RECREATIONAL VEHICLES

You don’t have to be a meteorologist to predict that the warm weather is now with us. As the tell-tale signs abound around this part of British Columbia.


Firstly the roads are starting to be jammed with RV’s of all shapes and sizes.


In the colder months it is rare to see a RV on the road as most are stored away awaiting the warmer weather. RVing appears to be a way of life here in Canada. You see them parked in so many suburban front yards or lining the numerous RV parks. Many are the size of a Greyhound bus and cost hundred’s of thousands of dollars. They are mansions on wheels. Others are a little smaller but no less well-appointed.


At the bottom of the RV food chain are the fifth wheelers, camper trailers and camper vans. Even so these come in a variety of sizes, shapes and value. It is not uncommon as you drive the roads around the Okanagan to come upon a line of five or more RV’s. These are usually driven by senior citizens who either strictly adhere to the speed limit or insist on traveling 10-20 kilometers below the speed limit which results in a long line of frustrated drivers who because of the narrow lakeside and mountain roads have little opportunity to pass.

Not that I have anything against RV’s and those that drive them. I don’t even resent those who drive an RV which have a little runaround car hitched to the back and a swag of pushbikes staked to the front.


As a matter of fact I am thinking of getting a RV. A cheap one of course, and taking it for a scoot around the countryside. I kinda like the idea of just stopping where the fancy takes me, beside a mountain stream or overlooking the ocean and of course I think it would be cool making a sandwich or a cup of coffee in the back of the RV whilst you are choofing down the highway.


Another sure harbinger of the warmer months is the proliferation of cyclists you see on the roads. The Okanagan is the cycling capital of Canada and in the warmer months they flock to the roadways like lemmings to a cliff. They appear to be everywhere, from the busiest highway to the obscure back road.

In British Columbia pedestrians and cyclists have ownership of the road regardless of the circumstance, so those groups can do whatever they please. It is not unusual around here for a pedestrian to walk across the road without care or mind for the traffic. It is up to the driver of the vehicle to see them and take evasive action.


Bike riders are quite happy to sit three and four abreast chatting away as traffic piles up behind them, whilst frustrated car drivers look for an opportunity to pass them. Many bike riders here in the Okanagan believe the roadway is theirs and ride accordingly.

So if a driver finally manages to pass a group of cyclists their relief is short lived as they now come upon a line of ponderous RV’s tooting down the highway. All you can do then is turn the air conditioning up and enjoy the beautiful scenery.