BAM Cycling Group: PV's Big Bear 50 Race Report

Big Bear......Bike Racing.

What comes to my mind first is lung busting climbs at altitude, tough (Chuck Norris tough) competition, and trying to close gaps on endless fire road climbs……only to get bitch slapped instead.

So with this in mind it was time to start the race. There was a neutral rollout for the first couple miles (it didn’t seem all that neutral after ½ mile), then it was on. The lead group shot out of sight pretty quickly at a ridiculous pace. With the 50 mile format you start with the pro’s and you can see how insanely strong they are (for the short amount of time it takes before you get dropped :). Super impressive to say the least!

I settled in for the long haul, content to watch my HR and keep it reasonable. I was still passing people though and felt really good. The altitude did seem to get to me this time, not sure if it was the reduced pace but I was not complaining.

I was hitting my time targets and staying on top of my hydration and fuel plan. The course seemed easier than I remembered. I was relieved at the top of the last big climb because it went by quickly and didn’t seem to have as much of an impact on me as I thought it would. Nice! Shortly after that the first lap was over and I stopped to pick up my food drop I had stashed before the race.

Just then a couple people I had passed flew past me, not stopping for water or food. Crap! In retrospect I may have took too long refilling water bottles and grabbing food. It did feel good to stop though! I started off again trying to catch one guy I was pretty sure was in my class.

The 2nd lap started out feeling good but slowly got tougher as fatigue set in and the temperatures rose. I stuck in there and was happy to not be having cramps or stomach issues like I did at Sagebrush. Somewhere around the four hour mark I starting feeling bonked though. One guy made a slow pass (he was following me for an hour at least) and got past me on the singletrack climb. He broke away towards the top, I never did catch him or the guy who got past me at the water stop. I hate when that happens! :)

I stuck in there and made it to the finish, then back to the start for a cold one. It took a while for the results, but I came in 5th in my Cat. Today though I see 1st place has an impossible time so maybe actually 4th? For the series I am sitting at 2nd overall, with one more to go in two weeks. That race will be on big loop instead of two laps, and I know what the guy who got past me looks like. :)

OK, here some pic's, results and a short video.