I rode the big Bear Run this year and although I didn't complete the whole 199.7 miles I did ride 176 miles on the hard ways course and a total of 208 miles on the day.
The ride takes place in Big Bear Lake, Ca and consists of some pretty challenging terrain for a regular sized off road motorcycle. I think around 300 riders started and of them around 70 completed the whole course and earned a plaque.
The first part of the ride put us onto some fire roads and single track then dumped us into Rattlesnake Canyon. Rattlesnake Canyon is around 12 miles of real deep sand. The little Ct70 didn't do real well through there and ate up some valuable time. After that is was out into the desert on some single and two track trails. We hit our first gas stop at 76 miles. We have stock tanks and were carrying an extra gallon of gas each. The first part of the ride ended up on some very steep and very rocky hill climbs. With a little coaxing the little bikes made it up each one.
We hit the lunch break and wolfed down a quick sandwich and refueled and headed off again. The second part of the ride was on the most technical trails the area had to offer. It started at Gold Mountain, a very rocky, sometimes steep, 3 mile climb. Then onto John Bull trail a boulder strewn trail with many elevation changes. The first climb on Redonda Ridge was a killer and many dropped out here. I made it up and continued on. There was a creek crossing at the end of this trail and when I rode accross I didn't anticipate how deep it was and hydro locked the little engine. After pulling the plug and pumping the water out, it started up after a few kicks. When I finished this section I had another 50 miles to the finish. I made my final gas stop and thought I had a pretty good chance on making it to the end.
That last 50 miles still had plenty of real challenging terrain including a deep river crossing (Devil's Hole). When I got to Devil's hole I removed the air cleaner and sealed the boot and exhaust with duct tape. I pushed the bike across and the only thing above the water were the grips. On the other side I removed the tape and replaced the filter. It started up but ran terrible. After draining the bowl a few times it cleaned out and started running better. There were a few more really big rocky hills I climbed before I called it quits.
Summary..
I started at 5:30 AM and ended at 9:20 PM. I had ridden 176 miles on the hard ways route. The final checks were closed so there was no real chance at earning a plaque even if I had finished at 11:00 PM. I was pretty whipped as well, I'm 46yo.
The bike was a stock suspended 1970 ko with a 125cc lifan semi auto.
I might attempt to do it again next year if I can make a deal with the promoting club to be able to start earlier without penalty.
The ride takes place in Big Bear Lake, Ca and consists of some pretty challenging terrain for a regular sized off road motorcycle. I think around 300 riders started and of them around 70 completed the whole course and earned a plaque.
The first part of the ride put us onto some fire roads and single track then dumped us into Rattlesnake Canyon. Rattlesnake Canyon is around 12 miles of real deep sand. The little Ct70 didn't do real well through there and ate up some valuable time. After that is was out into the desert on some single and two track trails. We hit our first gas stop at 76 miles. We have stock tanks and were carrying an extra gallon of gas each. The first part of the ride ended up on some very steep and very rocky hill climbs. With a little coaxing the little bikes made it up each one.
We hit the lunch break and wolfed down a quick sandwich and refueled and headed off again. The second part of the ride was on the most technical trails the area had to offer. It started at Gold Mountain, a very rocky, sometimes steep, 3 mile climb. Then onto John Bull trail a boulder strewn trail with many elevation changes. The first climb on Redonda Ridge was a killer and many dropped out here. I made it up and continued on. There was a creek crossing at the end of this trail and when I rode accross I didn't anticipate how deep it was and hydro locked the little engine. After pulling the plug and pumping the water out, it started up after a few kicks. When I finished this section I had another 50 miles to the finish. I made my final gas stop and thought I had a pretty good chance on making it to the end.
That last 50 miles still had plenty of real challenging terrain including a deep river crossing (Devil's Hole). When I got to Devil's hole I removed the air cleaner and sealed the boot and exhaust with duct tape. I pushed the bike across and the only thing above the water were the grips. On the other side I removed the tape and replaced the filter. It started up but ran terrible. After draining the bowl a few times it cleaned out and started running better. There were a few more really big rocky hills I climbed before I called it quits.
Summary..
I started at 5:30 AM and ended at 9:20 PM. I had ridden 176 miles on the hard ways route. The final checks were closed so there was no real chance at earning a plaque even if I had finished at 11:00 PM. I was pretty whipped as well, I'm 46yo.
The bike was a stock suspended 1970 ko with a 125cc lifan semi auto.
I might attempt to do it again next year if I can make a deal with the promoting club to be able to start earlier without penalty.
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