Just FYI - Bicycle Club of Irvine each year hosts training rides to prepare for Ride Around the Bear. If you want more information go to bikeirvine.org and see "Calendar of Events". All the bear rides are listed. The training actually started in January so I am (sorry!) posting this alittle late. The next training ride is March 5 and everyone is invited to join. From the website:

Our Bear Training rides help you train for the Ride Around the Bear Century, hosted by the Orange County Wheelmen.

There are ten scheduled Bear Training rides, which increase in climbing and distance over the six months. Interspersed with the regular Sunday rides, these periodic remote rides such as Angeles Crest, Palos Verdes, and Graduation Day (to Mount Palomar) are a real challenge! The distances begin in the high 30-mile range and progress to 40 miles quickly. More attention is paid to the amount of climb, so the first ride has about 2400 ft. of total climb.

Please join us. It’s a great way to build endurance, even if you don’t plan to participate in the Ride Around the Bear. We recommend that you ride at your own pace. Don’t try to keep up with faster riders or slow down for slower ones.

The 2009 Ride Around the Bear is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, and begins in the city of Redlands, at the base of the San Bernadino Mountains. It climbs up Rte. 330 to Big Bear Lake and from there up to Onyx Summit, at an altitude of 8,400 ft. The descent is down Rte. 18 and back to Redlands. The total climb is approximately 9,500 ft.

Edit: the ride is actually Saturday, June 13...per the OCW site.

Yeah, but if you go on the 6th, it'll be a lot less crowded.

Training rides are a great idea. How often are people working on climbing?

Thanks Pam,

I was looking for some training partners. I'm gonna check it out. I registered this morning. The Bear is my ride goal this year. I realized that if I didn't have a ride goal in mind, I only half-@ss train. It only took me 3 years to figure this out.

Well, if it really is June 13th, I can ride it AND the Eastern Sierra Double, since there won't be at date conflict! That's great news, I will register for The Bear too.

Re: BCI training rides, the only one I've ever done was Palomar, but that was excellent!

Rick / OCRR

Okay, I'm in, confirmed! See you in Redlands and on top of Onyx Summit!

Yeow Rick,

I don't have anything as nearly that ambitious planned. I want to do the Palomar one too. Is it more difficult than the bear?

FYI, There’s another small group with OCW that also trains for the Bear which also welcomes anyone interested; you don’t need to be a member to participate.
It is lead by Mrs Kashima and has a start at 7:30am at Northpark Plaza on the corner of Culver and Irvine Blvd. You can find more info on their web site.

Maybe less cyclists but a lot more hd bikers. Last year the OCW and Big Bear Choppers events were held the same day. May be the reason why Around The Bear was pushed back a week for '09.

No, Palomar is easier than The Bear, but it's lots shorter too. Still, a long climb that will definitely get your attention, and a good training ride, but no, not as difficult overall.

Now, on the other side of the coin, there are parts of Palomar that are steeper than anything you'll encounter on The Bear, but that's another reason it's a good training ride.

I would also recommend Gledora Mountain Road to Glendora Ridge Road to Mt. Baldy Village as a good Bear training ride. Again, not as long (44 miles out and back), but more similar gradiant (mostly 5 and 6%).

Rick / OCRR

The BCI rides are quite popular - lots of people do it. All levels too so you should find someone to ride with. I actually did them just to improve my climbing skills. I was slow but definitely was stronger after I did them all. All the information is on the BCI website including the ride descriptions.

Excellent news. That was pretty bad, and I'm glad to know that we can expect a bit less traffic. The only accident I saw all day was a female motorcyclist who went down. Unless, of course, you count my falling over on the way up to the Onyx summit.

Hmmm, let's see.... Training for a 100-mile-9K-feet-of-climbing ride by doing 10-12 rides in 5 months that average just over 50 miles in distance and 3,500 feet of climbing? This sounds like training for a boxing heavyweight match by fighting guys lighter than 130 lbs. Sorry, but except for the Palomar and the Angelest Crest rides, the rest won't help me much to prepare for the Bear.
Hey Mr. Beanz, would you disclose your secret training program and organise some more adequate training rides like GMR, Forest Falls and, well... Palomar?

