Big Bear Ultra

We headed down to Bear Big on Friday to avoid having to get up super early on Saturday for the Big Bear Ultra. Friday night we just hanging out and got to see an awesome fireworks show compliments of the WV Nightclub. No matter what I do morning always comes to early for me. But after struggling to get up and trying to get ready I finally was ready to go with 5 minutes to spare. That's when I seen lots of people that still weren't ready and I also found out that the start was getting pushed back until 8:30. I wasn't sure if this was good or bad but I did like the extra 30 minutes of down time. Either way it gave me some extra time to think about what I was getting myself into. I love the trails and terrain at BB but they're pretty relentless and unforgiving.

At the start I was getting nervous first because I was getting worried that I my gimp arm wasn't going to hold up. Then I seen Gerry Pflug was there and after reading the rumors on the internet about him being a bad ass on a bike and eating people I was pretty scared. I know Gerry pretty well and I can confirm he's bad ass on the bike, but I've never seen him eat anyone. But if your the owner of a buffet you should be worried if you see Gerry coming. I been racing a single speed lately because they're fun, seem better in the rocks and make you work a little harder sometimes. After some instructions from Mark about how the course was marked it was on. I figured it would be best just to ride my own race and not worry to much about my placement. It was pretty tight and congested in the beginning but I felt really good and was able to stay with the lead group. After about an hour or so of racing I was riding with Rob Spreng and found out that we were 2nd and 3rd. It was nice riding with him because I knew if I could stick with him that my pace was OK and it was nice having someone to chat with because I figured it was going to be a long day. Close to hour 2 is when nature called and I couldn't wait any longer and that's when I lost contact with Rob. Shortly after that is when the trail wasn't being as kind to me as before.

Finally I made it back to the start and this was about halfway though. I stopped and grabbed a water bottle, a red bull and a few fig newtons. Not soon after I left is when I was starting to get a little worried. I felt really good except for the gimp arm and knew that the trail was going to get a little rougher. I've ridden at BB allot but with all the new trails and the way the course was routed I was pretty confused on where I was. Finally I knew where I was and how much farther I had to go then on a downhill Steve Hill came flying down and I let him by. I rode with him for a little until he was out of sight. Soon I was on the last descent with the finish in sight. 44 miles and a little over 4-1/2 hours I finished fourth overall and first Single Speed I was really happy. Then I heard some even better news that at the halfway point Ruth was in second and not far behind Betsy. At the end Ruth was able to hold onto second. I wonder if the new bike has something to do with her improved performance lately?

I just want to say thanks to Mark, his crew and all the volunteers that made some awesome trails.


Justin