Hardly a Ramble 2 1/2 (Penticton, Keremeos, Nighthawk, Osoyoos)

The ride starts (and finishes) at the Barley Mill brewpub 2460 Skaha Lake Road, Penticton at 07:00. To avoid plugging up their parking lot, leave your car at your motel, or park in the WalMart parking lot. It goes south of the border, so REMEMBER YOUR PASSPORT! It's also a good idea to carry a bit of American cash. There is a good convenience store with washrooms in Loomis, at about 96 km. There are no washrooms at the control in Ellisford (117 km). There are lot's of motels in the area.

We had a reasonable turnout of 11 riders for the Interior 200 in Penticton, including a few new faces. Despite reports of a road washout on Highway 3A which led to the hasty development of a "plan B" route, we were able to use the original "Hardly a Ramble 2 1/2 " route. On the plus side, my concern that this "easy" route might not adequately prepare riders for the hillier 300km was unfounded. This ride was tough, and virtually all riders took at least an hour longer than expected. Fortunately, we had lots to look at while battling the wind: lakes, rivers, vineyards, wildlife (too many deer to count), spring blossoms and snow covered mountain peaks- if you like that sort of thing.