IM Canada questions

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m doing IMC for the first time this summer, and have never been to Penticton. I have some (hopefully) easy questions:

  1. I am flying from Iowa, thinking of flying into Spokane (cheap flights). In on Wednesday morning prior to the race, out early Tuesday morning after the race is under $350 right now. Will I want to stay in Penticton through Monday night? How big is the party? Worth staying for or not? I can fly out whenever…pretty flexible on that and I have plenty of vacation to use up. :slight_smile:

  2. If I do fly into Spokane, I will rent a car. Any issues with renting in the US and driving into Canada? One of the rental car companies indicated that I would have to pay a per mile fee as opposed to a per day/unlimited mileage fee if I did this. Does anyone have experience with this?

  3. I will look in the retailer database, but is there a good bike shop in Spokane? I would consider UPSing my bike as opposed to flying with it…could also UPS to a shop in Penticton I suppose, but assume they will all be swamped with IM stuff and don’t necessarily want to add to the confusion.

  4. Lodging - someone recommended that I stay out at Apex and drive in for the race. Since I will be on my own, is this a good idea or a poor one? How much of a challenge will I have in finding lodging in town at this point?

Thanks.
Mike

2

Hi Mike,

  1. Party or no party, Penticton and that part of the world is awseome. Some of the best fruit and wineries ever. You will also love the scenic area and may take a week to be a tourist and enjoy the Okanagen post race. It is a different town without the 2500 athletes and 5000 supporters. I have been there for the last three year, and never went to the party.

  2. This is usually the case, check with different companies, they can tell you exactly.

  3. Bike Barn in Penticton is awesome, I am not sure if they offer this service, but you may give them a call and find out. There are other companies that will do it for you, ship, build, and pickup near the med tents in Penticton. (I forget the companies name)

4, Lodging should be pretty easy to find this early, you can also think about Summerland and some of the other small towns just outside Penticton. I always stay out of town, this year I am in Summerland. I have no experience with Apex so cant help directly.

Martin

3

Bike Barn doesn’t deal with international shipping, fyi.

4

Apex is a 40min jaunt from town. Nice place to stay but I would not stay there for IMC especially on your own - a little lonely. And not so good if you don’t come from altitude to begin with. If you have problems in town, then Summerland, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Kaledon are towns much closer than Apex.

5

Hi Mike,

I’m doing the race as well and buried in the classifieds from about 5 days ago is a bedroom that I’m looking to rent out for $400 for the week.

I’ll definitely be looking to get together a bunch of folks on Monday for some good food and plenty of drinks!

6

Is Penticton at altitude? If yes, how high?

7

I would not consider Penticton to be at “Altitude”. It is at 344m.

Edit: I am looking to confirm Apex’s altitude but it is significantly higher than Penticton.

Edit2: Read some bad data before my first post, thought it was off. Apex is around 5000 ft.

8

I’ve been there twice. If you can, stay in the downtown area by the beach. All the action is there. Beautiful area. You can park your car for the week and get around on foot. This is a great course. Keep some in the tank for the second climb up Yellow Lake. Go to the Bike Barn in Penticton. It’s the Bike headquarters for the week. I had my bike the next day. Have a great race.

9

I’m doing IMC as well! Hope to see you there!

10

Bike Barn is awesome. Four of us went last year just to sign up for 2009 and we hoped to store our bikes somewhere on a short detour to Vancouver. Even though they were swamped with competitors, they offered to find a spot for our 4 extra bikes.
It’ll be difficult to find a hotel at this time as most accommodations fill up by about October. The offer of a room for $400/week is a great deal.
And I’d definitely suggest hanging out for at least a couple of days extra to enjoy the town. There are 2 nice beaches and if you’re a wine drinker, the wineries are great.

Good luck

11

Congratulations on your first IMC. Penticton is a special place, IMC is an epic course, with volunteers and spectators second to none. I’ve done 10 IMC’s and I love the race. Train smart, and I hope to see you Aug. 30th.

I’m flying from MN into Seattle. The drive from Seattle and Spokane are both around 6 hours. If you don’t have one, you need a passport, the border crossing can take 2 minutes or over an hour, depending on time of day.
I use Priceline.com, or contact rental companies directly. I always get unlimited mileage, and don’t pay extra to drive into Canada or extra miles.

I usually fly US Air, booked on NAS website for free bike passes (not sure if they’ll continue this for 2009). Downside is no direct flight, fly through Phoenix, can make for a long day. That’s why I usually fly out on Tuesday. Or direct flights to Spokane/Seattle, and you’re on your way. Not sure about UPS, and you can’t send your bike to The Bike Barn, but you can send it to a hotel in Penticton. The Bike Barn will then pick it up and assemble if for you (tune up, etc.) if you want.
http://www.bikebarn.ca/ I always bring my bike to them for a once over. It’s a great place to hang out, top notch mechanics, and they’ll treat you like you’re their only customer.

Drive to Penticton: If you fly to Spokane, about 10 miles from the border is Osoyoos, which is the southern part of the Okanagan Valley and on average, the hottest temps in Canada (the pocket desert). It’s also the start of Richter Pass. You can either go north through Oliver and OK Falls to Penticton (about 38 miles), or you can follow the rest of the IMC bike course, over Richter Pass into the Similkameen Valley and the 7 bitches (rollers), through Cawston out and back, then pass Apex up to Yellow Lake (twin lakes), and finish with a breathtaking view high above Skaha Lake, as you descend into Penticon. Either way, you’re guaranteed great scenery and lots of wineries and fruitstands along the way.

Thursday around 5 pm is the 5k run and the kids run, followed by concert in Gyro Park, usually Kinship, a celtic band with a loyal following. When you hear them, you’ll know why.

