2011 Sea Otter Fodder

Last Thursday, we loaded up the car with goodies for the Ibis booth and headed south to the Sea Otter. Upon arrival, we unloaded and I spent some time visiting with my pals from Magura, SDG, ESI Grips, Rotor, Kenda, and Manitou. The Rotor boys were kind enough to give me a live to Monterey and I enjoyed a tranquil last supper prior to race-day on Friday.

My slumber was disturbed first by some drunken neighbors bashing into my motel room door and then by my friend arriving at o’dark hundred. He proceeded to rise with the birds—afterall, who needs sleep before a race?! We loaded up and arrived at Laguna Seca in time to get our bikes sorted and make the start about a minute before launch. I moved to the front as we left the pavement, but was overtaken on the first downhill section by Aaron Bradford and Dax Massey.

I was feeling a bit slow, but my confidence was buoyed by last year’s similar start and ultimate result. There were allegedly some changes to the course so I took a wait-and-see approach to the first lap. This year, I chose the same gearing, similar tires and front suspension. Last year, the gearing and tires were spot on, but I felt like I lost some time on the steep, rough descents—hence the decision for the fork.

Unfortunately, virtually all the rough stuff had been eliminated and many of the dirt road climbs and descents had been covered in a thick layer of loose gravel. My gear was simply too high to climb in the saddle and any effort out of the saddle was foiled by peeling out. The new downhill sections were filled with loose, sandy/gravel off-camber corners and I would have been well advised to ride more edgy tires.

By the end of the first lap, I was comfortably in second position but could make no progress as Aaron continued to extend his lead on the rest of the field. While my tires and gearing would have definitely made the race closer, I am still not sure they would have sealed the deal as my general state of fatigue and the muscle spasms that have plagued my year thus far were only at a barely tolerable level.

It was awesome to stand on the Sea Otter podium again, and Mr. Bradford seems like a great winner so I must be happy with a solid performance and try to make ends meet in time for the Whiskey Off-Road later this month!

Here is a link to my Garmin Connect activity:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79422803