Okanagan Provincial Park to Kelowna. DAY: 51.13km. ODO: 539. AVS: 18.0. MXS: 65.0. ATM: 2:50.

It rained during the night, but stopped as soon as I got up, which made breaking camp easier, and I just packed up and left. I stopped at The Two Chefs restaurant for tea and breakfast. It seems that it was Mother’s Day today, but I got in just in time to snag the last table.

Headwind! Ever since I left Princeton I’ve been facing varying degrees of headwind, especially disconcerting when traveling uphill. It was worst passing through Westbank which, if you’re not familiar with it, might best be described as the Nanaimo of the Okanagan. Not pretty. To make matters worse, I ran over a staple and got my first flat. However, I had it fixed within 15 minutes and was back on the road.

Have I mentioned scrotal discomfort as a less pleasant aspect of this form of travel? As someone who normally prefers to maintain a minimalist and non-restrictive clothing style, I can say with some certainty that there are few pleasures in life as satisfying as removing ones spandex cycling shorts at the end of a long, hot day.

I arrived at Don & Bryan’s at about 2:30, and after leaping from the aforementioned shorts and having a shower, unpacked and had a bit of lunch. Don showed me the recent changes to the property, and then we took a walk up beyond the reservoir, where I was able to add three new birds to my list: Yellow Headed Blackbird, Western Bluebird, and a pair of Redheads.

Tomorrow will be a rest day, and I plan to lounge about by the pool and catch up on the adventures of Don Quixote (why I couldn’t have chosen a lighter-weight book to lug up mountains – like maybe Jonathon Livingstone Seagull – I don’t know).