On my day in Penticton

Penticton doesn't get much rain. Somewhere I read that it is part of the Sonoran Desert region which goes all the way down to Mexico which alternately plausible or risible depending on how you look at it. I probably need to check my facts, but that can wait as the Okanagan is definitely a dry zone.

This fact was proven to me by the display of chain lubricants at my favorite bike store in Penticton, Freedom the Bike Shop. They had an assortment of Finish Line products but didn't carry my default lubricant Finish Line Wet. I commented on this to the staff as I waited for them to check Leonardo's rear tire. They said there wasn't much call for it. Probably true.

Why do I mention this? Well, I was there on a relatively rare, wet, rainy day with plenty of wind. It didn't rain all day but enough to make my visit atypically damp. I spent the morning looking after my steed including getting spare inner tubes and washing my clothes in the hostel's washer-dryer.

In the afternoon, I bummed around, seeing the sights and observing the contrasts of the town. Pentiction has an odd mix of tourists, seasonal labour (needed for the fruit industry),  alternative culture members and bums. Some people fall into multiple categories. I shared a hostel room with a dread-locked German who had just finished a four day hike and was discussing about where he would be picking apples the next day with an older American man who sounded knowledgeable about the industry!

The clouds were low and somewhat menacing. As the forecast was for more of the same the next day, I determined that I would take the easy way to Kelowna, e.g. Highway 97. This also allowed me to indulge in a bit of shopping in a used book store that I would have done otherwise.