Grease-Lightnin': Sea Otter Classic 2014

Sea Otter Classic 2014

It all began...

Ryan and I started the 2,000 mile round trip journey from Ketchum, Idaho to Monterey, California and back on Tuesday, April 8th. In order to pick up the rental vehicle 12 miles from our apartment at the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, we left from our apartment via road bikes at 8am in 32 degree weather. The mini-van we had reserved turned into a Suburban, as they only had Suburbans available. After leaving the airport, we discovered that the oil change indicator was lit and exchanged it for another one. Luckily, the exchanged Suburban only had 2,000 miles on it, and XM radio, which certainly came in handy!

Once the vehicle was loaded with our bikes, gear, and dog, Apollo, we hit the road towards the Sierra Nevada’s. It was a long journey through the Nevada plains, with pit stops at dumpy gas stations. What we found most shocking and disturbing, was that casinos and or slot machines were available at every gas station and convenience store. Each small mining community seemed to indulge in the gambling culture. Gross.

Lunch was had on the road and we made a stop in Truckee, California to eat some very good pizza for dinner. We made it all the way to Sacramento, California by 10pm. On the fringe of the downtown, the Motel 6 was most certainly not the nicest of accommodations, but it sure beat having to set up camp after a long day driving. It felt bizarre for us to be in T-shirts at this time of night. This is because once the sun goes down in the high alpine desert temperatures drop below freezing. It proved challenging for Apollo to go to the bathroom at the motel because there was very little grass.

Loading up the Suburban, wow, that's a lot of stuff!

Fueling up already with some PHGB trail-mix!

Okay, bring out the Emergency Chocolate, because it is never a bad time for that on a long drive like this!

My Dad made this lucky Sun Charm for me :)

Driving across no-where Nevada. It felt a lot longer on the way back home...

This sign was on the building of the Motel 6 outside of downtown Sacramento...

What a long, strange trip it sure has been, and it has barely started yet!

But don't worry, we found grass!...

Luckily, on Wednesday morning, April 9th, we found a very nice park for Apollo to run around before exploring downtown Sacramento. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast while seated on a bench alongside of the Capitol Building. Afterwards, we headed to San Francisco for a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Although there was still thick cloud cover over the city, it was enjoyable to take some pictures of the scenery and see seals in the harbor. Apollo was not quite sure what the honking noise was coming from!

From San Francisco, we took the scenic route along the coast towards Monterey on California Route 1. There was still cloud cover over the ocean until about 11am, which we found to be the trend during our stay in the Monterey coastal area. Once the sun broke though, it was nice and warm. We found a nice park in Aptos to eat our lunch that we had picked up in Santa Cruz. Then, we continued onward to the Leguna Seca Raceway. This was the location of the Sea Otter Classic exposition and race courses. It was finally time to get onto the bikes and pre-ride the cross country mountain bike loop.

Once pedaling, our bodies immediately felt slimy, as we were not use to the humidity! The course started out with a very fast, loose gravel decent, continuing on with another paved descent. A right hand turn finally dumped us onto single track that was smooth, hard packed dirt. It was also somewhat shaded. The majority of the course played out to be repeats of the fast, loose gravel and pavement descents and flowing single track climbs. The most challenging section of the course for me during the pre-ride and the race itself, was a mile long section of wide open gravel roads with short, steep climbs.

Beautiful park and downtown Sacramento

Capitol building and interesting bridge

Way to go dog-walker!

Finally seeing the Pacific coast...

Pre-riding the course

Ummmm, hey there snake!

Sheep and solar...good combo!

View of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge

Seals!

Beautiful architecture

Expo! Expo! Expo!...

By the time we arrived back at the car, the clouds were blanketing the area again and to our upset, we discovered that the home we had booked to stay at over the next few nights through “Airbnb” was 50 minutes away in Watsonville, not 20 minutes away in Marina. However, the home was beautiful and the owner very nice. It was a perfect place for Apollo to run around freely and for us to cook our meals.

Thursday, April 10th, was a chance to ease into the day. After a solid breakfast, we traveled back to the Leguna Seca Raceway. We did a very short ride consisting of leg openers and then watched some of the road bike and dual slalom racing. It was our first day to explore the expo. Wonderful connections were instantly made with various exhibitors. The entire day went by so fast and we ended up sunburnt!

Some Dual Slalom action

“Elevated Legs” (http://92fifty.com/legs-holder/purchase).Elevated Legs is a company that “provides all athletes with convenient and affordable air compression therapy to speed leg recovery.” As soon as I put Elevated Legs on, I was hooked.

Networking with Skratch Labs

Stunt show

Bike is all ready to go!

Official Avex Hydration sponsored athlete!

Ouchies

Where the heck is the short track???...