Looks like they get up to 6350 ft of gain on the last ride. I guess it would depend on what your goal is. If it is just to finish the ride, those training rides might be sufficient. If your goal is to do well and post a good time, it falls short. Of course, I'm one of those people that likes to train harder than the actual event or race.

Palomar is a GREAT place to gets climbs ins. My simple out and back Pie ride is good training, about 70 miles and 7500ft of climbing.
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...-Back-Pie-Ride


If you're feeling hardcore and want the latter options, then it's about 93 miles and 11k ft of climbing and yah you still get PIE
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...th-all-options

(all start at Harrah's Casino)

Training? Only training I'm doing is playing with the grandson and his Choo-Choo!

Don't fall for that one Jimmy! I know Beanz has his secret "Hammer SART Bear Training" rides going on .

Rick / OCRR

It is assumed that you will be doing some riding other than the training rides! If one relied only on these rides than yes training would be lacking!

I did them all and was able to post a respectful time when I did the Bear. I wasn't doing it to race but I felt good and it was easy for me. I did supplement my training with long distance rides and additional climbing. The nice thing about the Bear Routes are it gives one a chance to see what real climbing is about. I have used all the hills surrounding Turtle Rock (love Summit park!) and Newport Coast as a nice way to supplement other training for climbs.

The Bear Training rides are probably best suited to first time Bear riders or people who ride alot but want a nice social way to get into shape for the climbing.

This sounds like me. I've done AC, but haven't done GMR. I'll do it with the Grand Tour training. I haven't been that far south (Irvine) with my bike yet. Anything social sounds fun to me.

My opinion? I knew you would ask!..........If you can do GMR, you can do the Bear!

The Bear feels like GMR IMO. Only you need to relax and realize it eases up after the second rest stop. Then a little struggle up Ony but not to tough. When I did my best on the Bear (7:40), I didn't do any climbs longer than GMR to the village and back. Just added a little more intensity.

Hmmm, I think Rick said that too. As a female, I don't want to do GMR by myself. Yes I'm wimpy. I don't need people to ride along with me, but I'd like a meet up point down the road. I just don't want to be by myself if something happens. LA Wheelmen is doing a Mt. Baldy Village training April 18th. I plan to check it out with them. They start in Azuza, though.

I've never felt unsafe on GMR and I train out there alone all the time.

I know you're right. But in my kookoo mind I think there's some guy named Chester in a serial killer van trolling for women. The truth is I shouldn't blame it on my femaleness, but on my unfamiliarity with that area. I been up AC by myself and all the hills in Solvang alone, cuz AC is practically in my backyard and I'm from the Santa Ynez valley. I don't know anything east of Pasadena. Ohm I'm lying. I know where Din Tai Fung is in Arcadia.

What is your schedule like? I need to start getting out there more often. Thanks to my recent unemployment status, I am planning to go out Thursday morning.

Brandy is right, I've seen her on GMR several times and no guy named Chester was following her (at least not in a Serial Killer Van). So I agree with everyone above, no worries.

Well, there was the time my friend Roseanne was on GMR by herself and she was confronted by a bear, but that's not likely to happen (I've ridden up there 50+ times and I've only seen a bear once).

Plus, Roseanne could ride faster than the bear could run (not that bears are slow), so she escaped with nothing bad happening and a great story to tell.

Rick / OCRR

Yeah Rick, you and I know Mr. Beanz. I think he is writing a book - "How to lose 27 lbs the easy way - no dieting, no exercising, just playing with your grandson and his choo-choo".

I used to consider myself one of those people too. I used to train for my metric centuries by going on a few 110-120 km training rides. Then the 100 km look a lot easier. Unfortunately, this method is not feasible for me when you talk miles. But at least I'll try to do something more than half the distance and one-third the climbing.

Whatever, the way things are looking right now, I might not be able to do the Bear this year.