Spring Time Around Armstrong

Some of the most pleasant and scenic country to bike through anywhere is in the Shuswap-North Okanagan area.   And the prettiest time of the year to explore is in the spring.  Paved roads that experience little traffic meander up and down hills dressed in that vibrant spring-green. The smell of earthy richness (with the occasional whiff of living cow) fills your head and little lakes shine like jewels in the fresh country air.  

This fact has been noted by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Region which publishes an excellent booklet, "Shuswap-North Okanagan Cycle Touring" available to order, view or copy at info@shuswaptourism.ca

 

 

 

This year, from mid-April until the end of May, I've been out biking in this area about a half dozen times.  I've seen the tips of asparagus peak through the soil and grow into thick spikes, lilacs with their aromatic soft-purple blossoms cover hedges then, over a couple weeks, fade to be replaced by the pink wild roses and amethyst-coloured phlox along railroad beds and hill sides.
 

 

Into May asparagus fields continue to flourish and this year strawberries have been turning ruby red for two weeks already!  Rich cultivated fields now have rows of young corn plants that are stretching up to the hot sun.  And now all that youthful growth is being soaked by late spring showers.

This season most of my biking in this area has been with the Vernon Outdoors Club (VOC). Before every ride a leader will have scouted the route, calculating time and level of difficulty, scoped out any safety concerns and will have found a scenic place to stop for lunch.  All I've had to do is bring my lunch, show up, and keep up.  The pace is never overwhelming but I am always slightly challenged and feel a communal sense of accomplishment at the end of these rides.

But still a favourite bike ride for me is one that we do several times on our own, from early April until late October. We head to Armstrong along Otter Lake Road and return the same way or via Pleasant Valley Road and Otter Lake X Road.   

Later in the season, when our bike legs are stronger, we will bike from home, about a 60 km trip.  But in the spring we’ll load our bikes into the back of our Honda Element and drive out to Historic  O’Keefe Ranch and unload the bikes.  We cycle to the first turn off to the west, St Anne's Road and follow the road north, staying on Otter Lake Road which veers off to the right. An earthy aroma confirms we are in agricultural country.

At about 3 km we pass Victoria Place RV Bed and Breakfast featuring a Heritage home on a farm first established in 1886.  This would be a great home base for visitors wanting to explore and bike in the Spallumcheen area.   Across the road is an unusual crop.  We guess that the orderly lines of green mounds are Echinacea, yet to bloom 

Soon Otter Lake appears on our right.  Usually it is completely still but sometimes a lone canoe floats across it, barely marking its surface. The road begins to climb and we labour under a hot sun. We stop at the shaded T intersection of Grandview Flats Road to guzzle down some water and then point our bikes downhill.  We streak past a small pull-out on the road and a picnic table at the edge of Otter Lake and continue gliding downhill.

To the left, past Otter Laker Cross Road, is  MacDonald Road, a steep road to the west and perched up it is a warm-yellow  coloured Scandinavian-style home with a clay tile roof.

 

This is the home of Country Home Antiques. Open by appointment only (call Eva Laarson at 250 546 2529 or 546 0434), she specializes in vintage furnishing from Scandinavia.  I confess I have only visited here when I've gone by car.  The hill is steep plus you might find something to buy!

 

It does not seem long before we ride under the wide canopy of the white ash trees that line the road until the intersection of Wood Avenue.Our first stop in Armstrong is on the broad Pleasant Valley Avenue. Here at the Brown Derby Café, home of the “Great Breakfast Special” ($2.99), we dig into our eggs and pan-browned potatoes unconcerned about the wobbly outside plastic table and mixed cutlery.  A plaque beside the door tells us this is a historical building built in 1892 was owned by the son of Overlanders that settled the area in 1862.  

We amble down the main street, stopping at Deep Creek General Store, where you can buy a Globe and Mail newspaper, cowboy boots, and a quart of milk.  Next we sample fine chocolate at Chocoliro, a charming little chocolate store.

 

 

“My wife Yolanda was born into chocolate” co-owner Peter Rotzetter says, explaining a family tradition as we watch her setting the Swiss chocolate into molds.  My favourite is the dark (70% cocoa) with orange pepper.  I plan to return by car to load up on various treats.

 

We continue east to Smith Street, close to Highway 97, and visit the Village Cheese Company, part restaurant, gift store and cheese factory.  We taste samples of artisan cheese: Wild smoked salmon cheddar, Canadian maple cheddar, hores- radish  cheddar and, my favourite, Gerwurtztraminer ripened soft cheese.  After an ice-cream we mount our bikes to head back towards our car. 

 

It is a slow steady hill south out of town on Pleasant Valley Road.  The sun is beating down on us.  At the junction of Pleasant Valley Cross Road we pass the Olde Schoolhouse. Built in 1884 this one-room schoolhouse served the settler families for almost 40 years.  Then it was used as a family home and eventually a storage area for grain and machinery.  Now, during the summer it opens for coffee, tea or lunch, served on fine china.  It’s best to check ahead for hours by calling the owner, Shelia Luniw at 250 546 9190. 

After a slow uphill ride, we pass Good’N Plenty market garden.  This week they are selling strawberries, lettuce, radishes, asparagus and kale at their gate. Eventually we turn off onto Crozier Road.  The next right puts us onto Otter Lake X Road and we coast down some undulating hills before coming to Otter Lake Road.  We now retrace our path up a steep hill, past Otter Lake and back to our car.

The entire trip clocks in at 32.4km (only about 24 km if you go to and from via Otter Lake Road).  That’s what we call a good bike ride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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