Big Bear Cycling Association

Team Rubicon to the Rescue

skitrx — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 15:08:07 +0000

The Radford Fire in 2022 and the Line Fire in 2024 did massive damage to the San Bernardino National Forest in the Big Bear area. High winds during the recent winter seasons added to the issue. Coupled with the still-standing weakened and dead trees, there is now a massive fuel load that could pose risks to the surrounding communities.

Mountain bikers and hikers know first-hand how these fires adversely affected the numerous South Shore trails. So much so that many of the South Shore trails are closed to this day. The area lines emergency routes, fire break trails and evacuation routes on the reverse slope of the communities.

Big Bear resident Robin Brown, a retired firefighter, saw a need to address the issue. The San Bernardino National Forest is one of the most utilized forests in the nation and a major part of the Big Bear economy. More importantly, access to these roads and trails in the South Shore system needs to be open in the event of fire.

Brown, who is a volunteer with Team Rubicon, set the wheels in motion. Team Rubicon met several times over the past couple of years to discuss a tree removal plan for the South Shore. The US Forest Service requested assistance for mitigation, removal of hazardous trees and fuels in order to open the free travel of firefighting vehicles and other vehicles on roads and trails to support wildland firefighting activities.

That’s where Team Rubicon has stepped in. A nonprofit organization fueled by volunteers — ex military, retired first responders and the like — Team Rubicon goes where needed around the country to mitigate disasters — wildfire, hurricanes, flooding and more.

Now, the Team is in Big Bear throughout the month of June to help open access to the South Shore trails and roads. The goal is to fell hazardous trees, burned trees and hazardous trees and provide access for firefighters to fight potential fires. The project aligns with Team Rubicon’s We the Bold campaign as part of America’s 250th anniversary. According to Team Rubicon’s communications specialist, Thomas Brown, “We the Bold defines what we do with the responsibility given to us by those who came before: show up for one another through service. This is modern patriotism in practice. We invited everyone to join us in service at teamrubiconusa.org.”

Team Rubicon depends solely on grant money to help fund the project. These are non-paid volunteers who love what they do. Over the years, Team Rubicon has conducted dozens of wildfire recovery and mitigation operations in California as well as across the country. Greyshirt volunteers most recently responded to the Garden Grove chemical leak, floods in Michigan and storms in Mississippi.

Brown, a member of the Big Bear Cycling Association, is the safety leader on the Big Bear project. After five years of retirement Brown says he wanted to put his knowledge to use to respond and help with recovery work. “I found Team Rubicon,” Brown says. “I signed up as a volunteer. This is a good fit. I went in and signed up for their safety officer class.”

Brown served as a safety officer on the Altadena Fire team. Now, he’s working the Big Bear project. “Instead of heads bumping heads down the mountain, up here heads come together and flow down the mountain to the supervisor’s office and it allowed us in the door,” Brown says about how the project came about.

Team Rubicon volunteers come from all over the country. The team currently in Big Bear also includes sawyers from Canada and Australia. The volunteers are called Greyshirts because of the gray T-shirts they wear on the job.

Command leader Bob Yturralde of Palm Springs explains why the project is important. “Why we’re doing this, the basic simple answer is we are providing defendable space, providing a fire mitigation project that creates that defendable space, but we’re also creating a safety zone, getting rid of dangerous dead trees,” Yturralde says. “It provides a bit of a buffer not only for the people in Big Bear, but also visitors who use those trails, hike those mountains.”

Team Rubicon is a problem solving organization. “It’s not only let’s solve a problem, it’s let’s stop a problem,” Yturralde says. “We like to be proactive not reactive.”

This project has been in the making for four years, Yturralde says. In February of this year, things took off, he says. They walked the area, looked at the trees, made their plan of action. “This isn’t our typical operation, because of the skill set needed,” Yturralde. “The sawyers we have here are cream of the crop. You’ve got the top two sawyers in all of Team Rubicon overlooking the 40 some sawyers here.”

