We’re proud to join them. Here’s how you can.

Introducing new advanced mountain biking trail and last-chance to save big for summer and next winter

(Big Bear Lake, CA – May 22, 2013) – Snow Summit will open this Saturday, May 25th with multiple activities including the Snow Summit Scenic Sky Chair, top-to-bottom hiking, biking trails and rentals for all levels, plus mountain-style golfing on the Bear Mountain Golf Course. The resort is also introducing an advanced rider-only mountain biking trail with multiple features for downhill enthusiasts. All activities, both summer andwinter 2013/2014, can be enjoyed at a discounted rate with the purchase of a Screamin’ Deal Season Pass – deal ends May 31st.

Open weekends-only until mid-June, the Snow Summit Scenic Sky Chair offers treetop views of pristine Big Bear Lake, making for a great weekend escape for the whole family. Guests who ride the Scenic Sky Chair to the top of Snow Summit can eat at the View Haus, the most scenic barbeque in Big Bear, and have the option to take the Sky Chair back down, hike to the bottom or bike on the many trails in the San Bernardino National Forest. Snow Summit offers bike rentals for all levels in the base area.

Gravity Logic, experts in bike park design and development, designed Snow Summit’s new advanced trail, “Miracle Mile.” The downhill trail features sweeping s-turns, 33 berms, six rollers, ten jumps and three wood features including a 30-foot bridge, diving board and berm. Snow Summit plans on opening at least three new trails in addition to existing trails with accessibility for all levels by the end of summer.

“We currently offer something for every level of golfer, hiker, biker and explorer,” says Chris Riddle, Vice President of Marketing at Big Bear Mountain Resorts. “As the summer progresses, we will be adding more activities including a 1,050-foot zipline, along with daily operation beginning June 15th. Our guests can enjoy beautiful scenery and southern California mountain weather that is ideal for being outdoors mid-day.”

The ultimate discount on Screamin’ Deal Season Passes for Bear Mountain and Snow Summit ends May 31st.  Don’t miss out on the best savings of the year to ski and ride both mountains in winter 2013/2014 along with great deals on summer activities at Snow Summit.

This is just a preview, later this week, you’ll be able to buy your hi-resolution images for your own printing, or digital delivery at http://plsphotography.com

Thanks for Sharing, Steve and Mike

And Congrats to all you who competed last night, it was an amazingly fun ride, just being a part of the exhibit area….now that we’re racing in LA on Thursdays, maybe John and Matt will saddle up (or we can save it this year’s Crankbrothers Drag Race.)

This isn’t just a meet and great, it’s a meet, greet, hangout, race and have a beer with Fisher.  Come on out!

Racing kicks off on Tuesday Night, May 21 in Orange County at Irvine Lake, CA

Thank you to all the volunteers who camp out Thursday Night

Thanks to HDX Hyrdration Mix for coming out and shooting some great photos.

Chapter 5: Ready, Set, GO!

 In Chapter 1 we talked about how to improve your overall aerobic fitness. In Chapter 2 we took a look at workouts that will improve you anaerobic efforts and race performance. Chapter 3 was all about fueling and dispelling some nutrition myths. In Chapter 4 we touched on your bike setup and gave a few suggestions to improve performance.

Pre-Race Nerves

Everyone’s pre-race anxiety varies. No matter how many races I do I get nervous and anxious before the start. Here’s a couple simple things you can do to take you mind off the nerves while you are sitting at the start.

Breathe. Concentrate on the natural metronome of your body. Breathe in and breathe out. Count your breaths. Be calm and focus on something simple.

Remember that everyone else is starting a race too! Look around. Are you the most nervous? I doubt it. Inventory the whole group and take it all in. Who’s fidgeting and who’s joking around. Sometimes putting up blinders to what’s going on around you just makes the pre-race nerves more intense.

 How can I start better?

This is a common question. Some people feel like lining up early and jockeying for better position at the start line is rude or a waste of time. Next time you go ride with your friends. Wait for 15 seconds at the bottom of your ride’s big climb. Let your friends ride away. Then clip in and try to catch your buddies. Yeah, you can catch them, but you spent a lot of unnecessary energy in the process. The same principles apply to any race. The further back you start, the harder the race is for you. While its impressive to ride from the back of the pack to the front group, take a look around when you get there, the rest of the group isn’t as spent as you are!

How else can you improve your starts? Practice! When you ride or when you do drills like the 30/30s from Chapter 2. Come to a complete stop and without scaring the local hikers, clip in and do your all out effort from a dead stop. This is the best way to make the quick start of mountain bike race second nature and instinctual.

Race Goals

What is your goal? It is very difficult to come away from an event with a sense of accomplishment without a goal. We touched on this in Chapter 1. Even some the best professional level racers lack this skill. Set a goal! Any goal! If you don’t reach that goal, set a different goal. Do you want to finish in the top ten? Just finish the race? Wear a skirt and sing a song on course? Goals come in all shapes and sizes just like racers. One thing is certain, if you don’t establish what success is before you clip into your pedals, it isn’t going to get clearer when you are breathing heavy and sweating in a sea of dirt and mountain bikers!

 The Task at Hand

A great strategy to focus on during the race is to mentally pace yourself. This does not necessarily mean pacing your effort or your speed but rather focus on the milestones that will get you through the race and closer to your “Race Goal”. Is your goal on the first lap to make it to the top of the first climb 1^st? To hang on to the lead group? Not to get dropped?

