January News

Winterize your bike & cycle all winter long! Tips to get your bike ready to brave the cold, snow, ice & slush!
Participaction

Penticton is hoping the province will pick up a majority portion of tab to upgrade the Kettle Valley Railway Trail from Sutherland Road to Vancouver Place, after submitting an application to B.C.’s 2011 community recreation grant program.

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/136610828.html

A reminder to stay safe out there!

A 25-year-old cyclist is in hospital with injuries to his head and pelvis after he collided with a vehicle Tuesday night.

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-69319-2-.htm#69319

Greater Vernon residents now have an additional 90 acres on top of Middleton Mountain to enjoy and explore.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/69379/A-hiking-we-will-go

It now appears there will not be a national park in the South Okanagan/Similkameen after the province shelved its interest in the plan for the “foreseeable future.”

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/137221813.html

It is not the light at the end of the tunnel, but rather the lights in the tunnel that have had local residents thrilled as of recent.

The Princeton Tunnel is 1063 feet long, 324 metres. For the past several years, the lights installed to brighten the long dark passageway have been hit and miss at best.

Link: http://www.similkameenspotlight.com/community/136974048.html

With two and a half months to go for snow to accumulate at higher elevations, area snow packs are below normal, according to the River Forecast Centre.

Overall levels in the Okanagan-Kettle region show 72 per cent of the average amount of snow was on the ground as of January 1.
http://peachlandnews.com/blog/2012/01/24/okanagan-snow-pack-below-normal-as-of-january-1/

Developer Mark Consiglio has ambitious plans for Kelowna Mountain, a 259 hectare (640 acre) piece of property he owns just south of Kelowna City limits above the Upper Mission area.

Consiglio's vision includes:
• a world class golf course
• wineries
• ski hill
• mountain bike park
• suspension bridges
• commercial amenities, shops and restaurants
• residential and resort accommodations

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-70233-11-.htm#70233

Town council does not plan to end the ban on motorized vehicles using trails in Princeton despite complaints from avid ATV riders.

The trails must be designated as non-motorized to get funding from the government, said Vermilion Trails Society president Kim Maynard.

Link: http://www.similkameenspotlight.com/news/137930903.html

The debate over the creation of a national park in the South Okanagan Similkameen is finally over - maybe not forever, but at least for the time being.

Parks Canada formally announced its intention to withdraw from public engagement over the prospect in an announcement made on the Parks Canada website on Jan.20.

http://www.keremeosreview.com/news/138177754.html

The City of Penticton is responsible for the promotional fee as part of its five-year deal signed with NA Sports. Ironman Canada received a fee of $30,000 for 2010, $45,000 for 2011, followed by $60,000 for this year and $75,000 in both 2013 and 2014.
If the society is unable to come up with the full amount, the shortfall would be paid for by the city.

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories_local.php?id=400102

In my personal opinion; THIS IS BUNK!

When its stated that "the City of Penticton" will make up for the shortfall; they mean us. The city's money, as with the provinces money; is actually our money!

This whole thing stinks of pseudo-blackmail.

We'll fill up your GAS / FOOD / LODGING if you buck up - more and more every year!

IMHO: A committee should be struck that sees a "South Okanagan Sports Coalition" formed, and they should put on their own Iron Man style race event. Its not as though the city, with its thousands of volunteers and decades of experience in running an International Triathlon event, couldn't reasonably be seen to possess the know-how and gumption!

Sure attendance will be down from IMC's figures, but give it a few years and I expect that the numbers will climb again; mainly because this is such a great place to hold an event / spend time.

I for one, have had it with IMC threatening to pillage my wallet if they don't get their way. A long-time IMC volunteer; I'll not (ever) again donate another second of my time to their cause.

Andrew

President and co-founder of the Penticton and Area Cycling Association, Andrew Drouin won the Community Booster Award.

Link: http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/business/138400029.html

Nice Work Andrew- good to see your hard work and dedication getting some well-deserved recognition! Keep up the good work. See you on the trails in ought 12!

Further to my Iron Man Canada rant above...

An interesting option might be dropping IMC and replacing it with an XTerra event: see

http://www.xterracanada.ca

This would allow us to bring in a large number of visitors, even in the first year, and alleviate congestion on the paved roads (as its a water-to-off road event)

XTerra is huge and rapidly growing. Kelowna and Vernon have held XTerra events, there is no reason that we couldn't: Penticton is a nicer place (IMHO) and we offer more beautiful Singletrack that either of those places.

Andrew

I don't think participation numbers would be that great (Kelowna had 27 people do the Full Triathlon according to there results page). And if you did get visitor and participation numbers up to that of the IMC, imagine 3000 people riding over Pentictons great single track. That would be some huge devastation to this great area of ours.