Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well and had an amazing weekend!?!
I went to bed hungry on Saturday and while lying in bed I made the quick decision to set my alarm to 6am and then leave Surrey for a ride to Peachland for some ham hocks.
First stop was in Hope. Since I didn't have any pressure like on the IBA rides, I took it easy and enjoyed the breaks and the chats with fellow riders.
From Hope I went East on Hwy3, had some little vape breaks on the way and just took it all in.
Next stop was Princeton. I gave Valerie a little clean last week and I was impressed by the looks in the sun from every angle.
Not even out of Princeton there was an accident with a rolled over semi truck and I got cooked under my gear for about 15mins while waiting until we could pass the scene.
Shortly before Peachland at Okanagan Lake.
Then I reached my destination, the "Gasthaus on the Lake" in Peachland. It's a German restaurant that I have been visiting once in 2015 and I had good memories of their ham hocks... there was a line up, I gave them my name and cell# and sat down on a bench next to the entrance to enjoy the view and do some people watching. I love doing that, especially during these crazy times. I haven't even been sitting for 2mins, when this gentleman pulls up on his 1997 Valkyrie. He bought it brand new from the dealer and has been owning it since, 130.000km on the bike. We had a nice chat about the bikes and then he took off to enjoy the rest of his day.
2mins later the restaurant called, letting me know that my table was available. I got excited, sat down, had a look at the menu, and.... all the excitement was gone! The ham hocks are a "dinner only" item and only available after 4:30pm. Lesson learnt, more planning even for the smallest things, hehe.
Since I couldn't get my ham hocks, I opted for the "Jägerschnitzel". The Schnitzel and the mushroom sauce were on point, but the veggies were just dry and very disappointing!
If you look at the beer and how it was poured.... in Germany every customer would tell the server to take it back and bring a fresh and properly poured one! A German wheat beer needs to have a lot of foam, we call it a "tulip". Too bad they don't even care about that to make the experience better.
It is a nice restaurant at a perfect location directly at the lake, the service was amazing, food was okish... Europeans would call it "kitchy". But I guess that's the picture North Americans have of what it looks like over there and the owners of the restaurant seem to feed it. I just wish they would do it proper and show the customers how it really is done in Europe.
Anyhow, back to riding. This is not a restaurant critics site ;-)
After lunch I decided to ride the West Side Road up to Killiney Beach and back to Kelowna. It's a nice and narrow road along the lake with a lot of twists and wildlife.
After that I decided to ride to Merritt. The last time I was here a couple of months ago, fuel was 69.9 cents. Things changed again...
From Merrit I rode the Lower Nicola Valley to Spences Bridge. There is a stop next to the road to overlook the valley, I absolutely love it! It's always a bit windy and lots of eagles flying around. Yesterday it was not that windy and 36 degrees.
I had to take another break in Spences Bridge at the river. My ass just didn't want to stay in the saddle anymore. And maybe you saw a change to the bike as well: the windshield was off for the ride, as well as the passenger seat, sissy bar and luggage rack. Which means my backrest is also gone because this one is mounted to the bottom of the passenger seat. I like the sleek look of the bike without all the add ons. BUT, for longer rides like this I will definitely put on the windshield and a backrest again. Don't wanna miss that luxury ;-)
Here's a map of yesterday's ride.
Another thing I haven't showed you yet is this one:
I purchased this from a gentleman in the States and I absolutely love it! The Dragon is now always watching over me ;-)
Have an amazing week everyone!!!
Christian
