Starting at Manitou, the idyllic Okanagan beach surrounded by clay banks, orchards, vineyards and wineries, the start of the BCBR Gravel Explorer will take riders from lakeside bliss to gravel grinding bliss and back again in a single stage. Leaving the beach and rolling though the quaint village of Naramata, racers will begin their climb though orchard roads past apples almost ready for picking in the gulch farms. Racers are treated with isolated gravel kilometers in a tunnel of autumn color. After a few kilometres on the old Kettle Valley Railway you will be waved off the gravel onto singletrack leading you onto the up-country Naramata Forest Service roads and into the creek crossing requiring some off-bike adventuring. After beautiful views and passing by three lakes, you will head downhill past Chute Lake on the KVR as you race to the finish at the little tunnel. We finish the day rolling back though the orchards to our finish location back at Manitou Beach with photo ops and views for days from the Beer Garden.
This ride has the kinds of parcour that truly capture “Everywhere a gravel bike can go”.
GPX File – Please note – on event day – follow the PINK Flagging and NOT the GPX File.
*Proposed course subject to change & pending final approvals