Bear Mountain Challenge DH 2007
The Bear Mountain DH course this year was in better shape that I ever seen it in the last 3 years I've been racing there. Some of the gaps had been rebuilt since last year and the entire course flowed far better than in previous years. For those who haven't ridden the course it is SUPER fun just to ride; the top section is quite technical and natural with a couple tough corners and three or four sections over slick rock. After the top section the course turns into a roller coaster over a step down and then flowing over a series of gaps and burms to the finish. At last count there are 11 gaps, a table top, a rock drop and 32 burms ... weeeeee. I expected winning times to be between 3:30 and 3:40. Practice on Saturday went really well. The weather was perfect, the trail was perfect and I was having a blast just riding the course.
The weather was great again for race day, and I got in a pair of excellent practice runs before practice ended. Come race time I forgot to pedal hard on the flats, but pinned it down the technical sections and was happy I nailed all my lines on the way down. My efforts were good enough for a 3:50, which I was happy with as it was 12 seconds quicker than my time from last year. The winning time was 3:36 by Chilean downhill racer by the name of Maurico Quintana.
The event was well organized and everyone had a huge smile on Sunday afternoon. A few select folks were tossed into Mill Pond for their efforts, over which we all had a good laugh. I love the Bear Mountain race because of the fantastic atmosphere, the course is good fun, camping out the night before the race exchanging stories about the days practice, cheersing all the racers during awards and the legacy that the surronds the event after 12 years of racing on the Bear Mountain course.
Cheers,
Tim Coleman