Seven strike teams were out on the forest on June 10. By June 13 a new wave of strike teams will be on the job. The first wave totals about 40 volunteers on the Big Bear project. “We’ll do 700 trees by the end of the week,” Yturralde says.

The team is also looking at the Clark’s Grade area, covering another five miles. They will walk that section on June 11 to decide on a plan. Yturralde says Team Rubicon is also in discussions with the US Forest Service to come back in July or August to continue work.

“There’s a lot of dead and hazardous trees out there,” he says.

Photos and Article Contributed by:
Kathy Portie
KJPortie@gmail.com
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
818-631-0380

June 10, 2026

Photos are property of Kathy Portie and are not to be reused without permission.

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Team Rubicon/USFS Big Bear Lake Hazard Tree Project

skitrx — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:44:23 +0000

Our very own Robin Brown on the job with Team Rubicon in Big Bear Lake, CA!

This project will help to remove over 700 hazard trees in the San Bernardino National Forest, helping to pave the way to reopening local trails and providing future wildfire mitigation.

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BBCA Apparel is Now Available for Order!

skitrx — Tue, 19 May 2026 20:12:51 +0000

The Big Bear Cycling Association is excited to announce our brand new cycling kits for 2026 designed in partnership with Athlos Sports.

You may order at any time however, orders will only be processed and shipped during a limited time window each year. This is not “on-demand” ordering. 2026 window TBA.

VIEW BBCA APPAREL

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skitrx — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:17:57 +0000

Big Bear Lake named as one of 28 recipients of the inaugural IMBA Trail Town designation!

IMBA Trail Towns have all the right ingredients: accessible trail infrastructure, a commitment to trail funding, an active local trail organization, a culture of community engagement, and a sustainable trail stewardship plan.

These are communities where kids have easy access to trails, to grow up with more sunshine than screen time. Where local organizations have thriving programming that connects people to the outdoors, and to one another. Where trail funding and maintenance is prioritized and protected through strong local partnerships.

An IMBA Trail Town is a national recognition for communities that value trails and the people who ride them. These towns are leading with trails by modeling how robust investments in outdoor recreation create vibrant, connected communities with outdoor experiences in reach of every resident.

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March 2026 Local Trail Update

skitrx — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Jordan Lowe of the Southern California Mountains Foundation joined us at the last BBCA meeting to discuss what’s happening with our local trails. A quick summary of his report is below.

One of the primary goals for the Big Bear Cycling Association for the coming year is to become more involved with our local trails, which includes maintenance and hopefully further development. We want to have a stronger voice with our local trail managers so that they recognize our commitment to our trails. This will take time and effort but I believe we all want the same thing – great trails and more of them. We need your support to accomplish this!

Upcoming Trail Training: Saturday, May 23rd (approximately two hours)

If you’re interested in doing some solo work on our local trails, please join us for this training. Once certified, we’re able to do independent trail work in the forest. There’s plenty of work to be had out there so we encourage you to join this training. Alternative dates may be scheduled if there is enough interest. When and if we do an organized trail day with Jordan on site, prior training isn’t required.

Click Here to RSVP for May 23rd Training

March Report from Jordan Lowe

of the Southern California Mountains Foundation

Trail Maintenance Program

Operates primarily from May to October. The program relies heavily on volunteers, with full-time trail hosts leading maintenance efforts and public education activities. Key upcoming events include a trail host training on May 23rd and a National Trails Day work event on June 6th, likely on Pine Knot Trail. The organization prioritizes trails based on public usage, with high-traffic areas like Woodland Trail receiving more frequent maintenance attention.

Upcoming BBCA Trail Work Days

BBCA would like to do some evening trail work during the summer with a social hour to follow. Details TBA

North Big Bear Fuel Reduction Program

Jordan discussed the status of the North Shore Trail project. Currently it’s looking like 100 miles of officially designated service trails between Gray’s Peak and the Dump. Project is building on an existing environmental review and is going forward but it’s likely to take several years to get it to shovel ready condition.

