Heatwave strategy: do it when it’s cool
Heatwave strategy meant early-morning cycles and a cool Okanagan Lake kayak from Okanagan Centre this week.
Chris B with her Meetup.com group arranged a 9 a.m. Monday start for a loop bike ride of Brandt’s Creek Linear Park, Glenmore Road, John Hindle Drive and Okanagan Rail Trail, one of our favourite loop rides in Kelowna.
Then, she threw in the Airport Way, Old Vernon Road and Bulman Road loop through rural Ellison.
After a quick disc brake pad change, we joined cycling buddies Lawrence and Maggie for a swim at Paul’s Tomb, then a bike ride around Munson Pond in Kelowna before it got too hot.
When you’ve done these rides numerous times, you start to notice a few bike path shortcomings.
Airport Way has a wide multi-use path and the north-south section of Old Vernon Road has a bike path but the connecting east-west section of Old Vernon Road has only a gravel shoulder so cyclists ride on the asphalt, partly blocking vehicular traffic.
The same with the lakeshore route between Boyce-Gyro Beach Park and Abbott Street via Watt and Walnut. The bike path disappears, then re-appears. A city staffer should document the inconsistencies and put them on a priority list for bike lane construction.
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Lots of reader feedback on the “atrocious” conditions on the KVR Trail between Bellevue Creek Trestle and Chute Lake reported in last weekend’s column. (Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. has planned upgrades to surfacing and ditching this summer.)
From Hugh C.: “My son and his family did it on the Canada Day weekend. Yes, it was awful. To claim that this section is part of a trans-Canada trail is a farce.
“The section from Highway 33 to the (Myra Canyon) trestles is also bad. ATVs and motorbikes create moguls that are hard to cycle on. The surprise to me is that car and truck traffic seem to do less damage. The brush on the side of the road bed also needs to be cut and chipped.”
From Bonita D.: “It makes me so mad that they have let this stunning piece of cycling trail deteriorate to this level. I was scheduled to go from Myra to Penticton and the cycle got cancelled because of these ‘lakes’ on the trail.
“At one point, this trail was rated by one cycling magazine as 10th in the world of cycle trip destinations. B.C. is missing out on a colossal tourist draw. Get fixing B.C.”
The father of a family group: “I knew what I was getting into; the rest of the group didn’t believe me until they saw it with their own eyes. Was relieved the trip wasn’t my idea.
“Took the kids (10 and eight years old) three puddles before they got their feet properly wet. Prior to that, lots of bike-carrying and kid-carrying back and forth from bank to bank. My sister-in-law even went for a swim — bike and all.
“Took us one hour to go five kilometres. But once convinced to get wet, the kids said this was way easier and we moved along at a reasonable pace.
“By the end, they were ranking the lakes by temperature and clarity. Sure trail can be improved but it’s also a lot of fun with the puddles there. Without them, sections of the trail are rather ‘dry’ as in boring.”
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A Ministry of Forests’ decision has finally been released on a 67-kilometre section of the Columbia and Western Rail Trail. Any logging company that wants to use this part of the Trans Canada Trail (now The Great Trail) can turn a narrow former rail line into a wide logging road.
“This section of the trail has been re-designated to encompass current uses, management standards and possible future initiatives.
“The route’s prior designation as a recreation trail does not reflect how the trail is being used today and is not consistent with the standard of maintenance appropriate for the existing infrastructure and current uses,” says the ministry.
It is part of the 162-kilometre Columbia and Western Rail Trail corridor that runs from Midway to Castlegar along the former
Canadian Pacific Railway line. It was donated by the Trans Canada Trail organization to the province (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) for use as a non-motorized trail, and the entire route was legally established as a recreational trail in 2011 under the Forest and Range Practices Act.
However, the province allowed non-motorized use to continue and has already approved a dozen applications for The Great Trail to be converted to logging roads.
The ministry (not its RTSBC subsidiary which is responsible for trails) argues:
“The 67-kilometre portion of the former rail line (from Castlegar to a former railway stop near Fife, about two kilometres north of Christina Lake) is fairly remote and features steep slopes, numerous water crossings, tunnels, bridges, steel trestles, retaining walls and large culverts.
“These types of infrastructure are not typically present on recreational trails, and they require regular and expensive upkeep.
Of note, outdoor recreation organizations in B.C. have criticized the underfunding of RTSBC for years to no avail.
The Ministry of Forests’ answer seems to be turning it over to loggers.