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Established in 1998 in the sleepy mountain town of Big Bear in Southern California, Big Bear Choppers has established a name for itself by creating a chopper that breaks the price barrier, and has become a revolution in quality custom motorcycles at affordable prices.

2011 is the ninth running of the “Ride the Mountain” annual Big Bear Mountain run, put on by Big Bear Choppers. Through the years, this ride has attracted big name entertainment such as Motley Crue and Attika, and was visited last year by the cast of  “Sons of Anarchy”.

It was a drizzly morning in the “flatlands”, as those who live on the mountain refer to us below as “flatlanders”. I wondered how many of Southern California’s “nouveau biker class” would venture out in the morning dew. For the “Ride the Mountain Rally” to be truly successful, I know that Big Bear Choppers was going to hope to attract many of these weekend warriors.

Panman and I met early, and began our trek up the mountain. I had hoped to make a stop at Quaids Harley-Davidson in Loma Linda on the way. Betsy Huelskamp and Kevin Bean’re were going to lead a group up the mountain from there. You will never be short of entertainment when these two are around, and that promised to be a good time all by itself. But it seems that Panman and I spent a little too much time enjoying coffee and talking about old times to get our butts in the saddle in time. We passed by Quaid’s at 3 minutes ’til when I waved Panman off, and we never broke stride as we rolled our throttles on.

By the time we reached Mentone in the foothills, the sky was clear and the sun felt warm. Our big Ultra’s roared as we sped through the canyons, listening to the sounds of our engines bounce off the canyon walls.

The air turned crisp, but still warm as we made our way through the pines. Big Bear is really an anomaly. An oasis of mountain, lake, and pines planted like a postage stamp right smack dab in the middle of one of the harshest, and largest deserts in America.

Riding up the mountain was such a joy, I didn’t notice the lack of bikes on the road. In fact, come to think of it, there were hardly any. Once we leveled out into the town of Big Bear, we began to see a few, but nothing like we witnessed in prior years.

Reports have been rolling in all over the country from motorcycle rallies and vendors bout the decline in participation that has been taking a toll on many of these rallies. The economy has made an impact on the number of riders in attendance, and especially the amount of money they spend.

Big Bear is also struggling. The economy of Big Bear is always challenged anyway due to the difficulty in moving product up and down the mountain. Big Bear is primarily a sleepy tourist town for middle class Southern Californians. That is what is so remarkable about Big Bear Choppers, that they have continued to survive in what is in actuality an economic hell.

The vendors and entertainment is held at Snow Summit ski “resort?”. Hmm, not quite a resort. But hey, a great place for a motorcycle rally! Panman and I had no problem finding a parking spot, and made our way to the gate. $10 entry fee, not too bad, but you could see the vendors from the gate. Wow, maybe all 10-15 of them? Vance Hines was there, as was Big Bear Choppers. Freedom Performance Exhaust (terrible pipes, have to talk about that later) was also there. And then there was a small group of patch and novelty helmet vendors, a couple of t-shirt booths, and a specialty parts vendor.

As we entered inside the party, the gathering of bikes that were entered into the judging was immediately noticeable. These were some gorgeous bikes that had been ridden here. I always appreciate that they didn’t just roll off a trailer.

My brother Tray was standing in line getting an adult beverage as we made our way further into the venue. Perfect, as we passed our order to him for a couple more. You gotta love a brother that only shows up right when you need him most!

We sat down and talked to Tray and his buddy “Too Tall Ed”. Tray had just bought a new set of Vance Hines exhaust for his new 103″ Ultra. They were installing them as we enjoyed our beers.

Panman and I shortly strolled off into the vendors pit, checking out the wares and stopping off at Vance Hines to witness the new pipes on Tray’s ride. We tried to convince the installer to use duct tape to strap the pipes into place, but he wasn’t having any of it. I have to admit, those are some beautiful pipes!

Funny, when it came time for Tray to test ride the bike, Panman and I continued our bantering with the vendors. When we returned, I asked if Tray had come back from his test ride yet. I guess Tray was enjoying the ride so much, he never came back. Go figure!

After negotiating the price of a new novelty helmet and a couple of patches, Panman and I took a couple of fresh ones, sparked up a couple of cigars, and headed for the band stage.

The band wasn’t a known act as in past years, but these guys could rock. We found a place to sit, as we enjoyed our cigars and brews.

It probably doesn’t take a degree from Cal State to know that it’s not real smart to sit on an old bale of straw, with old straw scattered all around on the ground under it, and smoke a cigar. The vapors from the decaying straw itself can become combustible. And yet, there we sat with smug looks on our faces. Oh, we knew we were screwing up. But hey, he was doing it! Besides, the two gals in Cheeky Chaps had our full attention! There was no moving now!

Entertainment completed, it was time to make our way back down the mountain. It dawned on me, I know Betsy and Bean’re pulled in with their entourage just shortly after we did. Funny, I don’t remember seeing them inside. And it’s not that big to miss them. Perhaps they were taking the gorgeous ride around the lake. No worries, I know I will run into them again. Those that truly ride seem to cross paths in some of the darnedest places!

Big Bear Choppers knows how to put on a party. It is too bad that so many people didn’t get to enjoy it, for what ever reason. I know that times are tough, and that truly worries me for the other upcoming rallies. But when you have an opportunity to ride and meet new people, don’t let it pass you by! Just scale back a little. The biker community has weathered tough times before, and we will weather this one too. But we need to do it as a community.

My thanks go out to Kevin Alsop and the Big Bear Chopper family. I look forward to partyin’ with you guys again next year, and hope you’ll have us!

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