Jordansrealm
New Member
Ever have one of those days when you feel like everything is right in the world? I know, it probably doesn’t happen often. When the perfect trail comes along, I can’t help but feel as if all my worries are washed away with a fresh, heaping helping of singletrack and epic views. Nothing beats Mother Nature. Big Bear is one of those magical places. Only an hour away from my home I can visit this great little mountain town filled with beauty, a gorgeous lake and some amazing trails.
Let me back up a little. Tuesday, while reading STR, I came across a ride report for what looked to be an awesome trail up in Big Bear. Looked like new dirt for me and that is alway something I strive for. Riding the same local dirt can get rather monotonous. I saved the route from Geoladders to my Garmin 500 and decided I needed to get my tires dirty. Yesterday, my neighbor Katy and I took the day away and headed up the mountain. The mapping suggested the trailhead was somewhere off Mill Creek Road. As usual, we parked, loaded up our packs, flipped on the Garmin and made way for the trail. After searching for the trailhead in all directions watching as my Garmin was epic failing all over the place, we decided to take off and ride elsewhere. We found a few spots that looked like it could have been the trailhead but unfortunately the Garmin was bouncing around all over and every time it seemed we were getting closer to the START, it then said we were almost a half mile away. FAIL.
Feeling a little bewildered, I made an executive decision to ride somewhere I knew would be good dirt even though it wasn’t new to me. With our bikes loaded back on the rack, we made way for the 2N10 just outside Bear Mountain off Moonridge Road. Although I wasn’t excited about the impending miles of fire road that we needed to traverse before getting to some good singletrack, it was new dirt to Katy so there was that. Less than a mile from the start, I spotted what looked to be a nice singletrack trail just off the side of the 2N10 following us. At this point, I had no idea what we were about to ride.
We hopped off the 2N10 and proceeded to discover the newest trail in Big Bear, Skyline. I had only briefly read about this trail on STR but had no idea where it was or just how amazing it would be. Instantly, we were riding buff singletrack, countless switchbacks, small rock gardens, crazy beautiful views the entire way and even found a few pump track like sections. Every time I looked back to see how Katy was doing, she pulled up with a smile running from ear to ear. Several times throughout our ride both of us cheered and yelled, “Oh my god this is amazing where the hell are we!?” Then, we finally spotted a trail marker. We were indeed on Skyline.
We continued on Skyline for around 5 more miles just shy of Clark’s Grade. It was getting late in the day and we hated leaving Skyline behind. Just below the 2N10 we made our way to Plantation Trail, another fun, fast singletrack section, down into town. As the dirt turned to pavement, we realized we were back on Mill Creek Road. Laughing hysterically as we passed the earlier spot where we had parked the car and gotten lost. As we made our way down Big Bear Blvd, stopping at Bear Valley Bikes to see what the shop had going on and learn a little more about the trail we had just finished. As usual, Derek and his staff are amazingly nice people and always willing to help and chat you up about the local trails. We learned that Skyline is already 8.5 miles long with more miles planned for 2013. Instantly, I knew I was coming back to ride the entire length, maybe even both directions. Katy picked up one of their kits to wear during her upcoming Xterra Triathlon and I grabbed a couple new water bottles.
With several pavement miles ahead of us back to the car, we made our way to Moonridge and up to the 2N10. Do yourself a favor, visit Big Bear and get on this trail. Riding this during the week, we had the entire trail to ourselves. Seriously, not one other person was out there. It was quite magical. Enjoy the photos below and have a blast!
***20 more images on my site. Yes, I am too lazy to copy and paste them all here, haha. agentlemansword.com
Can't wait to go back!
Jordan
Let me back up a little. Tuesday, while reading STR, I came across a ride report for what looked to be an awesome trail up in Big Bear. Looked like new dirt for me and that is alway something I strive for. Riding the same local dirt can get rather monotonous. I saved the route from Geoladders to my Garmin 500 and decided I needed to get my tires dirty. Yesterday, my neighbor Katy and I took the day away and headed up the mountain. The mapping suggested the trailhead was somewhere off Mill Creek Road. As usual, we parked, loaded up our packs, flipped on the Garmin and made way for the trail. After searching for the trailhead in all directions watching as my Garmin was epic failing all over the place, we decided to take off and ride elsewhere. We found a few spots that looked like it could have been the trailhead but unfortunately the Garmin was bouncing around all over and every time it seemed we were getting closer to the START, it then said we were almost a half mile away. FAIL.
Feeling a little bewildered, I made an executive decision to ride somewhere I knew would be good dirt even though it wasn’t new to me. With our bikes loaded back on the rack, we made way for the 2N10 just outside Bear Mountain off Moonridge Road. Although I wasn’t excited about the impending miles of fire road that we needed to traverse before getting to some good singletrack, it was new dirt to Katy so there was that. Less than a mile from the start, I spotted what looked to be a nice singletrack trail just off the side of the 2N10 following us. At this point, I had no idea what we were about to ride.
We hopped off the 2N10 and proceeded to discover the newest trail in Big Bear, Skyline. I had only briefly read about this trail on STR but had no idea where it was or just how amazing it would be. Instantly, we were riding buff singletrack, countless switchbacks, small rock gardens, crazy beautiful views the entire way and even found a few pump track like sections. Every time I looked back to see how Katy was doing, she pulled up with a smile running from ear to ear. Several times throughout our ride both of us cheered and yelled, “Oh my god this is amazing where the hell are we!?” Then, we finally spotted a trail marker. We were indeed on Skyline.
We continued on Skyline for around 5 more miles just shy of Clark’s Grade. It was getting late in the day and we hated leaving Skyline behind. Just below the 2N10 we made our way to Plantation Trail, another fun, fast singletrack section, down into town. As the dirt turned to pavement, we realized we were back on Mill Creek Road. Laughing hysterically as we passed the earlier spot where we had parked the car and gotten lost. As we made our way down Big Bear Blvd, stopping at Bear Valley Bikes to see what the shop had going on and learn a little more about the trail we had just finished. As usual, Derek and his staff are amazingly nice people and always willing to help and chat you up about the local trails. We learned that Skyline is already 8.5 miles long with more miles planned for 2013. Instantly, I knew I was coming back to ride the entire length, maybe even both directions. Katy picked up one of their kits to wear during her upcoming Xterra Triathlon and I grabbed a couple new water bottles.
With several pavement miles ahead of us back to the car, we made our way to Moonridge and up to the 2N10. Do yourself a favor, visit Big Bear and get on this trail. Riding this during the week, we had the entire trail to ourselves. Seriously, not one other person was out there. It was quite magical. Enjoy the photos below and have a blast!
***20 more images on my site. Yes, I am too lazy to copy and paste them all here, haha. agentlemansword.com
Can't wait to go back!
Jordan
