Sea Otter Classic: April 22nd, 2018
The Sea Otter Classic is one of those experiences that is so much more than just a race. It is the embodiment of biking culture packed into an almost festival/epic race weekend-like style. The Cat 1 race I would participate in would be a challenging about 29 miles complete with a variety of climbing, sandy downhill, switchbacks, and a grueling long fire road climb that seemed to last forever.
After a few days of perusing through a variety of vendors and checking out the sponsor tents, it was time to get in complete race mode. The Sunday morning sped through swiftly as I geared up and tried to find a shady spot to warm up on the trainer. I was concerned about getting through to the start line (you have to go through the venue a bit), so I got off after and rushed over. There, I joined a couple of my teammates (Alyssa Barrick & Hayley Barrick) as we waited for our group to begin line up. Before we knew it, it was a minute count down to the race start and I somehow got pushed out of the front row. Off we went on the raceway! A line quickly formed and I was aggressively being pushed towards the tail end. In the back of my mind, I had "need to be in the lead group right off the start" echoing in my head. As we edged the hill into the wide descent leading into a valley, I pushed to catch the front group.. and I did! Coming off of the a road quickly, I hit major bike traffic on the first single track landing me further behind the group. Once it broke off and the Cat 1 group headed onto a different trail than the rest of the riders, I was able to barely make it onto the groups end.
From there, the pace was actually tolerable, not pushing me too hard, and I was able to recover from my efforts to catch the competition. We all pretty much stuck together through the ascents and descents during this first portion. There was this one hill, an EXTREMELY sandy hill that is practically impossible to climb on a mountain bike, so it was time to hike it up. The girls I was with all did the same as it made us more fatigued to get off quickly and jump back on to push down more effort. After more climbing proceeded, there was now an EXTREMELY sandy downhill. I referred to it as almost "bike skiing" conditions where you would simply slid down as though you were at a mountain resort in the snow. Going down this on the tail of the front group, I was caught by a slower rider and went down in the deep portion of sand, hitting my side. As I got up, I was covered in beach-like sand and went anaerobic trying to catch back up to my group that disappeared so quickly it was almost out of thin air. My memories proceeding are filled with passing countless riders consisting anywhere from little kids to older people who seemed to be strolling along. One cannot forget those countless switchbacks. This whole time I reminded myself to enjoy the moment while also slightly killing myself trying to find my group. Eventually, I caught up with the 4th place rider and stuck to her wheel. It was at the point in the race where we were over 10-15 miles in and I couldn't risk putting in an effort only to find my competition far away. The pace was pretty decent and I searched for the opportunity to make a move. It wasn't until the single track right before the fire road climb out of the valley that I found an opportunity when she went off course. Hitting that climb I cranked whatever strength I had left in me and kept consistent leg burning efforts up. I sucked down a goo for nutrition with some struggle as I was fatigued and running out of water. Reaching a plateau portion of the fire road I looked back and saw I made a bit of a gap, but the fight wasn't over yet. The last about five miles were a single track down a small valley and back out of it to the raceway. Around this time, I experienced harsh cramps crawling up my calves and torturing my back, but I couldn't give up now. The last mile was the hardest, there was nothing left in the tank, so I used purely mental energy. Hitting the raceway, I clicked into a harder gear and began cranking until I passed under the finish line 4th!
My whole body was so tired I could simply fall over, but I didn't. I was proud of myself for putting in a solid race effort. I even got a free burrito by a nice lady at a vendor station! I would like to thank my sponsors immensely for making all 29ish miles of the race run perfectly without complications. The Ellsworth Enlightenment was smooth and fast like always, especially paired with the light RideFast Racing Rims, firm & reliable Kenda tires, and comfortable ESI Grips (which we all know is important in a long race). My Rudy Project gear was very comfortable as well and my glasses adjusted great to the course that had everything from tree cover to direct sun. GUP industries insured that a flat wouldn't slow me down and gave me the confidence to hit the technicals without worry. Thank you to my dad for making this all possible and the SoCal Devo team for the support. All Glory to God.
