Local Committee Reports Valley Impact Results of Amgen Tour of California to City Council

Big Bear Lake, CA, July 28, 2010, 3:30pm – Members of the Amgen Tour of California local organizing committee reported to the Big Bear Lake City Council on July 12th, with a presentation of the Stage 6 finish in Big Bear Lake.  Rick Bates of the Events Resource Office and Rick Shoup of the Resort Association reported to the Council that an estimated crowd of 10,000 was present at the Snow Summit finish.  While the crowds were expected to be larger, the drop of Lance Armstrong from the race the day before may have kept up to 20% of spectators away.  A survey done by the Events Resource Office reported that 36.5% of the spectators were first time visitors, and that 45.3% stayed at least one night in Big Bear, and that 76.3% of visitors shopped during their stay.  The survey also reported that the event had an estimated economic impact of $1,518,800 estimating that each person who attended spent a median amount of $200 each.  Race day coverage on the Versus network was seen in over 200 countries, with over 2 million spectators watching.  “The coverage on the Versus network will have a long term impact,” said Shoup, “ A lot of people saw Big Bear, and had no idea there was a place like that an hour and a half from Los Angeles.”  Television coverage of the Big Bear Climb was also seen on major Los Angeles, San Diego, and Palm Springs news programs.  Bates has received the request for proposal for the 2011 Tour of California, and expressed that he hopes to see the Amgen Tour of California return many years for another Big Bear Climb.

Elle Williams Earns 2010 Mountain Bike National Championship

Big Bear City, CA, July 27, 2010, 3:08pm – The Williams family can add another medal to their collection this year. The Big Bear City family of cyclists traveled to Granby, Colorado for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in the beginning of July.  Ten year old Elle Williams beat out competition from across the country to become the 2010 Mountain Bike National Champion for women ages 10 and under.  With a race time of 40 minutes, 22.04 seconds, Elle finished five minutes faster than her competition.  While Elle crushed her competitors, her brothers, Casey, Cameron and Evan competed with the flu bug.  Despite their weakened state, Casey, a 2008 Mountain Bike National Champion, finished 13th for the category 1 men’s 15-16 division, Cameron, also a 2008 Mountain Bike National Champion, finished 10th in the junior 13-14 division, followed closely by Evan who finished 16th in the same category.  The Williams kids can be seen riding around the lake, on the trails, and on Wednesday nights at the Woodland Trail where they host a kid’s bike ride. For more information about the Wednesday night youth rides go to teamzionadventures.com and click on Youth Ride Schedule.

Adam Williams, Casey Williams, Kelley Brunson and Diane Bradley Hold Top Rankings in Elite Conquer the Bear Series

Big Bear Lake, CA — The second round of the Conquer the Bear series is underway and, this weekend, competitors wrapped their second of four races by participating in the Team Big Bear mountain bike race, which covered 17 miles of Forest Service roads in the Moonridge area. Athletes who braved February’s cold temps, snow and rain in the Snowshoe the Bear event were eligible to continue in the Conquer the Bear series which, in addition to the June 20 mountain bike race, will include the Paddlefest in Fawnskin on July 11 and the first-ever Endure the Bear mountain trail run on September 11. Top contenders in Conquer the Bear’s Elite division are Adam Williams and 15-year-old Casey Williams; these two, both from Big Bear Lake but unrelated, took first and third in Snowshoe the Bear’s 10K event and are less than five minutes apart in their cumulative times for the two races. Other top contenders in the Elite race series include Casey’s younger brother Cameron Williams, Ramon Escobar of Mexico, and Ross Goulet of Big Bear City, while Big Bear Lake’s Kelly Brunson, the Fastest Bear in the Bear for the snowshoe, and Diane Bradley, third place female finisher in the debut Conquer the Bear series, both completed the course to stay in the running for the Conquer the Bear title which, in 2009, was won by local Heather Devito and Wes Barton of Manhattan Beach in a grueling, five-event series. Other Big Bear locals who participated in their second event for Conquer the Bear—and earned top spots in the non-elite division–include Jonathan Stiles, Kyle Kelly, Ernst Mueller, David Lawrence, Susan Maya, Angela Meyers and Michelle Russell.

