Rides near Big Bear Lake, CA



RapDaddyo

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May 17, 2005
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I'm looking into taking a group of "A" riders from Las Vegas to Big Bear Lake (or Arrowhead Lake) this fall for a weekend of riding. We want a challenging 80-100 mile ride on Saturday and a 40-50 mile ride on Sunday, with lots of climbing on both rides. Any suggestions on specific routes? And, how late in the year can you ride without cold weather clothes in the Big Bear area (e.g., temps at least in the 40s at the tops of the climbs)? I was thinking about using SR18 and SR38 for the long ride (don't know whether it's better clockwise or counterclockwise). Looks like ~9K' of gross climbing. Is that a good route? Any input would be welcomed.
 
RapDaddyo said:
I'm looking into taking a group of "A" riders from Las Vegas to Big Bear Lake (or Arrowhead Lake) this fall for a weekend of riding. We want a challenging 80-100 mile ride on Saturday and a 40-50 mile ride on Sunday, with lots of climbing on both rides. Any suggestions on specific routes? And, how late in the year can you ride without cold weather clothes in the Big Bear area (e.g., temps at least in the 40s at the tops of the climbs)? I was thinking about using SR18 and SR38 for the long ride (don't know whether it's better clockwise or counterclockwise). Looks like ~9K' of gross climbing. Is that a good route? Any input would be welcomed.
Let me know exactly when you'll be up here. There are plenty of options. 38 is a very nice climb; about 30 miles and 7000' from bottom to top. The northeast side of 18 is alright, but the scenery doesn't match up to the 38.

General rule of thumb, when you ride over 8443' passes in the fall, you always bring cold weather gear. Nature doesn't tend to show much mercy on those who don't come prepared. However, chances are good you won't have to actually use it.

BTW, what do you consider "A" riders?
 
joemw said:
Let me know exactly when you'll be up here. There are plenty of options. 38 is a very nice climb; about 30 miles and 7000' from bottom to top. The northeast side of 18 is alright, but the scenery doesn't match up to the 38.

General rule of thumb, when you ride over 8443' passes in the fall, you always bring cold weather gear. Nature doesn't tend to show much mercy on those who don't come prepared. However, chances are good you won't have to actually use it.

BTW, what do you consider "A" riders?
Thanks for the reply, joemw. We're looking at the last weekend in October. By "A" riders, I'd say everybody's >= 3.5 w/kg. Do you (or your club) ride in the Big Bear Lake area often?
 
RapDaddyo said:
Thanks for the reply, joemw. We're looking at the last weekend in October. By "A" riders, I'd say everybody's >= 3.5 w/kg. Do you (or your club) ride in the Big Bear Lake area often?
It's where I live, so yeah, you might say I ride here often. :)
 
joemw said:
It's where I live, so yeah, you might say I ride here often. :)
Is the entire 18/38/330 loop rideable? Are there any dangerous spots? Would it be better to do it clockwise or counterclockwise? I can't see a way to cut across from 38 to 18 west of Big Bear Lake (other than 330). So, it looks like ~90 miles. Am I missing something?
 
RapDaddyo said:
Is the entire 18/38/330 loop rideable? Are there any dangerous spots? Would it be better to do it clockwise or counterclockwise? I can't see a way to cut across from 38 to 18 west of Big Bear Lake (other than 330). So, it looks like ~90 miles. Am I missing something?
There is an annual ride that goes up the 330, across the 18 to the 38 and down the 38. I can't recommend riding the 330 though, at least not up it. It's single lane with no shoulder, twisty, with plenty of visitors to the mountains driving it who suddenly remember how fun it can be to drive a car fast through the mountains. It's dangerous, to say the least. If you are dead set on doing a loop, then go down the 330 and over to the 38 and up it. It's a pretty big loop. I'd recommend doing an out and back on 38 personally, it reduces your risks. Or you could do a huge loop and go down all the way to the west side of the 18 and then over to the 38, but then you are talking about a fairly epic ride.

Anyway, counterclockwise if you insist.
 
joemw said:
There is an annual ride that goes up the 330, across the 18 to the 38 and down the 38. I can't recommend riding the 330 though, at least not up it. It's single lane with no shoulder, twisty, with plenty of visitors to the mountains driving it who suddenly remember how fun it can be to drive a car fast through the mountains. It's dangerous, to say the least. If you are dead set on doing a loop, then go down the 330 and over to the 38 and up it. It's a pretty big loop. I'd recommend doing an out and back on 38 personally, it reduces your risks. Or you could do a huge loop and go down all the way to the west side of the 18 and then over to the 38, but then you are talking about a fairly epic ride.

Anyway, counterclockwise if you insist.
Well, my first choice would be a road that cuts across west of Big Bear Lake (connecting the 18 and 38), but none seems to go all the way across. I was worried about traffic and the shoulder width on the 330 since we'd be riding it on a Saturday. So, that confirms my suspicion that it should be avoided. BTW, what's a good 40-50 mile ride from Big Bear Lake up toward Lake Arrowhead? We plan to do a 2-3 hr ride Sunday morning before departure. Thanks for the advice.
 
RapDaddyo said:
Well, my first choice would be a road that cuts across west of Big Bear Lake (connecting the 18 and 38), but none seems to go all the way across. I was worried about traffic and the shoulder width on the 330 since we'd be riding it on a Saturday. So, that confirms my suspicion that it should be avoided. BTW, what's a good 40-50 mile ride from Big Bear Lake up toward Lake Arrowhead? We plan to do a 2-3 hr ride Sunday morning before departure. Thanks for the advice.
I think you are a little confused by the maps. The 18 and 38 do connect, directly to one another in fact. Today I rode from Bear Valley Cycles (highly recommended if you need anything) to Lake Arrowhead Village by taking the 18 basically the entire way, except for the turnoff to the village. That's about a 3 hour ride out and back, though I did shoot up to Green Valley Lake too, which is off the 18 as well and is the highest community in our mountains. Going down the 330 isn't completely insane, the speeds are very high which means the cars aren't going 50 mph faster than you as they would be going up the 330. It's just not a loop you'd do everyday due to the risk, but doing it once on a visit ain't so bad really.
 
joemw said:
I think you are a little confused by the maps. The 18 and 38 do connect, directly to one another in fact.
I mean from, say, Angelus Oaks to Running Springs. If there were a road that allowed you to bypass the 330 from San Bernardino to Running Springs, it would be a great loop.