Southern California - Well C'Mon, any Bear Reports or Unoffici Times?

Speak up!:D

OK, fine. :)

Short version:

Wonderful weather, cool with a bit of heat later in the day. Wind was not a problem. Support was excellent, friendly people, and nice meeting/speaking with the few people I met/spoke to. Saw RickOCRR, then he took off with the fast guys. The climbing rides are hard to socialize on, for me, at least. Too much heavy breathing... :D


Thanks for encouraging us, and you were right. It's different than BA. Love the route- very different comig up the back side to Onyx, but still got the fantastic downhill. wheeee!

Got into a bit of a paceline at the end, coming into Redlands at 30-35mph was also fun. Plus, lots of very nice women riding today, an added bonus. ;)

My computer is a little off the official mark:

102.8 miles
7 hr. 33 min. ride time
8hr. 35 min. total time
13.6 average mph
Max speed 47mph :D :D

A better story: average heart rate = 147, max was 173. :eek:

Cool, thanks D! Tolt you it was a nice ride. I'm really shocked that more of the BF'ers don't do this one! I'd rather do this one than any of the others, inlcuding BA, Amtrak, CoolB, Solvang etc.

Not a bad overall time for the first time. First times are for feeling the course. My first was 8:40, next year was 7:40. Easier to plan when you know you wont' be fainting on the ride!:D

Good job! I rode local today and the weather was nice. I was thinking of the Bear riders and how lucky you were today!. Last couple of times I did it, drizzle!:(...Well, till you got above the clouds!:D

What did you think of the Onyx climb? Many say it's the toughest part. I didn't think so. The section from the bottom of the mtn to the first sag stop is always the toughest for me. Maybe cause I'm a slow starter!:D

Total Time - 9:01:45
Moving Time - 7:43:29
Distance (mi) - 101.42
Moving Speed - 13.1
Max - 47.2
Max Elevation - 8,434 (what's 9ft)
Elevation gain - 10,226

Summary - Great experience for a first century. Smile on my face from the start, great support, even greater rest/feed stops (experienced all 5! (see above total time)...but missed the soup) and many many very good people. Any downsides? Not really. Traffic was a little heavy but can speculate it was secondary to the great weather (and the Big Bear Chopper event...whatever, the vast majority were cool).
Looking forward to next year.

Hey Everyone
The Bear was totally awesome this year. Our total time was 6 hours flat, I didn't reach my goal if a sub six hour ride but I am a happy camper...

Total Time - 9:01:45
Moving Time - 7:43:29
Distance (mi) - 101.42
Moving Speed - 13.1
Max - 47.2
Max Elevation - 8,434 (what's 9ft)
Elevation gain - 10,226

Summary - Great experience for a first century. Smile on my face from the start, great support, even greater rest/feed stops (experienced all 5! (see above total time)...but missed the soup) and many many very good people. Any downsides? Not really. Traffic was a little heavy but can speculate it was secondary to the great weather (and the Big Bear Chopper event...whatever, the vast majority were cool).
Looking forward to next year.

That's great for a first century, but uhhh...................are you crazy? First century?:D....Good ride time
but like me, those rest stops are just too much!;)

Hey Everyone
The Bear was totally awesome this year. Our total time was 6 hours flat, I didn't reach my goal if a sub six hour ride but I am a happy camper...


6 hours total time? Dude, you're fast! I was thinking about challenging you to a race for pinks, but forgetaboutit!:roflmao2:

7:40 total, 7:05 moving, which is an hour total and 35 minutes moving less than last year - I'm pretty happy with it.

... Wind was not a problem.

You must've started much earlier than me. We had a nasty headwind all the way up to Onyx Summit, then the same headwind on the way down. (top speeds were 10 mph lower than last year on the big descents)

As for the toughest part - I think it's the climbing AFTER onyx summit - because I've used all my energy before then.

7:40 total, 7:05 moving, which is an hour total and 35 minutes moving less than last year - I'm pretty happy with it.
As for the toughest part - I think it's the climbing AFTER onyx summit - because I've used all my energy before then.


