Bear Creek: Course & Conditions

Wow! OK, I realize that as the promoter for the series that I’m supposed to be excited about Saturday’s Bear Creek race no matter what, but as a bike racer of 15+ yrs and having just got back from pre-riding the course, I tell you this is going to wind up being one of those Do-Not-Miss races for the spring season. Seriously. The course just flows and kicks at all the right times, especially at the higher speeds for this new circuit-length racing format.

Trail Conditions
That was our worry driving down to the course today, that the trails would be mush. Big surprise!... the trails were bone dry for 99.9% of the circuit. Where it wasn’t fully dry, it was only just damp – no mud – and will likely dry out fully by the end of Thursday or Friday. We actually bumped into Bear Creek’s Regional Parks Supervisor who was also out pre-riding the course (on a SS, go Drew!) and we all chatted about how impressed we were at the trail conditions after this week’s sunshine.

For those people asking about racing their cx bikes, there are sections where the trails are a bit chopped up from horses and bikers riding it when everything was muddy. These spots have enough chatter that they might just rattle the pearly whites out of your noggin if you’re on a cx bike; personally, I’d stick with a mtn bike for this one.

The Course, The Flow

So looking at the course map you’ll see many of the trails are the same ones used during the longer races at the park. The kicker is that at this newer, shorter race length, the higher speeds just rock at bringing out the course’s teeth and its flow. The 2 hills, while short, are punchy as can be, and will max out your HR for sure when hitting them at speed. This is where the attacks are going to come – fast and furious. Ok, I say 2 hills, but really there are 4 sections of the course that are uphill enough to put the hurtin’ on you. Overall it’s a power LT course – great for testing your early season form; even better for building it.

As for the flow, it’s there - especially at speed when mashing the pedals for that extra MPH of ‘go.’ Thin singletrack links up to winding sections of smooth downhill – including a brand new section the park rangers just put in at the NE corner of the course (I zipped off-trail during one of the off-camber turns… fun).

There are ample opportunities to pass on the course – offset equally by sections where you better have made your pass beforehand otherwise you’ll be blocked out. That’s what’s going to keep the elbow-to-elbow racing spicy, because folks are going to throw-down the attacks something fierce before each of those no-passing sections.

Oh, there are also two small bridges on the racecourse. My advice: Don’t go in the drink. (It’s a bit of a drop-off.)

Lap Times
Our group that went down had a pretty good representation, including Men’s A, B, and C riders. Wish we could have had a Women’s A or B rider as well, but none could make it given the time. Here’s what we got for lap times:

• Men’s A – 12:30 per lap
• Men’s B – 15:00 per lap
• Men’s C – 17:45 per lap

I know! Those are some loooooong lap times. Circuit-style, baby.

Now, these longer laps will make it a bit interesting for coordinating the start times for each cat - since people are going to be spread all over the course - so check the board at the registration table for any updates. We built in an Open-Course slot (read: lunch time) from 12:10 to 12:40p, which should allow the schedule to reset again prior to the A’s heading out on time.

Parting Thoughts…
This is going to be one FUN race come Saturday. The course vibe and rhythm is perfect for the 40-60min time length. It flows, it kicks, it punches… it leaves you with a big square-mouthed smile at the finish while trying to catch your breath. Saturday’s forecast is for 58 degrees with sun and a mix of clouds – perfect race weather – and from the sounds of it we’ll have a great turn-out (tell a friend). Bear Creek only had this one date available for us, so this is the one and only time we’ll be able to race this course circuit-style this year. With that in mind, and given the rockin’ course vibe, I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s definitely one of the Must Hit races of the spring season.

Thanks for all the positive feedback, and we’ll see you out there on Saturday.