On Friday morning, April 11th, it was time to race in the women’s pro short track event. I remembered to apply sun screen this time! Once at the venue, the short track course was not very well marked. There were no maps prior to the race that showed even where the course was going to be. Luckily, I spotted some other female riders exploring some taped off sections within the race-track area. Unfortunately, I did not get the warm up that I had quite anticipated, and my nerves were flying. I also did not get a great starting position, as they only called up the top 20 women and filed in on the 4th row back. When the gun went off, it was quite the battle to move up! I had to be safe and smart and made sure to pass riders with precision. With 2 laps to go, there were 2 other riders sitting on my wheel and 2 riders about 15 seconds ahead. I knew at this point it was more important to stay focused on the 2 riders with me and make sure that I beat them to the finish line. It was all about tactics now. I knew that if I let either of them get around me, I would not be able to make my aggressive finishing sprint on the pavement. Therefor, I controlled the pace very easy at the front and when it was time to unleash my sprint, I did so with all my might! I pulled it off easily and took 15th place out of 29 finishers. I was very happy with my result, considering it being the first “race” of the season and being stuck at the back off the starting line.

After the short track, I immediately hit up Elevated Legs and gave my legs a solid squeeze. It was then time for some more expo wandering, building connections with potential sponsors and learning about new products.

Short Track in action, trying to move up!

Ride by side!

Thanks Club Ride :)

Ladies and gentleman, the main event!...

Saturday morning, April 12th, was my main race; the women’s pro cross country mountain bike. After a 10 minute session at Elevated Legs, using a lower psi setting, the blood flow was already in my legs and all I needed to do was get my heart rate up and pumping before the start.

Once the whistle blew, it was certainly intense. Women were bumping tires on the racetrack, trying to move into an ideal position. I even got handlebars into the side of my butt! I sure was glad that I was able to stay up right! When we turned the corner off the pavement and onto the dirt, I was on the inside. A girl could not keep her traction and had to unclip. This caused those of us behind her to come to a stop. As riders were passing me, it was hard to keep my calm. The first descent was as scary as I had predicted it would be with 45 riders flying down it, all trying to move to the front for the single track section. There was a rider face down in the gravel and tires were screaming by within centimeters of her body. It sure got my adrenaline and nerves through the roof, but I made sure to keep a steady wheel. When we hit the single track, it was quite frustrating to be stuck behind a line of bikes and no place to pass. Eventually though, there were areas to make moves and I did so with power and concentration. Soon enough, I broke away from the masses and rode solo in 14th place until coming back into the race track to start the 2nd lap. I ended up working with two No Tubes riders and a Topeak rider for almost the entire 2nd lap. We had a good time briefly chatting and even singing Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire.” We all worked together well, rotating pulls at the front. With 3 miles to go, on the wide open gravel section that I had doubts about when pre-riding, I hit a wall. I felt myself slowly start to fall off the pace and I was unable to maintain the necessary power output. However, I continued to dig deep and despite seeing a few riders within a minute behind me, I knew that I could hold them off. I ended up placing 17th, less than a minute behind the No Tubes and Topeak riders. There were 40 finishers. I was extremely happy with my result, considering that I had not been able to ride more than two, 10-12 mile rides on the dirt trails in Idaho so far this spring. Most of the other women have been training close to all season long, half of them most likely already having competed in March races.

The Dual Slalom was packed!

Wait, I still have MORE RACING??!!...

The day was not over yet! I still had one more event to compete in, the elite women’s cyclocross. There were only 14 riders, but all of them fast! The two No Tube’s women I was riding with in the cross-country race were the only other two as crazy as I to race cross after the already long day in the saddle. I simply wanted to get everything out of the trip that I possibly could. It most certainly was not my best cross race, but it still was fun! The course was identical to the short track, besides having two barrier sections added. I ended up 6th.

It sure felt good to be done with the weekend’s racing, but at the same time I couldn't have been more excited for the rest of the season! Ryan and I spent the evening with my friend Joy and her husband Graham. We had a very nice dinner at an All American Restaurant. However, a hiccup occurred in the plan for the night. The Motel 6 was supposed to reserve us a room with two queen beds, but it ended up being one. After finding out that every motel/hotel in the area was sold out for Sea Otter participants, we ended up just going with it and our friends slept on their air mattresses. Both Ryan and Joy were racing at 7:30am, so it was a short night of sleep.

Hup, Hup, Hup! My legs were feeling these barriers...

It's just part of bike racing...

Ryan began his mountain bike race at 7:40am. He was riding in the middle of the pack along with two riders on the first road section. After entering the single track he pulled away from those two riders and caught two more. He rode with these two riders for the next twelve miles or so as he weaved around tandem bikes and other riders who left the start with an earlier wave. At about mile 16 of the 24 mile loop, his chain broke! It was quite a bummer to have a mechanical, because it was his only event of the weekend.

We got to watch Joy finish her race and then after a short time walking around to a few more expo contributors, we started the journey home. Our night was spent in Sacramento with my mom’s cousin Tom Page and his wife Joanne. It was a wonderful evening of food, conversation, and laughs.

Great way to end the day!

And in the blink of an eye, it was all over...

On Monday morning, April 14th, we made the 12 hour trek back to Ketchum. Yes, it was sure a lot of time spent driving and money spent on the journey, but it was more than worth it. The experiences and relationships we built along the way are invaluable and this trip forever will be a part of our life’s memories. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to writing more about the professional mountain biking journey that lies ahead!