Hey, same time as my ride in 04!:D But Onyx was muggy and started to drizzle halfway up!:twitchy:

Goodjob!:D

Checkpoint #1 at 24.1 miles, 1/4 of the ride done!
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1194.jpg
Checkpoint #2 at mile 34.5, Snow Valley
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1196.jpg
Checkpoint #4 at Onyx Summit, 61.7 miles and most of the climbing done
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1201.jpg
Onyx Summit, more riders coming over the top!
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1204.jpg
The view from Checkpoint #1
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1193.jpg

Lovely day for a bike ride! I think my time overall was 7:13, if I understood the computer's "voice" correctly. Looking at my bike computer, it seems doubtful. Maybe 7:31? I dunno, have to wait and see when the results are posted. 7:13 is correct!

Other stats:
Total miles: 100.9
Ride time: 6:42:01
Total time: 7:13:42
Average: 15 mph
Max: 54.2

Great organization by OCW, very friendly and helpful checkpoint folks, and no problems. I felt great and the bike worked perfectly.

Saw Lee (scvroadie), Maria, Dave Scott, Arthur Shapiro, Roseanne, Linda (2, really, caligurl and Linda Adams), Andrew, my wife Jackie (her first Bear in 10 years!), Fast Larry Carter, SirLanceImNot (Chris),
Bob (OCRR) and others who I can't remember now, but will edit to add when I think of them!

The only mssing rider I noted was Mr. Beanz. I thought the Beanz always rode the Bear. If he was there, I didn't see him. Maybe he was just going so fast . . .

Rick / OCRR

Nope. no Mr Beanz. I've sucked for the last 3 years as far as climbing. I won't do it again till I get back into climbing form.:p...Well gas is killing the flat trail rides so maybe I'll be ready sooner than expected.:D

Gina played mtn goat the last couple of days too! Well, hill goat!:p

Wow, the results are in!:eek:....John, you are one fast hombre! My hat is off! Good job RickY Boy. Next time I do it, 7:15 will be my target, so I'll give you 2 minutes, what the heck!:D...Still got my 7:40 record I need to break!:D

And Jackie? Great job!!!!!


http://www.ocw.org/bear/Bear2008/2008BearET_r.asp

Correction on my time....It was a 6 hours 1 minute 36 seconds. We waited at the second rest stop for a slower rider. He blew by the stop not seeing us. After 15 minutes of waiting I called him on my cell, He was five miles up the road. I was pissed, We are very competitive and I feel this was his plan of beating my time. I hammered and caught him past the lake. He had stopped and filled his bottles at rest stop 3, I opted not to stop. I passed him at the base of Onyx and put a few minutes on him. The problem was my bottles were empty, I had to stop at the top of Onyx and refill. He didn't stop, I had to chase him again and caught him on the short climb and passed him again. After reaching the top of that climb I looked back and no sign of him. I hamered down the hill pushing the bike and myself as hard I could. Because of a neck condition I have, I cannot stay in the drops for a long period of time. When I rounded the right hand corner onto the last long streach back to Redlands, I looked back and still no sign of him. After about 5 miles he blew past me behind another rider who helped him catch me. F%^K !!! I was able to get behind him and the other rider, we worked together all the way back to the finish. My goal was to beat 6 hours, I missed that by 1 minute and 37 seconds. So close but so far away. If not for his antics I would of acheaved my goal.....Just Wait Until next year...Fool Me Once......Shame on you. Fool me twice, Shame on me....It's not going to happen again.... Take no prisoners... Take no ****

Correction on my time....It was a 6 hours 1 minute 36 seconds. We waited at the second rest stop for a slower rider. He blew by the stop not seeing us. After 15 minutes of waiting I called him on my cell, He was five miles up the road. I was pissed, We are very competitive and I feel this was his plan of beating my time. I hammered and caught him past the lake. He had stopped and filled his bottles at rest stop 3, I opted not to stop. I passed him at the base of Onyx and put a few minutes on him. The problem was my bottles were empty, I had to stop at the top of Onyx and refill. He didn't stop, I had to chase him again and caught him on the short climb and passed him again. After reaching the top of that climb I looked back and no sign of him. I hamered down the hill pushing the bike and myself as hard I could. Because of a neck condition I have, I cannot stay in the drops for a long period of time. When I rounded the right hand corner onto the last long streach back to Redlands, I looked back and still no sign of him. After about 5 miles he blew past me behind another rider who helped him catch me. F%^K !!! I was able to get behind him and the other rider, we worked together all the way back to the finish. My goal was to beat 6 hours, I missed that by 1 minute and 37 seconds. So close but so far away. If not for his antics I would of acheaved my goal.....Just Wait Until next year...Fool Me Once......Shame on you. Fool me twice, Shame on me....It's not going to happen again.... Take no prisoners... Take no ****