Friday Carbo Load and Monday Awards Dinners should be attended, especially your first IMC. “Mandatory” racer meeting follows the Friday Carbo Load dinner. Monday Awards Dinner can drag with all the AG awards, but it’s festive and fun to exchange race stories with tablemates.

I would not recommend Apex for your first IMC, I think you should be in Penticton. All the hotels on the north side of town will be full, but there are lots of hotels with rooms that week. Check out Okanagan Reservations or Penticton Chamber of Commerce, or just goodle hotels in Penticton. It sounds like you’ll be by yourself? If so, you might want to post on ST or IMC chat page http://www.mile141.com/chat_can/index.php to see if anyone’s got an extra room / bed. All the action is on Lakeshore Drive (race start/finish, transitions, expo park (registration and expo), Gyro park, etc.). The Dinners are at the Penticton Convention Center across from The Sandman Hotel off Westminster.

There are lots of things to do race week, tourist things like tubing, miniature golf, stock car races, winery tours, kettle valley train ride, parasailing, even have a Casino at the Lakeside Resort. More traditonal are morning swims at the Sicamous (or the Peach), ride the marathon course to OK Falls, and you might want to drive the full bike course. Friday am underpants run. Saturday parade of countries. Rumor has it if you don’t walk in the parade, Ogopogo will get you, and you’ll be forced to walk on race day. (Ogopogo is the “Loch Ness” monster of Lake Okanagan) For me, it’s just bad timing, I don’t want to be on my feet that much the day before, and the parade is about the time I want to eat.

If you have extra time you should explore the region. But most importantly, soak up all the activity of race week. Hang out at the Expo, they’ll play past IMC’s on the Jumbotron, so you can get a flavor of the race. If you stay Tuesday night, you can work the Volunteers dinner, a nice pay back and thank you to the people that make the race possible.

If Steve King is involved in this years race, you’re in for a real treat. Mike Reilly does a fine job, but Steve King IS Ironman Canada. And of course, I hope you can stick around the finish line until midnight on Sunday. Magic.

Sorry, I’m getting way off topic. . . If you need any logistic help, or any questions, please let me know. Good luck, and ENJOY!

12

Hi Mike,

I’m doing the race as well and buried in the classifieds from about 5 days ago is a bedroom that I’m looking to rent out for $400 for the week.

I’ll definitely be looking to get together a bunch of folks on Monday for some good food and plenty of drinks!

Change your mind about letting someone stay at your place for free :slight_smile:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2166917;search_string=;#2166917

13

I’ve been to IMC 5 times. Flown into Seattle twice, Spoakne once and Kelowna twice. Of all of those Kelowna was the most convenient as it was a one hour drive from airport to waterfront Penticton. The drive from Seattle is longer mileage wise then Spokane, but time wise they are about the same drive. I am going back again this year and if I don’t fly into Kelowna, I’ll fly into Seattle. Spokane to penticton is two lane highway the whole way.
Car rentals, if the company you are looking at wants to charge mileage to drive into Canada, find someone else because most rental companies don’t charge mileage, at least none that I have ever dealt with and I’ve had to rent a car every time.

The bike shipping can be a bit of a hassle. I have never shipped my bike straight to IMC before but have heard horror stories about shipping across the border and dealing with customs. No first hand experience though as I have always flown with my bike. This year we are using bike transport and not worrying about it.

For accomodations, there are plenty of motels along main street that will have availability. Pretty much everythiong along the lakefront sells out the day after the race for the next year. You can always luck out and pick up a last minute cancellation as those do happen too. I wouldn’t stay at Apex. Even though that area is awesome, it’s too far from everything and for IMC you want to be close, at least within a couple of miles.
Something you might want to consider is renting a room from a local. Three of my trips I have either rented a room, rented part of a house or rented a whole house with others. This year we are returning to the same house where we rented last year as we had great hosts (thanks Brad!!)

14

Just wanted to quickly clarify the shipping issue. We would love to be able to take international shipments during IMC. But, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency seems to think we would like to sell any bikes internationally sent to the store. So we then get billed for the GST (5% tax) on that value of the bike, a brokerage charge, and duty (if the bike is manufactured outside the US). That is why we ask athletes to ship their bikes to the hotel where they are staying. Once in Penticton if an athlete can’t get the bike to us, we will find a way to get it to the store. We also offer to service the bicycle within 24 hours. Hope the info helps.

Will Pratt
The Bike Barn

15

D’oh! A victim of my own lack of clarity! : )

Ager’s - $$$

Pro/college kid/proove to me that you’re down on your luck - free stay at casa SHB !

16

I would agree, fly into Kelowna, did it twice, it is so easy and conveinent. If you want you can take a shuttle about $85 round trip, as of a few years ago. Then you do not need a rental car. Save yourself the hassle of a 6 hour drive and car rental, gas etc.
S

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But, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency seems to think we would like to sell any bikes internationally sent to the store.

Will,

They like to call the Canada/US boarder the longest undefended boarder in the world and to a certain degree it is. Well it is until you try and ship something across that boarder - north bound or south bound. Then it becomes as challenging as trying to get gold out of Fort Knox!! Both US Customs and Canadian Customs will do their best to make it as challenging as possible.

18

Where can I find info about the shuttle from Kelowna to Penticton?
Any problem if you have your bike box with you?

19

Mister bike barns, i recently heard there is a dog on your pay roll at The bike barns… is it still the case?

oh, i m rebuilding my bike here in new mexico and a small problem occur… my head set felt off to the ground and i cant find all the part anymore…can you help me???

20

Try Ambrosia tours

www.ambrosiatours.ca

They are a Penticon company that runs shuttles between the Kelowna airport and Penticton. Not sure about their costs or bike policy but I have always found them easy to work with.

Will