Break the race up into smaller sections. First uphill, back to the Start/Finish, second climb, etc. Over The Hump isn’t a 5 hour race but for some of us, racing for an hour can be intimidating. So hit you reset button often. When you cross that Start/Finish line pick your head up and shake your legs out and SMILE! You are having fun on a Tuesday night at Over The Hump mtb race series Presented by Audi and HDX Drink Mix.

About the author:

Ted is a USA Cycling Certified Coach and avid mountain biker. He cut his teeth on the US Cup MTB Series in 2011 taking the Series overall and landing on the top podium step at 3 US Cup XC events last year in Cat 1 30-34. He is an owner of G2 Bike in Aliso Viejo. G2 Bike is a full service bike shop and also offers all types of athlete coaching programs and compliments many of its athletes training with G2 Altitude Training.

More info at www.g2bike.com

Coming up:

Over The Hump #1  May 21^{st -} 

 Click here to Register Now

JAX Bicycles announced, not only will Fisher be shaking hands and signing autographs, at the JAX tent on Tuesday, May 21- Opening Night of Over the Hump Orange County; but he also will throw his leg over his own signature series TREK 29er.  Come Join the fun!

Jax Bicycle Center Presents Gary Fisher

May 21, 2013

Jax Bicycle Center is a proud sponsor of the Over the Hump Mountain Bike Race Series 2013!

Join Jax Bicycle Center “Opening Night” Tuesday, May 21st for an evening of fun in the dirt!

Stop by the Jax Bicycle Center tent to meet our special guest Gary Fisher, “The Founding Father of Mountain Bikes” and race side by side with a pioneer in the sport of mountain biking!

Fisher began racing road and track in the 60’s at the young age of 12.  During the 90’s Fisher went on to win the Masters’ XC National Title and the European TransAlp race.  Fisher’s imagination led to the innovation of mountain bikes that in turn, inducted him into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.  With creativity and an innovative spirit, Fisher designed a bicycle collection with Trek.  Trek manufactures and carries the Gary Fisher Collection that has included road, mountain, and town bicycles.

Want to ride the latest and greatest Mountain Bikes Trek has to offer?!?!?!  No problem, the Trek trailer will be at “Opening Night” with a fleet of Demo Bikes!  Race a Demo Bike FREE! (First Come, First Serve, NO Bike Reservations)

4:00 pm – Gates Open/ Registration

4:30-5:30 pm – Pre-Ride Course Open (must have number plate first)

5:00-8:00 pm – Baja Fresh Dinner (available for your purchase)

5:30 pm – Kid’s Race

5:45 pm – Stage at Start (all categories)

6:00 pm – Race Start (Stage start in waves, by category & class)

Register TODAY!  http://raceoc.com/register

by Ted Willard G2 Bike and G2 Athlete Coaching

You’ve been working hard on the bike, eating well and pushing yourself to be a better athlete. What else can you do to improve your performance?

Upgrading your bike may be the next step. This topic is sure to draw out the opinionated mechanically inclined members of your riding crew, so tread lightly and remember that what works for some riders doesn’t always work for everyone. Here are a few concepts and tips that will improve your performance without taking out a second mortgage to cover the costs.

What’s the best way to upgrade my bike?
When considering how to upgrade your mtb for racing events the obvious conclusion is lighten up your bike and you will also lighten the load placed on your body during the race. A light bike won’t make you any more fit but a light bike will make you a bit faster. How much faster? One good illustration of weight and its effect on your performance is this: If you we’re to climb continuously for one hour, a weight difference of 1,000 grams would save you 350 ft. on 7% grade climb. The steeper the climb the greater the benefit. So the lighter you can make your bike, the faster you will go up every climb.

I’ve heard upgrading my wheels is the most effective why is that?
Your bike is made up of two types of weight: rotational weight and static weight. Static weight is basically your frame, brake levers, shifters and other components that don’t rotate or move when you pedal away to from the start line. Rotational weight is simply your wheels, cranks, pedals, cassette, chain and anything that starts to move as you accelerate. Simply put it takes more energy to move rotational weight than static weight, so  it is more beneficial to upgrade rotational weight items than static weight items.

The most benefit does come from reducing the weight of your wheel set. Mostly because apart from your frame, your wheels make up such a large part of your bikes overall weight. Most importantly, your wheels make up the largest portion of your bike’s total rotational weight.

Wow, so I need a light hard tail bike for OTH?
No way! The bottom line is these are ways you can increase your performance through equipment choice. But at the end of the day, you are as fast as you and your machine together! So practice riding YOUR bike and make upgrades only when you are ready for them.

Going Tubeless: Rotational Weight Value
A great option for racers looking to lighten up your wheel set is going with a tubeless tire setup. For a fraction of the cost of a new wheel set you can lighten up your wheel set and get some added flat protection with the addition of the sealant used in most tubeless set ups. Most modern wheel and tire combos are easily converted to tubeless and can facilitate a lower tire pressure for better tire grip and performance.

Your body is ready, and a few tweaks to your bike setup can set you up for a better race at this years Over The Hump Series!

About the author:
Ted is a USA Cycling Certified Coach and avid mountain biker. He cut his teeth on the US Cup MTB Series in 2011 taking the Series overall and landing on the top podium step at 3 US Cup XC events last year in Cat 1 30-34. He is an owner of G2 Bike in Aliso Viejo. G2 Bike is a full service bike shop and also offers all types of athlete coaching programs and compliments many of its athletes training with G2 Altitude Training.
More info at www.g2bike.com

Coming up:
Chapter 5: Ready, Set, Go!