Silver Triangle

Silver Triangle
Nelson, B.C.
September 4-6, 1999

I joined the Elbow Valley Cycling for a three-day bike ride in Southern B.C. Called the Silver Triangle, it takes its name from a town it passes, Silverton. The trip starts and ends at Balfour with a night spent at New Denver and at Nelson.

To get to Balfour, all 60 cyclists boarded the ferry to cross Kootenay Lake. After unloading, we cycled the lakeshore road north to Kaslo where we stopped for lunch. After Kaslo, we biked to Fish Lake where we took a break before continuing west to New Denver.

By the end of the first day I had partnered up with Peggy, who, like me, was a fast and impatient cyclist. On day two, Peggy and I left the pack far behind and biked south to Nelson. The weather deteriorated, and the light rain we had encountered early in the day turned into a heavy rainfall.

By the time we reached Nelson, we were thoroughly soaked. We had reached Nelson well ahead of the support van and had no dry clothes, so we stopped at a laundromat to dry the clothes we were wearing.

Nelson is a large town with a choice of places to go dining and drinking. After an evening of socializing we all turned in. The bike ride from Nelson to Balfour was short and fast. The trip ended with a ferry ride back to our cars.

Waiting for the ferry at Kootenay Bay