first hand account

SEA OTTER RIDE/RACE REPORT

by Danny Forer

I was planning on leading an informal BTCEB pre-ride at Sea Otter, this past

saturday, but in a major case of brain meltdown I actually got to the start an hour

early, and seeing no one there, did the pre ride solo, assuming no one showed up.

Sorry to anyone who did come at the correct time.

As is usually the case , the saturday ride of the cross-country course is the

most fun part of the Sea Otter weekend for me. The ride is 18 miles, maybe half

singletrack, with great views , semi technical sections, the climbs are not to long,

and everything is very green. The first 1/3 of the course was pretty muddy and

slippery, but the majority of the course was in very good condition. I did the ride

slowly , with several stops to enjoy the views and do some exploration.

Later in the day, while watching the pro dual slalom, I saw BTC members

Rick and Ed, both of whom were racing the next day in their new BTC jerseys.

I also understand that BTC members Tracy, Mike and Jim were at the race. I didn't

hear how anyone else did.

I raced in the Sport 45 and over category, which started at 8:30 sunday. The

field looked larger than last year, with maybe 60-70 or so starters. Behind us, starting

2 minutes back were tandems and 5 minutes behind them were expert women.

This was my 4th race at the Sea Otter, and as usual , I started near the rear,

and tried to make up time on the climbs. I did pass a number of riders and ended up

finishing in 16th place with a time of 1 hour and 41 minutes. The winning time in my

group was 1 hour and 30 minutes. I was hoping for a top 10 finish , so was a bit dis-

apointed, but I felt I had a good race. I was passed by 2 tandems , and one expert

woman. Who when she passed me was 7 minutes ahead of me, and kept going at a

very fast pace. I didn't go very fast, but I was happy that I had no crashes, didn't have

to walk any sections , and just came out of my pedal one time. The traffic on the single

track, which in the past was a hassle, seemed better this year.

The Valleys own Marla Streb won the downhill, finished 5th in the dual

slalom, and also raced in the cross country [ don't know how she did, but I would think

somewhere in the middle of the pack]. She was probably the only pro who raced all

three events.