Big Bear Blog

A coalition of outdoor adventure events have joined forces and launched www.openairbigbear.com. It’s a website dedicated to everything outdoors. The new movement is great for those into adventure sports, because it’s going to be easier to keep up with what’s going on in Big Bear, especially with outdoor sports.

We have a bunch of super fun events for outdoor enthusiasts on the mountain this year, Snowshoe the Bear; Paddlefest; six mountain bike races produced by Team BigBear; the Big Bear Marathon and California Multisport race. There is also an overall category for those who want to “Conquer the Bear” in an attempt to wear the crown of king or queen of “Altitude”. 

As the year goes on we will have updates, stories and photos so you can keep track of the exciting action and check on any family or friends who participate. Get your gear ready, pack the camera and I’ll see you at the finish line.

Spreading the love and the word, Rev

Our recent snow put up a tough fight and stuck around for a couple of days before the sun got the better of our north-facing slopes. Mother Nature has teased us over the last couple of weeks but it is still undeniably the ‘Off Season.’ That’s okay. This reprieve gives me an additional week or two to get into ski shape for opening day. I decided to take advantage of our extended season with a lap around the Lake on my road bike. It was a chill ride of rolling hills, beautiful fall scenery, hardly any traffic and just one other rider seeking the solitude of the road.

I paused to hydrate at Boulder Bay – the water’s surface was flat and reflective in the protected cove. Beyond the Bay, white caps peaked in the open water providing a nice backdrop to the rocky outcropping. It was spectacular – just me and a lone fisherman taking in the post-weekend quiet. A hint of wind at my back fueled an anaerobic climb from the trail head of Castle Rock to the crest where once again the Lake came back into view. I sailed down to the dam stopping to check out the steady gusts blowing out of the east. I welcomed the head wind as I rode along the South Shore towards Fawnskin. Windy Point added a nice resistance segment to my ride and tested my mental conditioning for staying focused and not giving up any cadence. A peaceful ride – it gave me time to think about how demanding it is to ski all day and how best to boost my fitness during this brief intermission before the snow flies. I came up with a few preseason training ideas.

While cardio conditioning provides the endurance to spend most of the time on the slopes, skiing and snowboarding tends to be more anaerobic: Awesome bursts of energy separated by a brief rest on the chair as you circle back to the top. When you break it down – riding requires great balance, endurance, and strength, and the best workout bet is one that mimics the movement patterns of skiing or snowboarding. I use the bike to relate to staying in position on my boards: It strengthens my quads and engages my core similarly to when I am descending the mogul field on Olympic. Inline skating translates to great independent foot action and simulates edging turns on Geronimo’s steeper face. For strength training I am focusing on my lower back and hamstrings to counter the tug of my quads. This stability helps keep my center of gravity in my hips. For balance, flexibility and coordination I like to hit a yoga class twice a week.

I’m staying positive in this short-lived ‘Off-Season’ and looking forward to hitting it hard on day one!

Earning my turns – Glade Girl

My friends Josh and Julie came up from Running Springs to get out of the house and hit the trails in Big Bear. Josh is a tri-athlete and wanted to go for a mountain training run, while Julie wanted to try out the 1E01 single track on her mountain bike. 

I just love showing off the local trails, so we met at the trail head and up and away we went. It was fun watching the dynamics of runner/rider sharing the trail and at least on the way up sharing a similar pace. As we snaked our way along the rocky path I noticed the rhythmic pounding of Josh’s feet and the constant crunching sound of our knobby tires mixing in with huffing and puffing from us all.

It’s a good grunt of a climb that crests at the intersection of the 2N08 and when you pop out on to the dirt road you find yourself surrounded by a lush green forest garden.

As long as I’ve been hiking and riding here I still love taking my friends to trails that make them stop and smile, and that’s exactly what Josh and Julie did when they reached the intersection. After snapping a few pictures, we headed back down for some post-adventure lunch and small talk. They both agreed that it doesn’t matter if you run or ride, just as long as there is phenomenal terrain and scenic views. Let’s face it, its fun to share the trails.

spreading the love, rev

You never forget your first time and this weekend we get to share a first time experience with thousands of others. The inaugural Big Bear Marathon is finally here this Saturday September 6th and we are excited to have athletes from all over the country coming up for our event. We should have perfect weather conditions for our participants as they make their way around Big Bear Lake on the 26.2 mile course.

Our Bike Tour is not timed so riders can pedal easy and enjoy a beautiful morning cruise as they watch the sun rise over the lake. Runners will be challenged and entertained by our mountain top marathon route because of its diversity and complexity.

Racers and riders will start at 6,750’ in the Village. From there they will instantly climb up Red Ant Hill before heading off to the serpentine stretch of highway that leads you to Big Bear Dam.

After crossing the dam participants will be on the quiet north shore side of the lake where they will be treated to spectacular views of the Big Bear Lake, the Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski resorts and Mt. San Gorgonio. When participants reach the east end of the lake they will be lead into the Moonridge area of Big Bear Lake. This requires more climbing. Runners will pass by the Bear Mountain Golf Course and Moonridge Zoo before descending back down into town and the exciting finish in the Village.

