How Big Bear Got Its Bike Community Back
How Big Bear Got Its Bike Community Back
Reviving the Legend
CONTRIBUTORS:
Kyle Strait (mountain bike legend and SoCal native), Craig Smith (President of Big Bear Cycling), Jake Huxman (Senior Director of Mountain Operations) and Dave Kelly (Co-founder of Gravity Logic)
Gravity Logic knows how to build some of the most fun trails on the planet.
Big Bear is a small town nestled in the mountains overlooking Los Angeles and has been an iconic destination for the mountain biking community since the early days, back when mountain biking was hardly a known sport at all. Southern California was a hotbed for early mountain bike production, with bike makers welding their creations and then looking for places to ride them. Many of them chose Big Bear as their testing grounds. Even today, head to the trails in Big Bear and you’ll see more SoCal brands represented on the trails than anywhere else in the world. Big Bear began its life as a local’s mountain when the sport was in its infancy and is still one of the best-known spots for riding; however, the Big Bear trails have not always been as biker friendly as they were in the early days or as they are today. Big Bear went through a period when mountain bikers were not really welcome at all. We set out to figure out how the riders worked to bring the cycling community back, making Big Bear the riding destination powerhouse it should be.
The trails have a bit of every- thing—from the beginner-friendly to expert-level trails.
THE HEYDAY OF BIG BEAR
Big Bear was home to some of the earliest dedicated mountain bike trails in the country. Snow Summit Resort was also home to the first lift-accessed trail system, which was literally the birth of a whole new genre of riding: downhill. It was mountain biking para- dise in the early days, with opportunities that simply could not be found anywhere else, especially for the SoCal early-adopter crowd.
Stop and smell the flowers, or boost over them; the choice is yours.
In the 1990s, Big Bear was host to national and World Cup-level competition and was the preferred training ground for many of the sport’s elite racers thanks to its excellent trail networks, high ele- vation and cycling-friendly atmosphere. The ski-town saw a huge boom in the ’80s and early ’90s, with a summertime that was more profitable than ever before because of the summer tourists who came to ride their bikes. The town and resorts were far ahead of their time and provided riding options that simply didn’t exist anywhere else. As a result, Big Bear became known as a major mountain biking hub.
Snow Summit was the first chairlift-serviced riding destination in the country.
Be sure to take time to enjoy the views. Big Bear Lake is visible from many of the local trails. You can go on ahead; we’re not in a rush.
THE DARK DAYS
The glory days at Big Bear’s Snow Summit came to a screeching halt in the late ’90s. A series of grisly accidents, including one resulting in the death of a racer, forced the resort to close. Since the resort was not a self-insured company at the time, the liability was simply too high. For many years, trails that were once full of riders were relatively unused. The big name races like the NORBA Nationals stopped coming to Big Bear, and Big Bear went back to being essentially a winter-only destination for action sports enthusiasts.
Doesn’t it make you want to go experience it?
Droppin’ In
THE FIRST SIGN OF LIFE
Thankfully, the decision makers at Snow Summit finally came to their senses after many years of rejecting mountain bikers. Their approach was somewhat half hearted but welcomed by the mountain bike community nonetheless. Snow Summit opened its chairlift to bikes once again in the early 2000s but with very stringent restrictions. First, there were limitations on what type of bikes would be allowed. Double-crown forks were the first to be restricted. Then, they enforced rules like no single-ring drivetrains or chainguides, and a maximum bike weight of no more than 40 pounds. The bike park claims this was to prevent work-related injuries from lifties slinging 45-pound downhill sleds all day, but the impact was huge. Since trailbikes were not nearly as fun and capable as they are now, this seriously limited the kinds of riding you could do on the mountain.
Snow Summit also stipulated that riders using the chairlift could only use the chair to access the trails that were outside the ski area property. Riders could essentially ride off the back and then pedal back to the resort when they reached the bottom. It was a compromise at best, and it was far from ideal, but it was better than nothing.
Most of the trails have plenty of flow, but some of them get the blood pumping with rocky and technical sections.
THE ROAD BIKE INFLUENCE
At the same time that Big Bear’s mountain bike community was struggling to be accepted, road cycling was growing explosively. In 2010 the town of Big Bear received a big gift when the Amgen Tour of California came to town, selecting Big Bear as the finish for one of its mountain stages. This brought a huge influx of riders, both of the skinny and knobby varieties. That same year, the Big Bear Cycling (BBC) club was founded with the goal of bringing back mountain bikers. The BBC’s mission was, and still is, to raise money through events in order to reinvest in the cycling commu- nity, repair trails and pedal paths, and to work with the Forest Service to improve the riding community. The BBC also does small things like making trail signs and maps and providing other costly items the Forest Service doesn’t have the budget for.
The Big Bear community has worked hard to make the town a family-friendly place.
THE BIG PAYDAY
Thanks to the concerted efforts of local groups like Big Bear Cycling and the trail builders at Snow Summit, Big Bear fully reopened to mountain bikes of all kinds in 2013. They even built some new sustainable trails to go with the reopening. While the number of trails was limited, things were set in motion for Big Bear to reclaim its fame as one of the best gravity mountain biking destinations in Southern California, one that could serve the needs of riders from the huge population centers of Los Angeles and San Diego.
Little-known fact: Big Bear isn’t only for downhill junkies. There are miles and miles of all-mountain and cross-country trails too.
The trails at Big Bear have honed the skills of many riders in the SoCal area.
TODAY’S BIG BEAR EXPERIENCE
In the first year the bike park returned, the bike park designers were given permission to disturb up to 5 acres of land to build sustainable trails. They chose to work with Gravity Logic, the same company responsible for the trail building at iconic parks like Whistler and Trestle/Winter Park. The initial trail building efforts were hampered by the lack of space, and the Gravity Logic designers devoured that 5 acres of land quickly. Still, they estab- lished three trails in the first year and plan to work with the Forest Service to gain access to build more. The mantra for the bike park has been to make a plan and then stick to it, not listening to the guys who just want to make it bigger, faster and sicker. As a result, rather than building aggressive and gnarly trails only a few can ride, Snow Summit has built a park that not only caters to hardcore gravity riders but beginner and intermediate riders as well.
Droppin’ in.
There’s plenty to do if biking isn’t your thing.
THE FUTURE
Today, the Big Bear riding community has come back with a vengeance, but not without room for improvement. Since the park pulls from the second largest population base in the country and is the only option for riders in the area, the traffic can become nearly unbearable on busy days. Still, despite the crowds, the design of the trails manages traffic remarkably well. The trails are sustainable and approachable by a huge cross section of riders. When asked what the future holds for the Snow Summit crew, everybody we talked with said basically the same thing. They want to get back to their roots as a destination for mountain biking and are not afraid to work as a community and include any and every cycling advocate to make it happen.
THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION
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