2006 Big Bear Climb

                 2003          2004          June 10, 2006
Distance ------- 101.2 ------- 101.2 ------- 101.2 miles
Elevation Gain - 9,220 ------- 9,220 ------- 9,220ft.
Start   Time --- 05:57:46am -- 05:59:23am -- 06:05:57am
Finish  Time --- 01:19:55pm -- 12:39:34pm -- 12:24:20pm
Elapsed Time --- 07:22:07 ---- 06:40:08 ---- 06:18:21 <-- PB
Placed Overall - 71st -------- 30th -------- 15th
AgeGrp 40-49 --- 33rd -------- 13th -------- 8th
Total Riders --- 342 --------- 349 --------- 341

 

Hello there, boys & girls.

The stars & constellations were aligned with Mercury, Mars, & Venus. The weather Gods were in a generous mood for the weekend. And the cycling Gods were smiling on me. I must have accumulated enough 'Karma' points this year, to deserve one heck of a perfect ride. Everything was perfect. Not a single issue with the body, mind, bike, course, traffic, riders, or weather. This is my Personal Best for this course since I first did it in 2003.

The COURSE: The 2006 BIG BEAR CLIMB (a.k.a. Ride Around the Bear) was a great Saturday of climbing from Redlands, CA all the way up to Big Bear Lake, then beyond all the way up to Onyx Summit. This course is very simple (as can be seen from the ride profile above). The first 10 miles is a nice warm-up with some rollers, then as soon as the ride turns into Hwy 330, the serious climbing starts and does not end until mile 60. Going through Running Springs, Snow Valley Ski Resort, then flattens a bit once at Big Bear Lake, and then more climbing all the way up to Onyx Summit at 8,600ft. That is a total of 50 miles of non-stop climbing (with only a little reprieve by the lakeside and near the Dana Pt. checkpoint). After Onyx Summit, the fast downhill starts, but interrupted with a few monster rollers and some smaller ones. Once past the Angelus Crest checkpoint, it is a fast downhill flight home.

The WEATHER: The morning temps were cool, with a lot of cloud cover, and in the mid-60's. It made the climbs very comfortable, mostly in the 70's to low 80's. It did not get too hot. I kept on my Under Armour Heat Gear base layer long-sleeves for the entire ride. Perfect climbing weather. But the humidity was pretty high. I felt sweaty even before I started the ride. Just a typical adjustment for a Las Vegas rider (accustomed to 10% humidity) riding in So. Cal. There was a bit of a headwind on the last 15 mile downhill/flat section heading back to Redlands, but 3 of the sub-6hr guys caught up to me with 9 miles to go and I was able to get help all the way to the end, as I was already spun out on my 53/13 gearing on this flat section.

The RIDER: I established a PB (Personal Best) for this ride, shaving 21mins 47secs from my previous best time. Average HR for the day was 150 bpm. This is 82% of my Max HR.

Early in the morning, during the drive into Redlands, with the cloud cover and some misting in the air, I started to get worried (about the weather). But then I felt good at the start of the ride, and kept feeling better as the ride progressed, specially when the serious climbing began. Starting the ride when a lot of people have already started, gave me the motivation and carrots/rabbits I needed. It felt good to constantly pass riders and at the same time, no one passed me.

I just did the Eastern Sierra Double Century 7 days ago with the NuVision Cyclery group. Even though I had fun at that double, I was a bit worried about how I would perform on this ride. But, as it turned out, the pace Mike Hileman set last week was just perfect. It was not too easy to get me rusty. Yet, it was not too hard to need mega-weeks of recovery. It was just right to keep me sharp and still get rested for this ride. Normally, the centuries are tune-up for my doubles. But this time the Eastern Sierra Double Century was my tune-up. My plan and target all along was to do good at Big Bear. I had visions of shaving 5-10mins (1.25-2.5%). But I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would cut almost 22mins (5.5%). Imagine my excitement when I realized at Onyx Summit that I was going to destroy my previous PB. 

The CHANGES: What change did I do to shave that much time off my previous Personal Best? I have to attribute it to numerous changes, not just one. In the winter months (starting in December), I switched my cranks on Elvis (De ROSA King) from 170mm to 175mm. I trained on that exclusively. Because I am normally a spinner, I switched bikes back to Drago (CALFEE Dragonfly) 2 weekends ago for the Eastern Sierra Double Century. At 13.75-lbs. it is much lighter than any of my bikes and retains the shorter 170mm cranks.

I have also switched from winter eating habits to serious summer/training eating habits. I still eat whatever I want but monitor it very closely so I am always around 137-lbs. So, bike & rider total weight is down from 2004. I also take my supplements more regularly: vitamins(specially B12), protein, BCA(branched chain amino acids). I have also been experimenting with the better 'genetically engineered' endurance mixes, like Hammer Nutrition and 1st Endurance. Gatorade and water just does not cut it anymore. But, on the opposite side of the spectrum, Perpetum is too chalky for my taste buds. Making sure I use a product that tastes good warm or cold and also agrees with my stomach during extreme efforts, it is an on-going process to fine tune my liquid calorie intake.

The RIDE:  Drago (CALFEE DragonFly) performed magnificently. He has been stripped down to bare naked carbon, with absolutely no pigment, or clearcoat, but equipped with some of the best go-fast and superlight parts, he tipped in at a UCI illegal 13.75-lbs. It was great in the climbs. Again, as in the Eastern Sierra Double Century 7-days ago, I did notice that he was not as fast on the descents (free-wheeling) as Elvis (De ROSA King). Probably a combination of less weight and less aero frame/wheelset.  The American Classic Magnesium 300 wheelset was now dialed-in and no squealing of the ceramic braking surface. The Zero Gravity 06 TI brake calipers with Kool Stop Zinc-Chromium pads did the job. The AX-LIGHTNESS Endurance all carbon saddle was comfortable on a ride like this, where I was constantly switching from sitting to standing during 80% of the ride.

The  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Elevation Chart is courtesy of California Triple Crown, http://www.caltriplecrown.com/Centuries/Bear.htm and created by Chuck Bramwell.