It’s going to be some party and we hope that you won’t miss it. Come say hi; share a first with all of us on the mountain. You never forget your first time.

spreading the love, rev

Big Bear Lake and the surrounding mountains provide so many recreational options. You can choose water sports with gas powered toys like jet skis or motor boats, or you can explore our incredible network of trails via dirt bikes or 4×4 vehicles. As fun as all that sounds my friends I prefer to enjoy Big Bear’s beautiful playground under HUMAN POWER.

When my family and friends come up to visit it’s not to relax, we all want to be outside as much as possible and we’re always on the go. Whether it’s hiking or trail running, road or mountain biking, kayaking or canoeing we choose to be the engines that drive the machines. Gas prices are not a concern. We only worry about the price of pasta and energy bars! And why not try the same philosophy all week? Just a couple days ago I went for an early morning road ride around the lake, when I got home my girlfriend wanted to go for a hike and then after our hike we rode our cruisers around town to run errands. With all the new bike routes around town and the “share the road” signs placed around the lake, it’s much better to get where you need to go up here and much safer too. If you haven’t already noticed our little community is very human power friendly and it’s way more fun to get around by bike that it is by car. Come on up for a visit and when you get here try to spend one entire day having human powered fun.

Spreading the love and spreading the fun, rev  

Wow! The community of Big Bear gave an epic send off ceremony last night at Big Bear Middle School for Ryan Hall, Big Bear’s hometown hero. Ryan is an Olympic marathon runner born and raised right here in Big Bear Lake.

He is a favorite to win a medal in the 26.2 mile race that has become the pinnacle event for all who love to run. It was amazing to see the huge crowd of locals turn out to wish him well, including hundreds of school kids who showed up with their bright red “Run Ryan Run” hats on, which symbolizes our community spirit and support for Ryan Hall.

I applaud the Light house Project for putting together such a well organized send-off event. The Lighthouse Project is a organization that has one goal, to create child honoring communities. The Lighthouse Project began the “Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall” program to show Ryan support by having people log miles from walking, running, biking, paddling or anything human powered.

It’s been an amazing thing to see all the red hats all over town, and watch the miles grow on the website. It was even more thrilling to watch them unveil a huge banner for Ryan showing how many miles have already been logged. The goal was not only accomplished, but exceeded before the due date with 1,203,000 miles. Ryan was absolutely moved by all the support and love shown by his hometown crowd and was completely blown away when he saw that they’ve already exceeded the original “million” mark, and the miles keep on climbing. Be sure to watch for Ryan’s race on August 23 U.S.A. time, and if you’re a runner come on up and see where Ryan Hall trains and don’t forget to cheer for our very special hometown Olympic hero!

spreading the love, rev

I am convinced after attending the inaugural Cal Multi Sports event on July 27 that Big Bear continues to excel to higher levels of athletic prowess and intensity. As a spectator I witnessed genuine competition, courageousness, sportsmanship, encouragement, passion and good vibes all around.

There were about 55 participants who took the extreme racing challenge. Each athlete ran for six miles on trails, rode a mountain bike for another 15 miles and paddled into wicked winds for four more miles to finish the race. One thing for certain is it didn’t seem to matter what place the competitors came in, because each one crossed the finish line with a smile. See photo gallery of event.

I saw sweat pour from headbands, I heard the crunch of blisters pop inside shoes and watched blood ooze from scrapes. The athletes battled high altitude, dehydration and fatigue, but each one who entered the race finished with pride and dignity.

One thing I discovered about this intense athletic contest is it takes sheer grit, desire and determination to finish the battle of these adventure style races.  This is the year of the Olympics and it looks as if Big Bear has Olympics fever!   

I was surprised to find many of the participants were from other states or other countries, too. In fact the big winner in the men’s competition was Eric “Sully” Sullivan from Crested Butte, Colo. This guy was an absolute bull. He came charging and never let up. He was followed by one of Big Bear’s very own intensified Teddy D. who had a good race, but just couldn’t catch the raging bull. I give Ted credit for working it hard on the last leg of the kayak portion where he gained about six minutes on Sully. Third place went to the Marcello Magnanini from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Magnanini.

Interestingly enough Magnanini’s girlfriend, Manu Villaseca from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil took the top prize in the women’s event. Heather D. from Big Bear took second and Tiffany Meyers of Redondo Beach was third. See complete results.
Daniel Pea

Big Bear is a mecca for inspiration. It is a place that promotes community and good health. It is a land of opportunity to explore and discover the beauty of nature and the inner thrust of mankind’s spirit. Big Bear is where dreams begin and continue to thrive. I rediscovered this about Big Bear last Saturday when I joined a group hike at Cougar Crest Trail. The purpose of the climb was to conquer the first of seven summits in and around Big Bear Valley.

On this day Bertha Peak was our destination, which sits at 8,201’. I now have one summit under my belt and six to go.