There are concerns from local environmental groups, notably the Friends of Big Bear Valley (the Eagles advocates). Their main opposition was the e-bike component of the trail system, which has now been dropped from the proposal and should reduce opposition. Public feedback will take place at open houses to identify challenges.

Skyline Trail Update

Jordan discussed ongoing trail work and tree clearing efforts along Skyline Trail, noting that most trees have been cleared along Skyline and 2N10. Work remains needed on Radford Truck Road and Pirates trail. He explained that a commercial firewood harvester is now handling the work under a $10 per cord agreement, though this may not address trail restoration needs. Skyline trail itself is in need of restoration following the tree falling work.

Jordan also mentioned that USFS leadership is working on streamlining trail maintenance processes to reduce red tape in trail work.

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Current Forest Service Closures Affecting the Big Bear Valley

skitrx — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:46:59 +0000

The Big Bear Cycling Association is aware of the ongoing forest service closures affecting our local area. The USFS has stated that the closures are in the interest of public safety and to protect natural resources. We ask that you respect the closure areas.

Visit the USFS website alerts page for up to date information on area closures within the San Bernardino National Forest.

If you have questions regarding the closures or the San Bernardino National Forest, please direct them to our local San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor’s office.

602 S. Tippecanoe Ave.
San Berndarino, CA 92408
(909) 382-2600

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Gravel Bike California Hosts Send It Sunday in Big Bear!

skitrx — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:59:50 +0000

Sunday, July 14th
Meet at Copper Q at 9:30 am

PLEASE READ ENTIRE NOTES FOR RIDE INFORMATION (Facebook or Strava RSVP):

Summer is here and while the temps rise, it’s best to combat that with altitude as we’ll be heading up to Big Bear for our July Send It.

This course was laid out by Dirty Bear course director Robin Brown where you’ll get to see a couple of sections you’ll be going through in this year’s Tour de Big Bear.

Covering 38 miles and ~3,600 ft of gain, we’ll be covering both sides of the lake with bail out points, but first some ride notes:

The climbing is HARD with These are not rides for beginners or those working their way back.
We will be meeting at 9:30am for coffee at the Copper Q (645 Pine Knot Ave b, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315) with ride instructions given out at 10am SHARP.
Free Parking is available behind Copper Q at 630 Knickerbocker.
Cellphone reception is limited / non-existent over most of the region.
There will be a number of regroups, but once everyone’s back, we roll!
Make sure to bring your own tubes and a couple of water bottles. We’ll be stopping at mile 12 & 27 for refills.
We will be having our post ride meal at Old Country Inn (41126 Big Bear Blvd, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315) with bike space available.
Riding tires 40mm and above will do the trick for most, as the climbs are steep and there’s some soft patches on the dirt descents, as well as loose pavement on the road.
This will not be race pace. At the same time, you have to be in the good to great shape range to do this ride. If you’re just getting back into riding, I suggest you read Rule #1 again.

The ride will first loop clockwise around the lake with the dirt heading up Grays Peak Trail that will take us above Fawnskin.

After a mile of climbing, five miles of rollers follow with another two mile ascent taking us to our highest point on the north behind Delamar Mountain.

We’ll then graze by Holcomb Valley Ranch and descend on Van Dusen Canyon leading us to the south side of the lake.

At around the 27 mile mark, we’ll have our one water stop by Snow Summit while those that want to leave early will be close to the start.

Continuing on, we will make our way up Skyline Road nearing 8,000 ft in elevation before ending back at Old Country Inn.

This is a unique opportunity to ride, so get ready for the Send It mile high style!

(Facebook or Strava RSVP)

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Best Gravel Rides for Starters in California – Gravel Bike California

skitrx — Fri, 24 May 2024 16:18:13 +0000

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Gravel Bike California – Dirty Bear Video

skitrx — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 17:34:18 +0000

Thanks to our friends at Gravel Bike California for doing this epic video of the 2023 Dirty Bear!

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2023 Tour de Big Bear Rider Guide Now Online!

skitrx — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 15:19:48 +0000

Get all the facts and details for the 2023 Tour de Big Bear now – download the Rider Guide!

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