelson.
Day 10. September 17. Nelson to Castlegar, Quality Inn via Salmo (84 km), or 45 km using a more direct route (Highway 3A).
Day 11. September 18. Castlegar to Grand Forks, Imperial Motel (98km).
Day 12. September 19. Grand Forks to Greenwood (60 km), with the option of a scenic ride along the Kettle River as it loops through Washington State. Greenwood Motel.
Day 13: September 20. Greenwood to Oliver, Maple Leaf Towne Inn (91km).
Day 14: September 21. Breakfast and departure.