The inspiration for the hike is to “Move a Million Miles for Ryan” for Big Bear’s hometown hero Ryan Hall, who is favored to win a medal in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics. The “Move A Million Miles for Ryan” campaign is a community spirit initiative sponsored by The Lighthouse Project, which is dedicated to creating a child honoring community in Big Bear. Saturday’s group hike proved that the community of Big Bear has sheer determination to “Move a Million Miles for Ryan.”

I am proud to be one of the participants as a moral booster for America’s very own Olympic medal hopeful. It’s quite easy, too. All one has to do is log his or her miles each week from hiking, jogging, walking, mountain biking or any other form of exercise that calculates mileage without using a motorized vehicle. This week I logged 11.5 miles. I hope to double that his week and continue to contribute each week until the Olympics.

I feel like I have become part of a team that is spiritually connected to help Ryan Hall succeed at this year’s Olympics. It is like a pep rally from another world that is developing into mass energy propelled by the human spirit. As more and more participants join the “Move A Million Miles for Ryan” campaign the orb of human energy will even grow stronger.

I tip my hat to the folks at BigBearOutdoorActivities.com for organizing a successful turnout to the first “Seven Summits of Big Bear” group hike. I was absolutely stunned when I showed up to the Cougar Crest Trail parking lot to find it was completely full. In fact, I had to park on the main highway with another twelve vehicles or so. I was expecting about ten, maybe fifteen hikers at the most. Much to my surprise there were about 40-50 hikers to take part in the first of seven group hikes scheduled for 2008. It makes me wonder if these group hikes will grow to 100 people or more.

I found out about the “Seven Summit” hikes through Active Big Bear, which is a community of outdoor enthusiasts who plan out a variety of outdoor-related activities. If you are not already a part of this great community go to BigBearOutdoorActivities.com to sign up. Active Big Bear is constantly giving its members opportunities to share the great outdoors together with fun and adventurous activities from bike rides around the lake to a leisurely hikes to Castle Rock. This is a great opportunity to meet folks with similar interests and motivations to enjoy the great outdoors. Check out the photo gallery from the March 29th group hike at Bertha Peak.

The “Seven Summits of Big Bear: is a great inspirational tool to discover what Big Bear has to offer; it is a great way to see Big Bear from various perspective views; and it is a great way to connect with people who admire the great outdoors. I look forward to the next “Seven Summits of Big Bear” outing that is scheduled for Saturday, April 26 at 9 a.m. The summit we plan to conquer is Gold Mountain (8,235′). I hope to see you there. 

Climb to the Peak, 

Daniel Pea 

Well Easter was quite pleasant indeed. I woke the morning to a bright sunny day here in Big Bear, and immediately recognized the temperature was a little warmer than the previous days. Instantly, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to get outside and RUN!

That’s right I haven’t put on the running shoes in four months. It was the first time since October that I didn’t feel a relentless chill nipping at my spine or frigid air overwhelming my lungs.

I was ecstatic to finally have the opportunity to have a comfortable run in the great outdoors, without worrying about cold temps. I dusted off my running shoes, threw on some comfy duds, filled up a water bottle, clipped on my pedometer and set my IPod to random shuffle. The adrenaline was pumping!

Well, I must admit I am a bit out of shape, but nonetheless I was able to get in two miles. This is just a start, a spring warm-up if you will. My legs feel like bricks today. But who cares, the main thing is the conditions were comfortable enough to run in. Alleluia!

During my run I committed to train for the Big Bear Marathon in September. That’s right Big Bear is hosting a full on marathon, which is expected to draw between 2,000-3,000 runners. I decided that I can probably run the half marathon (13.1 miles), and be content.

So let the training begin. It is time to dust off the running shoes and let the high altitude take its course. For my next run, I plan to get out into the backwoods trails and do some real running.

Cheers to running season,

Daniel Pea

Get your bikes tuned up boys and girls this is going to be a great season for cycling. This was a rough winter for those of us that ride all year round with treacherous road conditions, due to the intensity from the storms. One of the worst aspects was the amount of ice that accumulated along the edges.

Now that spring is in the air, the majority of the ice has melted from the edge of the roads. It’s much safer now and much more fun to ride your bike.

However, there are still some spots to watch out for. If you’re coming up to ride please be cautious and considerate of every one else on the road. While you’re at it, bring your running shoes and a way to carry some munchies because the hiking and jogging is superb right now…cool enough to not fry you and warm enough so you don’t need to dress in heavy layers.

Our recent warm spell brought out the local bikers, hikers and runners and it’s great to see that color is back in style. It’s so much more fun and interesting when you see people getting out and enjoying the mountains wearing clothes that match their vibrant lifestyle. As a photo-journalist it was frustrating there for awhile when everyone was wearing all black everything…pictures…BO-RING…If you’re out there participating in a high energy outdoor sport then why do you want to dress like a funeral procession?…never could figure that one out…

Go buy some new brightly colored gear, grab some friends and pack the camera. It really doesn’t matter what you wear because once you get here the mountain takes center stage and nobody cares what you’ve got on anyway.

spreading the love and the truth, rev