Sun Country Cycle has opened its new store at 16500 Kalamalka Road  next to Coldstream Station. (Photo credit: Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce)

By Kevin Rothwell

Coldstream Station

Cycle shop pedals its wares at new location

Jan 23, 2023 | 5:00 AM

Greater Vernon’s legacy bike shop is on the move, but it is just down the road from its old location.

Sun Country Cycle’s roots in Vernon go back as early as 1944 when it started as Vernon Lock and Cycle.

The Kalamalka Lake Road location in the Blue Horizon Centre opened its doors in 1984, and the current owner, Ricardo Smith, bought the business in 2012.

Last year, an opportunity to move to the new “Coldstream Station” at the start of the Okanagan Rail Trail was taken and construction on a new larger purpose-built shop at 16500 Kalamalka Road began.

Unlike the previous location, the 5,300 square foot building with a mezzanine was purpose-built as a bicycle shop by Winn and Sons Construction.

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Inside the new Sun Country Cycle (Photo credit: Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce)

“It makes it a much nicer place to work and shop, it is just a better experience for everybody that comes into the building,” owner Ricardo Smith told Vernon Matters.

The staff compliment ranges from 10 to 18 people, depending on the season.

The new location is also closer to two major cycling attractions.

“Obviously, there is a lot of mountain biking that happens in Kal Park, we were already on that corridor and now we are a little bit closer,” Smith said. “We are also basically at the head of the rail trail which is nice, and at the entrance to Coldstream and all the Coldstream Station stuff.”

The area has steadily added new tourism-related attractions near Kal Beach and the Okanagan Rail Trail.

“We are happy to be part of the community down here and building off the success of Kalavida [Surf Shop] has had over the years transforming Kal Store and what that has done to this end of town and we are hoping to build on that,” Smith added.

The business carries a variety of bikes, accessories and cross country ski gear, but at the moment, it doesn’t plan to expand its offerings.

“We have a pretty focused product line and we believe, for this market right now, there are no changes coming down the pipe as far as I’m concerned,” Smith noted.

For more information about Sun Country Cycle visit them online.