Team Big Bear Mountain Bike Race

June 20, 2010

11:00 am

Team Big Bear’s Shoot-Out #2, which starts on Forest Service road 2N10 just above Bear Mountain Resort, features a cross-country mountain bike race. The event is also the second of four races in the Conquer the Bear series. Race pre-registration available at La Montana Restaurant (on the Moonridge Y in Big Bear Lake) on Saturday, June 19, from 3 to 5pm; also on race day, Sunday, starting at 8am. For more information or to sign up, visit TeamBigBear.com or call 909/633-6729. For more information on Conquer the Bear, visit OpenAirBigBear.com.
Event features after-party at La Montana, from 12:30 to 3pm, to include $1 tacos and live reggae from Good Creation.

Amgen Tour of California Brings Worldwide Exposure to Big Bear, and Anticipation of Increased Tourism

Big Bear Lake, CA — As the Amgen Tour of California cycled through Big Bear on Friday, May 21st, legendary cycling commentator Phil Liggett raved, “We have been treated to one of the best cycling stages we’ve seen in America, ever.” However, on a more local level, response from business owners has been mixed as, though the event brought more crowds than the Big Bear Valley would have enjoyed on a normal pre-Memorial Day weekend, the world-class cycling competition did not draw the numbers of, say, a Saturday Fourth of July, for which the City of Big Bear Lake had potentially braced. As noted by Sara Russ, CEO of the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce, who has spoken with business owners in the days since, “Compared to last year, business owners did see additional business, but not the scale they were hoping for.” To that end, the Resort Association’s CEO Rick Shoup tells KBHR, “What we have heard from other host cities is that it grows ever year. Though our Village event on Friday evening wasn’t very well attended, several restaurants did very well. It is consistent with what we were led to expect from other host cities.” One deterrent to the anticipated—or at least hoped for—crowds is that cycling great Lance Armstrong suffered an injury the day prior to the stage 6 climb, which kept him from making the ride from Palmdale to Big Bear. Another point, as made by Shoup of the RA (which had targeted cycling enthusiasts via cycling publications, websites and blogs) is that Big Bear was just one of many stages hosted in Southern California, and less readily accessible than other host cities in the Los Angeles area. Though most of the overnight guests, either with or following the race, booked a Thursday night stay, rather than continuing through the weekend, there is one point on which all can agree in terms of benefit to the Big Bear Valley. As put by Russ, “People were blown away with the phenomenal coverage Big Bear got and the beautiful panoramic shots.” Marketing expert Shoup concurs: “The real value of the Amgen Tour came from the absolutely magnificent exposure and comments from announcers during the race—and what I keep pointing out to people is that this is a niche market, but it is exactly the kind of people that Big Bear draws, the outdoor recreation enthusiasts. It gave us worldwide exposure.” Promoters of the event suggested that about 8,000 spectators lined Summit Boulevard for the event’s first-ever mountaintop finish, and that several thousand more were staged along the course to watch the professional cyclists round Big Bear Lake. Though Amgen organizers AEG Sports have not yet named host cities for next year’s event, Big Bear can only stand to gain from the worldwide exposure which captured our mountain community and lake on a beautiful, clear day. As summed up by the Chamber’s Russ, “The primary reason we were doing the event was for the excellent press coverage and the repeat business the event would generate, which I think on both points we delivered. Overall, the event was very successful and met the Chamber’s expectations. It was a great kick-off for the summer.”

Peter Sagan of LiquiGas-Doimo Wins Stage 6 of Amgen Tour in 6:07:08; HTC-Columbia’s Michael Rogers Is Overall Leader in Race

Big Bear Lake, CA — The amazing finish to stage 6, the first-ever mountaintop finish for the Amgen Tour of California, has wrapped, to the cheers of countless fans lining Summit Boulevard just before 4pm this afternoon. Finishing the grueling uphill course, totaling 135 miles from Palmdale to Big Bear Lake in a time of 6 hours, 7 minutes and 8 seconds to win the stage was Slovakian Peter Sagan of the Italian team LiquiGas-Doimo, second went to Australian Rory Sutherland of the U.S. team United Healthcare, and third place to Australian Michael Rogers of the U.S. team HTC-Columbia. Rogers is also the overall leader in the Amgen Tour of California, which makes its way to Los Angeles for stage 7 tomorrow (May 22), with the final stage to finish in Thousand Oaks on Sunday. The Amgen Tour of California is viewed in over 200 countries which puts Big Bear Lake, too, on the international stage.

Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California Brings Days of Activities to Big Bear

Big Bear Valley, CA — The crowds were already rolling in to Big Bear well before noon today (Friday, May 21), and the Amgen Tour of California Lifestyle Festival and Big Bear Expo is bustling at the base of Snow Summit Resort. There are countless booths set up near the finish line and in the Summit parking lot, featuring cycle gear, health and fitness, food, local artists and organizations, as well as a beer garden and giant screen TV monitors to watch the race circle the North Shore of Big Bear Lake, cross Stanfield Cutoff and up to Snow Summit. Local reggae band Elevated Roots is playing at the base of the slopes, and will be joined by reggae legend Wadi Gad this afternoon, with more reggae to jam to being offered at tonight’s Friday Night in the Village event. Bear Valley Bikes is also hosting Goldsprints stationary bike competitions at the resort this afternoon, with the finals planned for 7pm at Nottinghams in the Village; also this evening, the cycling documentary “Chasing Legends” screens at the Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center at 7pm. The festival continues until shortly after all the professional cyclists on the tour reach the finish line at Snow Summit, and organizers of the Big Bear Climb have planned more activities for tomorrow, namely the Tour de Big Bear throughout the Big Bear Valley (which will not result in any road closures, though plenty of bike riders, so motorists are reminded to share the road with them, as well as the hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail, who have started making their way through the Big Bear Valley in the last week or so).

Amgen Tour of California Is Cycling Our Way; Pro Mark Cavendish Wins Sunday’s Stage One Race

Professional cyclists from around the world are already making their way through California, as stage one of the eight-day Amgen Tour of California kicked off to the roaring cheer of cycling fans in Nevada City on Sunday morning. In an exciting sprint to the finish, per Amgen organizers AEG Sports, cyclist Mark Cavendish of Team HTC-Columbia was first to complete the 104-mile course to Sacramento, making for his third stage win in the history of the race, and beating out nine past world champions, 11 current national champions and six Olympic medalists to do so. According to AEG Sports President Andrew Messick, “In only one day, the 2010 Amgen Tour of California has already exceeded our expectations with regard to fans, host cities and overall enthusiasm. We’ve already seen an amazing degree of competition from these world-class cyclists and we’re looking forward to seeing how the race unfolds.” Today’s stage two portion of the race started in Davis, and cyclists will ride 109 miles to Santa Rosa. By Friday, this world-class competition will cycle into Big Bear for the event’s first-ever mountaintop finish, on stage six from Palmdale to Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake. Local organizers for the Big Bear Climb suggest that crowds here in the Big Bear Valley could be comparable to a Saturday Fourth of July. For specifics on activities surround the May 21 competition here in the Big Bear Valley, as well as details on temporary road closures, check out KBHR’s Spectators’ Guide to Enjoying the Amgen Tour of California in Big Bear; there is also a tab to this posting at the top right of our BigBearNews.com home page.

BVUSD Students to Enjoy Cycling-Specific Assemblies on Monday

Big Bear Valley, CA — In anticipation of the Amgen Tour of California, which cycles into Big Bear next Friday afternoon, May 21, local students will be treated to some special assemblies today, May 10. The Bear Valley Trails Foundation has arranged for professional cyclists—not those from the tour, as they are in preparation for the race that begins next week, but some up-and-coming pros, including a hand-cycling racer—to speak to BVUSD students, starting with Baldwin Lane Elementary in the morning, then continuing to Big Bear Middle School, Big Bear Elementary and North Shore Elementary. Should your child get into the spirit of cycling, there will be another opportunity, this weekend, to participate in a free community bike ride, which launches from Snow Summit’s Brownie Lane parking lot in the 10am hour on Saturday. For details, read Big Bear Ride: Free Community Bike Tours Offered on Saturdays in May; for specifics on what the Amgen Tour will mean for locals, in terms of visitors and roads, you can read KBHR’s Spectators’ Guide to Enjoying the Amgen Tour of California in Big Bear Lake.

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