Bikes And Beers Meet at the Summit of Snow Summit in Southern California
The 2012 Amgen Tour of California did not exactly roll into Big Bear Lake, CA, on a gorgeous Friday afternoon in mid-May (May 16, to be specific).
It turned, it twisted and it climbed up highways 330 and 18, which have more curves than the PubClubettes.
For the competitors, it ended with an exhausted winner, Sylvain Georges, who climbed the final stretch up Summit Blvd., as if he needed a t-bar for help. For the spectators, on the other hand, the day was a breeze. Southern California once again presented a sunny day and the views up in Big Bear were spectacular.
And the reward at the end of the journey for the spectators was a festival and beer garden! And, as a bonus to the beer, the Michelob Ultra girls were there, too!
Big Bear proved to be an excellent place for Amgen to finish Stage 6 of the eight-stage race. If it returns here in the future, get up to Big Bear by 1 p.m., have drinks at the Lodge, then pick up a few beers at the Michelob Ultra tent and enjoy the scenery and show put on by the riders.
The festival in the parking lot of Snow Summit, by winter the premier ski resort in the Los Angeles area and by summer an all-around nature’s playground, featured an expo of racing and mountain bicycles, big screens to watch the action before the riders arrived and cans of Michelob Ultra for just $5.
And there were no restrictions about getting beers out of the tent and walking around the festival, so many people lined up against the course with brews in hand and waited for the riders.
In the end, cowbells clanged – like on a downhill ski run at the Winter Olympics – and cheers filled the clear mountain air. What could be better than to experience all this with a cold beer in your hand?
Well, going out at night in Big Bear. And that’s next on the PubClub blogger’s agenda!
Enjoy these photos from the Amgen Tour of California’s 2012 finish in Big Bear!
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