The "Bear"

Earlier this month (on a Tuesday), I was in a work meeting with Blair, an old friend from Rigby.  After the meeting, we chatted for a few minutes and he asked if I was planning on "Doing the Bear" this Saturday.  Do the what?  I asked.

Blair proceeded to tell me about an annual Scout event of biking the Bear.  The Bear referring to Bear Lake on the Idaho Utah border.  He told me that it was a 50 mile loop and if you did it twice, it was a century.

Now, I've never done a century and I've only done one 50 mile segment in a single day - and I thought I was going to die.  He then told me that the event was that weekend and that it was probably all sold out.  Good, I thought.  My road bike had a broken chain and I definitely wasn't going to do 50 miles on my Mt. bike.  My riding this year has been sort of abysmal.  I've done less than 350 miles this year, Never-the-less, I'll check it out, it will be full, end of discussion. 

That evening I checked out the "Bike the Bear" web page and found that it wasn't sold out.  I checked my calendar with my better half and she said to "go for it."  So I signed up.

Friday, 13 August.   I left work a little early, got my stuff together, including tent, sleeping bag, water bottles, snacks; everything I would need for a quick overnighter.  As I neared Logan, I realized that I had forgotten my helmet.  So I stopped in Logan and bought a new helmet.  I wanted a spare helmet anyway.

I got up to Camp Hunt, registered, and went over to dinner when I ran into Blair.  We had an enjoyable dinner together and he told me he was going to do the century.  I was committed for the 50, but a century - I don't think so.

After dinner, he showed me his campsite and there was plenty of room, so I decided to pitch my tent in the same area.  As I was getting my stuff out of the car, I realized that I also left my shoes and gloves.  Major oops.  I can't bike 1 mile let along 50 without my bike shoes.  I went back to Blair, told him I had to go get my stuff and took off for Ogden.

As I made the turn at the T intersection to head back to Logan & home, I got a hold of Jen on my cell.  I told her I was headed home to pick up my shoes.  She offered to meet me Logan so I wouldn't have to drive all the way.  That worked for me, so we met in Logan, I got my shoes and headed back to Bear Lake.

When I arrived a Bear Lake, rather than going to Camp Hunt, I decided to pitch my tent behind the church where the even was going to start.  I barely had it set up, when the cops came by and said I couldn't camp there, but I could go down about 1/4 mile and across the street and set up camp there.  So pack things up again, move and re-establish camp.  It's now 11:00 p.m.  It's going to be a short night.  Now I know the truth behind Friday the 13th.

Saturday 14 Aug.  I was up at 6 a.m., had a small bite to eat, packed up my stuff and moved the 1/4 mile back to the starting point.  People were just starting to gather while I unloaded my bike and got prepared for the event.  As I rode over to the starting point, I met up with Blair.  I told him that I'd follow him, because I definitely wasn't confident in my ability to do 50 miles without hardly any training.  The longest ride I've made this year is 12.5 miles.

We took off at 6:51 and I followed Blair for a couple hundred yards.  He was at his cruising speed and so I decided I'd be better of going at my normal speed.  I passed him and never saw him again.

I made several brief stops along the route to refill my water bottles and grab some snacks.  I was probably towards the front of the pack.  A saw a few people ahead of me and passed most of them, but there were others that blew right by me and left me in the dust.  I arrived back at the starting point at 9:50.  It took me just under 3 hours to complete the 50 miles.

When I pulled in, a girl runs up to me with a medal and asks if I want the medal now, or do I want to do it again.  Well, I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to do it again.  After a 10 minute stop, I took off and did the entire thing again.  However, this time was different.

1.  The Hills.  Those little hills on the East side of the lake - they grew.  On the first lap, I cruised up these little hills at 16 mph.  The second time - 9 mph was the best I could do.

2.  The Breeze.  On the first lap, As I rounded each of the four major corners, I could tell a distinct shift in the breeze.  The second lap, no matter which way I rode, the wind was in my face.  I don't know how that works, perhaps I should have been riding clockwise instead of counterclockwise.

3.  The Bike Seat.  The final thing that was different on the two laps was the size of my bike seat.  On the first lap, it wasn't bad.  But while I took my ten minute break between laps, I swear that somebody changed the seat on my bike.  This new seat was like a razor blade and I'm sitting on the edge.

All in all though, it was a good ride.  I pulled into the finish at about 1:45.  It took 3 hours for the first lap and 3.75 hours for the second lap.  Although I didn't set any speed records, I feel good with the times and the task accomplished.  Next year, I'll try to get the young men from my ward to come up and "Bike the Bear."

LOTOJA anyone?