Sea Otter DH
- Thread starter Tattooo
- Start date
nomad...any track news?
Nomad, if the course is anything like last years...I'm gonna be racing on my SGS. Sounds like fun 
I'll be there. I want to go the whole time.
hopeefully it will be better....in the words of nathan rennie "the downhill at sea otter, needs to get better. There were ladders and **** on the course."
Pedaling....What is that?
you know, that stuff you gotta do at fontanamtnbrider said:
I'll be in the hardtail Class.
I don't think you need a lot of travel. Mostly pedaling legs.
Just use what you have, although a 5-7"low travel freeride bike travel bike may be good.
I don't know...I like 7" at most.
Just use what you have, although a 5-7"low travel freeride bike travel bike may be good.
I don't know...I like 7" at most.
For real. Took forever to get a run last year. Nobody checks to make sure people are in the class scheduled to practice, took forever to get medical staff to clear the track, all kinds of asshats cutting the line, practice was shut down for huge periods of time, etc. Difficulty getting a practice run is pretty much the reason I'm not racing this year. I wasted most of a whole day for two runs on a really short course, and felt stupid to have paid for the privilege.dan-o said:
The way to do it is to wait until after practice is over and shuttle yourself. (although that may or may not be against the rules)
The lines were indeed, stupid long.
The lines were indeed, stupid long.
Oh man, that's so true. I can't tell you how many guys I had to explain to that the end of the line was "back there." It's high time the organizers police the start gate and keep those off the course and in their respective practice times. And really, what was the deal with the EMT's taking 1/2 an hour to get somebody of the course that had a broken ankle? Bottom line is if you want more than two runs per practice session, run your own shuttle.OGRipper said:
I'm racing again this year but only because I want to qualify for Nationals. Oh well, put in some road miles to build up the cardio for the mandatory pedal fest and you'll do good.
Yeah maybe. As I recall last year there were more people protecting the course before and after practice than they had during practice keeping things together. We went up there later in the day and it was a no go. It was just a clusterfvck and pretty disappointing. I shuttled with friends most of the time, the long waits were at the top.pbr said:
Yeah, as soon as some people lost practice time due to medical delays it became a free-for-all. They need to keep the course open and then be strict about who is riding when. Easy to say, harder to do, sure, but still. Also, I heard that a couple of the delays were about bad communication, as in the folks at the top not getting word that the course was clear.surfinguru said:
Yeah, I'll agree with that one. Nationals was pretty tight about that what with the different colored stickers on your number plate and all. I don't want this to turn into a bitch fest, but damn it's irritating. For me, more than anything, the most frustration thing has been the delay in getting results published. Nothing like hanging around until 3hrs after your run to find out if you made the podium.OGRipper said:
In the expert class the lines are way shorter, especially if you're there Thursday or Friday. There's a super short line at the top and a long one at the bottom but if you get a shuttle truck you're set. Me and my friends did around 10 runs on Friday with a shuttle driver, it was awesome. Even on the weekend the lines aren't so bad during expert practice.OGRipper said:
Why do you guys want to do a ton of runs?
The course is pretty tame and easy to memorize. I think I did five, maybe six runs total last year, inlcuding the race run. I had every corner and jump memorized, mostly because there are what, ten corners and six jumps? Maybe not even that many.
Yeah, it's Sea Otter. What do you expect with 30,000 people riding in the sand?
The course is pretty tame and easy to memorize. I think I did five, maybe six runs total last year, inlcuding the race run. I had every corner and jump memorized, mostly because there are what, ten corners and six jumps? Maybe not even that many.
Yeah, it's Sea Otter. What do you expect with 30,000 people riding in the sand?
Maybe it comes down to bang for your buck per run? It is kinda sucks if you can only get 2 practice runs on a short/tame course and 1 race run. $50 for 3 runs is not exactly a good deal.bikenweed said:
For sure. I'm paying $50 to race and ride the course a bunch. It's always a plus if you can get a bunch of runs in and race too.PoserNewbie said:
black noise said:
I've only done a handful of DH races and rode sport. I wanted to do more practice runs because I like to ride my bike, not just watch, and the course was kind of fun (in a small-scale, sandy kind of way
). I wanted to participate not just gawk, and I was with some riding buddies and able to set up a shuttle. I would have loved to do as many runs as you did.I don't want this to turn into a bitch fest either, I am over it (way over it) and won't be racing at the Otter this year. But one of the reasons the lines were so long was because of experts and other riders cutting the line and riding at the wrong time. I know because I had words with a few who acted like it was their god-given right to go to the front of the line and/or ride in someone else's practice. I am talking about some recognizable names and faces, and I couldn't believe more people weren't getting called out. I know some people were riding at the wrong time because of delays during their practice, and I don't blame them for wanting to ride, but cutting a line like that is just lame. Like I said it just became a free-for-all and it seemed the race officials just did not care. Well fine, if they don't care so be it but don't cry about how we should "support the sport" when you treat the average racer poorly.
Why? Because of the 30,000 people that's why! The course will change so much between that first practice run on Thursday and when I get to take my shot at it on Saturday. I want to stay on top of where the best line is. If I can find another second or two, then it may mean the difference between a podium finish or ending up out the back somewhere.bikenweed said:
any track news?still have the super rad hucks?
I am stoked to race it for the first time this year. Racing Sport.
Have fun and good luck!!Total Heckler said:
This will be first time making the long haul down/over to Sea Otter.... not sure what to expect with all this talk of huge line ups and a peadly coarse.... but should be good fun none the less! Do they use the same coarse every year? And if not, does anyone have any pic's of the new coarse?
It's been pretty much in the same place for the last few years but the course changes from year to year. There are not many natural features, not a lot of elevation, and the dirt is really sandy and loose. Last year they got creative and added some ladder-type features that were fun but some people thought they didn't belong on a DH course. I haven't heard much about what's happening this year.jus said:
I'll be thurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I think the Kendas are going to have to make this trip...
The line issue is a huge one, it is the same thing at the DS and the 4x as well. I have to agree with a lot of the above posts that if the Otter, and racing in general wants people to get behind it, come out and race, spend the wampum to come out and to enter, then they need to get up off their collective asses and enforce some things, like line control.
The line issue is a huge one, it is the same thing at the DS and the 4x as well. I have to agree with a lot of the above posts that if the Otter, and racing in general wants people to get behind it, come out and race, spend the wampum to come out and to enter, then they need to get up off their collective asses and enforce some things, like line control.
Last year around this time, I remember people talking about all the new features on the course and stuff, Nothing this year though.
I wanna go, but its a little far away from VA 