Bear Mountain Challenge 2010

Yup - very true.
Also - the morning shuttles ran no where near full.

The #1 race comment comes direct from Cycling BC as a result of a racers survey at the end of the year.

Yup - very true.
Also - the morning shuttles ran no where near full.

The #1 race comment comes direct from Cycling BC as a result of a racers survey at the end of the year.

Any other racers see this survey? I certainly didn't…

It comes out in the email newsletter that you probably send right to your trash bin. :) It also had the stuff to vote for mtb athlete of the year and such. My understanding is that it has a low feedback responses compared to how many people actually receive it. My assupmtion is that very few people actually read it.

I found out about it because my 'much better half' does actually read it.

was that a shuttle problem? I recall there was a pretty bad injury (knee dislocation?) that closed the course for significant time on Saturday. The organizers can't do much about that.

That's the first I've heard of it and I agree, of course the organisers can't do much about that but iirc practice was seven hours long so while it might not have helped it wasn't the only problem.

I filled in the CBC questionaire at the end of last season and I gave my feedback as above. I would like to see one of the Mission races (prob Bear, cos Arduum is such a crazy track) replaced with one that's not such a challenge for shuttles. We have so many bike parks in BC yet only two of the seven BC Cups utilize them. (This is where Wayne says no-one's willing to organize them)
I suppose at the end of the day I'd prefer seven races with shuttle problems than two with none.

Thank you to all the organisers for doing what you do.

The mountains lose revenue on race weekends as the mountain pretty much gets shut down for racers. That might be why there are so few BC Cup races on them. I know there are some keen individuals thinking outside the box and working on this very problem.

Race organizers do not make money hosting races, they do it because they think they like it. :) Cycling BC is a sanctioning body not race organizers, it is not up to Cycling BC to even have a BC Cup. Mission has two races because the locals are go-getters and have organized themselves, gotten permission from the city and so forth. To say you would like to see one replaced could be received as a pretty big insult, I am glad you say thanks at the end. :)

I challenge everyone out there to organize a BC Cup race whether it is shuttles or on a ski hill. See what it takes, how much of your heart and energy go into it and how little reward there is for doing it. If you don't feel like doing that please make sure you thank every race organizer personally as in my opinion that is the only reason we do it…for the warm fuzzies we get when someone says they had a great time!

(btw Arduum shuttles were much better this year (despite some problems) and I managed 5 runs AND had lunch on Saturday - good work Dan!)

The Arduum shuttle is about half the length of the Bear shuttle and doesn't have to contend with driving down Dewdney Trunk road totally jam packed with cars down one side and guys hanging out with their car doors open.

and in true Fraser Valley fashion, the course is being raked top to bottom

That goes for the XC course too ;)

That's the first I've heard of it and I agree, of course the organisers can't do much about that but iirc practice was seven hours long so while it might not have helped it wasn't the only problem.

unfortunately I saw the poor kid that crashed. I think it closed the course for a good 45 minutes or so once they got him stabilized, on a stretcher and down to the bottom of the course.

Like Stillgoing said above too, as backed up as the shuttles tend to get in the afternoon, there's usually room to spare for the first couple of hours in the morning.

Sun Peaks would love to have someone jump in and put on an event. I'm 99% sure Silver Star would be open to it too.

What about Squamish? Shirley there's something up there with easy shuttles and a good dh run. Every time I drive through some smaller town in BC (Salmon Arm, Merritt, Barriere, etc) I'm surprised that there isn't anybody willing to put on a BC Cup DH. Remember Penticton? Crappy course technically, but a decent shuttle and venue. Same goes for Crystal mountain in Westbank, both have hosted in the past, but the organizers moved on and nobody stepped in to replace them. So many options for another venue….

*Actually Sun Peaks has a 6hr enduro dh there in September which I'm really stoked on. You get 6hrs to get in as many runs as you can. Might be competitive on a smaller bike too. Sign me up.

Holy Derail!

Yay! Bear Mountain DH!

Never raced the course, ridden it twice… think it would be killer… but am out of town!

I foresee more BC Cups in the near horizon.

Get out and support them. The more people that sign up the more money that can be put into them.

Why do I organize em? Because it is probably the biggest challenge that I know of, but man is it ever fun!

Yay! Bear Mountain DH!

Its funny that people think they should get more than 5 shuttles on a practice day.

If you cant learn the track in 5 laps then start hiking. 5 laps on practice day, 2 on race day = 7.

From my experience, if you want to get lots of practice runs in at Bear it's pretty simple:

According to the race website, sign in for registered racers starts at 8:00 am, shuttles start at 8:30, and new registrations starts at 9 am. Pre-register, show up to sign in at 8 sharp, then walk the 10 feet from the registration table to the front of the shuttle lineup. I know of guys who have done more than 8 laps on the Saturday practice using the current shuttle system they use at Bear. Don't show up an noon then whine about not enough shuttles.

Anyone out there racing the XC this year?

^^^^whats that….lol