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Thursdays sea otter classic for experts doing ds and dh

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
:stupid:
I think its the rule of the Otter that things have to be as goofy as they can be. It wouldn't be an Otter without some sort of bru-ha-ha or issue of circus-ness.
 

John P.

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,170
0
Golden, CO
It's sea otter, it is always a disaster.
LOL. Tell me about it. Having been out there working a few times and racing on two occassions, I'm pretty stumped as to why so many people make it a 'must attend' on their race calendar. It's a fun event to attend/spectate, but actually racing DH is always a clusterf*ck on a course that's average at best.

BTW, I think Luc has a hilarious photo from a few years back that shows the line at the top of the course - at least 100 ft long and about 3 or 4 riders across. :)

--JP
 

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
LOL. Tell me about it. Having been out there working a few times and racing on two occassions, I'm pretty stumped as to why so many people make it a 'must attend' on their race calendar. It's a fun event to attend/spectate, but actually racing DH is always a clusterf*ck on a course that's average at best.
I used to always attend becuase it was the first big race of the year and there is a ton of stuff to do there (big plus when your brining the wife). It seems like schedule is always f*cked becuase they have so much stuff to cram into a short time span
 

Pbody

Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
341
0
Agree with everyone above. So much that I've already decided not to attend this year. Anyone else? With so many race options these days, I'm looking at races where I get most bang for my buck, and the buck is preventing me from hitting the Otter until there is something worthwhile at Otter for me to go back.

Also, I've been hearing that since there is XC WC on the same weekend, a lot of factory support is not attending this year. Can anyone confirm the same?
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
I'll still be going, taking the wife, the whole nine yards.

Yes, there is racing at the Otter, but I am not really sure if that's what I am going for any more. Sometimes its fun to be caught up in a cluster for a weekend, and you get to see Monterey. Again, that town is sort of a cluster, but in a fun way.

Every year it gets a little odder, and every time I have a better time. Its like Burning Man, with product support and no mescaline.
 

hucked2bend

Monkey
May 24, 2005
159
0
Bend, Oregon
Oh man, do I remember that line!! Only tried it once though, I was lucky enough to poach Pro practice with my teammates, cause we all looked the same ; ) Expert practice, day one, 3 hours got me two runs, barely, & no walk-backs / retry's. Pro practice, 5 runs in an hour, was sweet ; )

& no, I won't be going back any time soon.
 

5150dhbiker

Turbo Monkey
Nov 5, 2007
1,200
0
Santa Barbara, CA
I'm mostly upset about the practice we get on Sat.

It's right during the DS finals :(

Normally I don't skip a single practice at a race but I don't care that much about this one so I might just watch the DS.
 

Slater

Monkey
Oct 10, 2007
378
0
My buddy and I are going.

But we'll probably only spend one day at practice if its like that.

There's tons of local trails that will be much more fun than standing in line baking in the sun all day.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
I liked it for the fact that its one of the most mellow DH runs I've ever seen, so if you're injured/rusty, or if you have some fresh off the flats DH new guys, its a good place to do that.

However, you're right Ska. Its gotten too big for its own good. While I am not real happy they cut mountain cross in favor of BMX, as it had a great venue (normally) for that sort of racing, I hope somehow in 09 it gets it back on track.

Its all about being corporate whores I guess...
 

Jester

Monkey
Sep 13, 2001
180
0
Beverly, MA
I flew out to Sea Otter the last two years from Boston to race slalom and downhill and this year I came to the conclusion that it is not worth the hassle. I am glad I raced the two times that I did as it was such a good experience but in all honesty the amount of money that it costed to fly out there, stay for five days and get only a few good practice runs just is not worth it. I do think however that everyone should ride that slalom course at least once though, as it is pretty much the best slalom course I have ever competed on.
 

ZHendo

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,661
147
PNW
i can't wait to wait in the dh line, agh. i wanted to race the slalom so bad, i just can't cut school thursday to get practice in for sport, and so i would be coming into the race without any practice...i still want to ride that course to bad, i might just bring my hardtail and poach it.
 

MikeMac

Monkey
May 18, 2006
156
0
There's reason for optimism for the gravity community in 2009. We've got a bit of groundwork left to accomplish, but we're making steady progress on something big for next year. Stay tuned for a major early-season event announcement in the next 8 weeks.

MM and BFP
 

Gunner

Monkey
May 6, 2003
533
0
Framingham, MA
I flew out with Jester last year for my first time at Sea Otter. It was a fun time, but here's what I took away from it:
Pros:
- Good to see people/riders that I havent seen since last season.
- Almost paid for the trip with some vid work I did there.
- Slalom was awesome, really enjoyable to film minus the 2 million photogs/video guys on course.
- I walked away with a ton of free **** (TWO nalgene hydration packs and a bunch of free schwag)
- I was at Clay's premiere when they announced I won the Fox Wherever You Ride contest...pretty cool to see my vid played on the big screen.
- The Cut Sevenvision Premiere and afterparty.
- Warm weather.

Cons:
- Filming the DH course. I just finished editing the Sea Otter segment for my DVD and I had an 'interesting' time making the DH part look cool. (And no....theres no sped-up footage you newbs.)
Handful of spots to film where it wasnt boring = the suck for editing.
- Rain.
- Rain during slalom finals & no rain cover.
- Sunburned lips.
- Parking hassles.

So basically.....I would only go again if I were paid to go film Slalom....or lived in California.
 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
Anyone else having trouble registering? Haha I love the Otter. The big, overpriced, over crowded event that it is.

I am pretty excited for it this year, not just because I am picking up my new bike. But its also great to hang out with friends and see the pros race in person.