Thank you for reading about my race experience and I hope you enjoyed!
After a few days of perusing through a variety of vendors and checking out the sponsor tents, it was time to get in complete race mode. The Sunday morning sped through swiftly as I geared up and tried to find a shady spot to warm up on the trainer. I was concerned about getting through to the start line (you have to go through the venue a bit), so I got off after and rushed over. There, I joined a couple of my teammates (Alyssa Barrick & Hayley Barrick) as we waited for our group to begin line up. Before we knew it, it was a minute count down to the race start and I somehow got pushed out of the front row. Off we went on the raceway! A line quickly formed and I was aggressively being pushed towards the tail end. In the back of my mind, I had "need to be in the lead group right off the start" echoing in my head. As we edged the hill into the wide descent leading into a valley, I pushed to catch the front group.. and I did! Coming off of the a road quickly, I hit major bike traffic on the first single track landing me further behind the group. Once it broke off and the Cat 1 group headed onto a different trail than the rest of the riders, I was able to barely make it onto the groups end.
From there, the pace was actually tolerable, not pushing me too hard, and I was able to recover from my efforts to catch the competition. We all pretty much stuck together through the ascents and descents during this first portion. There was this one hill, an EXTREMELY sandy hill that is practically impossible to climb on a mountain bike, so it was time to hike it up. The girls I was with all did the same as it made us more fatigued to get off quickly and jump back on to push down more effort. After more climbing proceeded, there was now an EXTREMELY sandy downhill. I referred to it as almost "bike skiing" conditions where you would simply slid down as though you were at a mountain resort in the snow. Going down this on the tail of the front group, I was caught by a slower rider and went down in the deep portion of sand, hitting my side. As I got up, I was covered in beach-like sand and went anaerobic trying to catch back up to my group that disappeared so quickly it was almost out of thin air. My memories proceeding are filled with passing countless riders consisting anywhere from little kids to older people who seemed to be strolling along. One cannot forget those countless switchbacks. This whole time I reminded myself to enjoy the moment while also slightly killing myself trying to find my group. Eventually, I caught up with the 4th place rider and stuck to her wheel. It was at the point in the race where we were over 10-15 miles in and I couldn't risk putting in an effort only to find my competition far away. The pace was pretty decent and I searched for the opportunity to make a move. It wasn't until the single track right before the fire road climb out of the valley that I found an opportunity when she went off course. Hitting that climb I cranked whatever strength I had left in me and kept consistent leg burning efforts up. I sucked down a goo for nutrition with some struggle as I was fatigued and running out of water. Reaching a plateau portion of the fire road I looked back and saw I made a bit of a gap, but the fight wasn't over yet. The last about five miles were a single track down a small valley and back out of it to the raceway. Around this time, I experienced harsh cramps crawling up my calves and torturing my back, but I couldn't give up now. The last mile was the hardest, there was nothing left in the tank, so I used purely mental energy. Hitting the raceway, I clicked into a harder gear and began cranking until I passed under the finish line 4th!
My whole body was so tired I could simply fall over, but I didn't. I was proud of myself for putting in a solid race effort. I even got a free burrito by a nice lady at a vendor station! I would like to thank my sponsors immensely for making all 29ish miles of the race run perfectly without complications. The Ellsworth Enlightenment was smooth and fast like always, especially paired with the light RideFast Racing Rims, firm & reliable Kenda tires, and comfortable ESI Grips (which we all know is important in a long race). My Rudy Project gear was very comfortable as well and my glasses adjusted great to the course that had everything from tree cover to direct sun. GUP industries insured that a flat wouldn't slow me down and gave me the confidence to hit the technicals without worry. Thank you to my dad for making this all possible and the SoCal Devo team for the support. All Glory to God.
Thank you for reading about my race experience and I hope you enjoyed!
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