July 10th, 2016
Facts about Salmon Arm
It has always been hard to put a finger on Salmon Arm’s economic mainstays, in light of there being few major employers over the last 100 years. Mayor Harold Scales probably put it best when he told interviewer in 1945, “Oh, we all take in each other’s laundry.”
Friendly Faces
Jim and Patti: Andrew has known these two for over 20 years! Patti is the Mother of a close friend of Andrew’s, and so when we put the word out that we were in the area, they sent the word right back that we best stop in to see them in Salmon Arm. Another great example of people making us feel like we’re at home, and offering up blazing hot hospitality.
Cycling Stats
Start point: Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Destination: Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
73.86 trip, 16.7 km/h average speed, 51.1 km/h maximum speed 4:25 time on bike
AltUP 518m, AltMAX 653m, AvgClimb 5%, MaxClimb 12%, AltDWN 433m, MaxDown 7%
What happened…
Andrew writes: Norma told us last night that we couldn’t leave until she got home from the gym this morning…so we took it easy (as usual), and by the time she finished at the gym, and we were packed and out the door it was probably 1100hrs. It was a gentle pedal out of Vernon, mostly on the old Kamloops Hwy. Farm fields on the right, and big ass pickup trucks on our left were the bulk of our sights and sounds today.
It felt weird pedalling up Highway 97 for 20km before turning off onto Salmon River Road. I say that because it just felt like the wrong direction. In any event, we ate lunch at the turn. After lunch the overcast morning gave way to a beautiful sunny afternoon, and we worked out way against a headwind on this quiet farm road, all the way to Salmon Arm. Arriving in town, we stopped at the Safeway to buy some flowers for Patti and Jim, our hosts for the evening.
Setting out from the store, we started pedalling up Hwy#1, this super long hill, that leads out of “Downtown Salmon Arm” to the surrounding parts. After about 5 minutes, I realized that I had made an error in navigating, and we turned around. When I found the much less busy road that we should have been taking, it was pretty much straight-up, 10% for 10 blocks. There was road construction to boot, so we ended up on the sidewalk. Boy oh boy did that take a lot out of me. Amanda says to me at the top, ”We need to find friends who live at the bottom of the hill!!.”, to which I started singing the Garth Brooks song, “Friends in Low Places”. You know what though? I’ll take friends in high places anytime!!
”I hate you just a teeny bit right now Jim!”, I exclaimed as I huffed and puffed my way up Jim and Patti’s driveway. Patti is a real treat, such a witty gal who makes me work to keep up with her. Jim is a solid guy by all accounts, and the four of us enjoyed a lovely steak dinner, and hours of conversation on their deck. Later on, I taught Patti how to play pool, and even showed her how to hold the cue, just like in the movies. Her laugh when I blew in her ear to distract her during another shot was classic Patti too. Jim made short work of me with his slick billiard skills, winning back all of the money that his wife lost playing me.
It looks like our route for the next few days is going to be off the beaten track, as we head up the west side of Adams Lake, with Sun Peaks Mountain above and to the west of us. Still, it’s bringing us closer to Jasper, and also to parts of BC we haven’t seen before. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Amanda writes:
Today was a nice ride and it felt good to be back on the bikes. The road was pretty gentle hills and the scenery was nice. The traffic was pretty light, however as we neared Salmon Arm there seemed to be far more trucks. Ford F350’s and GMC trucks all over the place and a few of them not wanting to share the roads with cyclists. I suppose we’ll get more of that again now that we’re not in Cuba.
I have met Jim and Patti once before, but on this trip it was really nice to get to know them. Mike (Patti’s son) you’re a lucky man to have two great people like that in your life. The steak dinner was incredible; and just melted in our mouths. Dinner was topped off with Andrew’s favourite dessert, black forest cake. This of course was topped off with bacon and eggs for breakfast. They really went all out and we’re so lucky.
And as the small world continues to amaze me, Patti and Jim are neighbours with an old colleague of mine. Sam came over and we chatted about what’s happening in the working world and about his wonderful upcoming vacation. It was nice to chat with an old friend. We also got to meet his daughter who is full of so much energy; what a treat.
Today’s Photographs
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