Polar Bear 2006 Report: 
Sunday, January 8th, 2006; Forestview High School, Union Rd, Gastonia, NC.

Course Details: The Gaston County Cyclists sponsored its annual Polar Bear ride at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, January 8, 2006. The weather was excellent, with a temperature of about 59 deg F, winds 4-6 mph, & mostly clear skies. The start/finish area was Forestview High School in Gastonia. The course was 50 miles long, with 1900' feet of cumulative climbing. Two optional shortcuts were available which reduced the route by 7 & 4 miles, respectively.

Organizer: Thanks go to Jim & Paula Weant for organizing the event, marking the course, & patrolling the course, & manning the water stop.. The course wa marked with a brightly colored (orange) arrow & letter "A."   Thanks also go to Charlene Angel & Melissa Magee for helping with registration.

Participants: 154 riders were registered, a record number for this event.

Hometowns:  Riders came from the following 35 NC & SC towns:

Asheville, Belmont, Charlotte, Claremont, Clover, Concord, Cornelius, Cramerton, Dallas, Denver, Fort Mill, Gaffney, Gastonia, Greenville, Harrisburg, Hickory, Huntersville,  Indian Trail, Kannapolis, Kings Mtn, Lake Wylie, Lincolnton, Maiden, Matthews, Mt Holly, Rock Hill, Salisbury, Sharon, Shelby, Spartanburg, Stanley, Valdese, Vale, Waxhaw, York.