Damn!! How did that happen, It posted twice...OOPs

Great story John! It's ok to be competitive though most won't admit it. Remeinds me of a friend of ours. We did a centuryon our tandem, he drafted us 70 miles till we hit the climb on Cojalco (Corona). He dropped us on the 3 mile climb like we expected (150 lb rider and we're big!:D). Thought he would wait at teh top but kept going, no problem. We were gaining on him on the flats. We stopped for every red light but he blew thru them. I couldn't figure it out but found out later he had bet money with people at my wife's work that he would beat us on the century! We had no idea!:eek:

The next year we signed up again. He invited his wife to wait at the finish line this time. I suspected something this time. I did the ride onmy single when he thought we would be on the tandem.:p.. I made him do his share the first 70 miles. Right before th climb he mentioned that he was feeling weak so that's when I dropped the hammer.:D

I finished my lunch before he got back while trying to help his wife figure out where he was. I dunno, he said he was tired, he was too slow so I had to leave him!:D.....He had his tail between his legs when he arrived! Payback is a ,....well you know!:D

It was a great, great ride. I met some great people and had a lot of fun.

Total Time: 7:26
Ride Time: 6.32
Average Speed: 15.5
Max Speed: 45.6

The only thing that sucks is that I lost my camera because I'm stupid. So if anyone picked up an Olympus FE-230 out of a tree on University Dr. I sure would appreciate getting it back.

I usually start late, so I end up finishing with the riders that spend forever at the rest stops. It's kind of funny to see their reactions when the computer announces my time - 1 1/2 hours less than them.

7:40 total, 7:05 moving, which is an hour total and 35 minutes moving less than last year - I'm pretty happy with it.


Nice time!


You must've started much earlier than me. We had a nasty headwind all the way up to Onyx Summit, then the same headwind on the way down. (top speeds were 10 mph lower than last year on the big descents)



Yeah, i started at 5:55am. Wind didn't seem to be a problem on the descents after Onyx- at least as far as i could tell. Coming down from the last rest stop at Angelus Oaks was good, too for some reason. I worked with a couple people the last ten miles or so into Redlands, moving between 30-35, depending. That was awesome!


As for the toughest part - I think it's the climbing AFTER onyx summit - because I've used all my energy before then.

I am so with you on that! It's a cruel joke to put a mile long climb in the middle of that wonderful stretch of fast downhills.

At thet base of that climb, there was a woman motorcyclist who had just gone down. There were emergency vehicles all over the place, and car traffic was almost completely blocked at the scene. What a mess.

It was a great, great ride. I met some great people and had a lot of fun.

Total Time: 7:26
Ride Time: 6.32
Average Speed: 15.5
Max Speed: 45.6

The only thing that sucks is that I lost my camera because I'm stupid. So if anyone picked up an Olympus FE-230 out of a tree on University Dr. I sure would appreciate getting it back.

Sorry about the camera, that really sucks!


Nice riding time! Did you know you're not listed on the results page? Did they screw it up?

No, I was a late entry. I rode for Matthew Floyd. If you look up Matthew Floyd you'll find my time.

It really does suck about the Camera. It was a gift from a close friend. I had some great shots for my blog as well.

I'm not finding no Floyd:(

Ironically, in the time we've had this discussion they have changed it. I'm now in there.

Corey Keizer 7:26:53

in the Mens 30-39 division.

Glad they got that straightened out. Boy, I'm impressed with their organization!


Overall, I'd give this ride two thumbs up!


BTW, Corey, did you see your pics? They're in here somewhere...

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=3852295

in the Mens 30-39 division.

Ah, the youngster division!:D

Ah, the youngster division!:D

Yeah, I finished 13th in the kinda-old guy division (50 - 59). If they'd had the break at 55, I'd have finished 2nd (I'm 58 but they have me listed as 57)! Drat; beaten by the youngsters again!

Rick / OCRR

Yeah, I finished 13th in the kinda-old guy division (50 - 59). If they'd had the break at 55, I'd have finished 2nd (I'm 58 but they have me listed as 57)! Drat; beaten by the youngsters again!
Rick / OCRR

I still say they should have a 45 y/o 220 lb weight division. I'd do 10th worst case!:D

Now that the Bear is behind me, I am setting my sights on the Everest Challenge Road race. You Guys should think about doing this. If you love climbing this is the ride for you.http://www.everestchallenge.com/EverestChallengeBible.htm