http://www.visitpenticton.com/
http://www.penticton.ca/EN/main/community/parks-trails-beaches/trails.html
We did just a small section riding from Penticton to Little Tunnel, which as the name implies is a little tunnel. The ride was along the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake and cut through vineyards, orchards and pine forests along the way. One of the nice things about the ride is that the ground was relatively flat which for us non-mountain bikers was perfect. The entire way out there was a fairly steady small elevation increase of 1-2% which required a little bit of an effort. Once we reached Little Tunnel and turned around the ride back was pretty easy.
We rented the bikes from a local bike shop in Penticton (Performance Bikes) from a young man named Josh. When Josh found out we were from Texas (my license is still a Texas license) he told us he had just opened a bbq place in Penticton and that he was going to be taking some of his staff to Austin in the fall to experience Texas bbq. We had a long conversation about some of the great ones in a state that's full of great bbq joints. I recommended a number of them to him (Franklin, Salt Lick, Smitty's, Kreuz Market & Snow's. If he can come close to duplicating what those places put out he's going to do great.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/list/the-50-best-bbq-joints-in-the-world/
As I had mentioned, the ride went through vineyards and where there are vineyards there are also wineries. We rewarded our efforts with lunch at the Hillside Winery and Bistro on the way back into Penticton. It was a two hour lunch as we soaked in the view, the food and merlot, while letting our bodies (and butts) get a little rest before heading back into Penticton.
http://www.hillsideestate.com/
It wasn't the Tour de France but the Tour de Kettle Valley Railway Trail was pretty darn spectacular!
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| Proper nutrition and hydration are important on these bike rides! |
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| Along the Kettle Valley Trail-Yes, that's sweat on my shirt! |
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| Trail View |
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| The Little Tunnel-Our turnaround point |
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| From the patio of the Hillside Winery and Bistro |
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| Aerated Chocolate-Hillside Winery & Bistro |
