After almost 40 years of inspiring riders at a shop just down the road, Sun Country Cycle has hit a new trail, this time only a short ride from the heart of North Okanagan cycling country.
Located at the north end of the North Okanagan Rail Trail on Kalamalka Road, owner Ricardo Smith says Sun Country Cycle’s new location will help them better serve the local cycling community.
“We wanted to have something that was bigger than Sun Country Cycle. The bike business was on an upswing and then the pandemic just poured fuel on the fire. Now at our new shop, we’re coming out of the frenzy and returning to normal stock levels,” said Smith. “Here, in our new location, we’ll be able to be a bigger part of the community.”
Designed by Jay Gillman of BlueCrow Architecture and constructed by Winn and Sons and a team of local tradespeople, the new building draws its inspiration from a vintage bicycle frame, train station and classic barn and bears Sun Country Cycle’s new logo—an iconic ponderosa pinecone blended with a mountain bike’s tire tread—created by local graphic designer Sean McConkey and installed by SpeedPro Signs in Vernon.
The shop first opened its doors under the Sun Country Cycle banner in 1984 on the belief that getting people onto bikes and into the outdoors improves lives and makes the world a better place. The shop thrived in its original location for 39 years before moving to the new store in January.
“It’s important to us that we’re a positive member of the community as a whole and also the local cycling community,” said Smith, who purchased the business in 2012. “There are local aspects to this new building and design that everyone can relate to, and this is going to be a much nicer place for people to work and shop.”
Inside the new building, bicycles and cycling apparel line the walls of the bright and inviting space. With everything from kids’ run bicycles to high-end mountain bikes, road bikes, e-bikes and even cross-country skis from great brands like Rossignol and Atomic, the new building is a representation of Sun Country Cycle and its role in getting people on bikes and outdoors.
“We wanted a building and a space that we felt better reflected who we are and who we want to be as a shop that inspires riders,” says Todd Byle, store manager. “The biggest compliment we’ve received about the place is that it’s welcoming—it’s inviting.”
Connected to the parking lot of Coldstream Station, an underway project that will provide washroom facilities and parking for users of the Okanagan Rail Trail, Sun Country Cycle added a water bottle fill station in the entrance and will be able to help service both recreational riders and mountain bikers visiting Kalamalka Provincial Park.
They had the building. Next, they needed a logo that evoked the emotions and freedom of cycling and Sun Country Cycle’s connection to the outdoors.
Working with local graphic designer Sean McConkey, Sun Country focused on the ponderosa trees spread throughout Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park - the main mountain biking area in town.
“The pinecones are all over the trails. You see them when you ride bikes, and if you’re hiking, you might kick one out of the way,” said Smith. “We were looking at the logo on a rendering of the building, and when we put this one up there, we were like, that’s it. That’s the one.”
As the first thing people see when entering Coldstream on their way to Kalamalka Lake, the team is passionate about creating an environment that fits the community and the landscape.
“We’d like to see a Friday night market with vendors and food trucks in the parking lot. It all goes back to creating a place, a scene, an environment that people want to be a part of. We want to see people from Vernon riding their bicycles to a new Friday night market and buying things, stopping at the Rail Trail Café for ice cream and going to the beach. This could be a place where the community is alive and vibrant,” said Smith.
“We want this to be an area in town that people want to visit.”
Sun Country Cycle is now open at 16500 Kalamalka Rd., in Coldstream. For more information and hours, visit suncountrycycle.com.
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