The Sea Otter Classic is a race weekend that I always look forward to. True, the pro xc race course has changed in recent years and it no longer has that ‘epic’ component with the shorter laps, but the racing itself is faster and more competitive than ever. This year was no exception; I was excited to go back for the high intensity, tactical racing that was sure to unfold. Upon arriving to San Jose Thursday afternoon I was feeling more run down than expected from the travel and it didn’t take long to realize that a cold was developing, though I tried my best to deny it. By Saturday (race day) I was feeling generally achy and had a very sore throat so I did what was possible to lay low and conserve energy for the 2pm start.
The race started off well, but in typically fashion some guys decided it was best to crash into fencing along the feed zone climb, just as it’s happened in numerous years previous. I was able to stay clear of this chaos, but lost some ground in the shuffle amongst the group. I didn’t quite have the high intensity efforts that were needed for the first lap or two in order to establish good position and hang on to the fast wheels so much of the race was spent chasing. By the second half of the race when others had worn themselves out, I was able to move forward from one group to the next, eventually collecting the 37th place finish. The Top Fuel worked great and the full suspension helped me make up ground in a couple of spots while the lockouts were used for most other sections of the course. The XR0 tires rolled fast and were certainly the right call given the dry, hardpacked, pavement and grass. The end result was certainly not on par with the first two ProXCTs, but given how I felt with the cold bug I’m happy to have been out there enjoying the little bit of racing that I was able to do.
One of the trip highlights for Chloe and me was eating at Papa Chevo’s after the race. It had been five years since we were last visitied this hole-in-the wall place for our first date. Even though neither of us would have called it that at the time, it was memorable enough. The menu hadn’t changed much and it was still very tasty, very affordable Mexican food which always works great after a race. Too bad they didn’t have t-shirts for sale since I definitely would have bought one to commemorate.
We booked the earliest possible Sunday return flight to Arizona so that Chloe could race the Old Pueblo Grand Prix that afternoon. Waking early, flying to Phoenix, driving to Tucson, and getting to the crit on time was somehow more taxing than the racing was the day prior so I took full advantage of the chance to rest up that afternoon and evening. Now that it’s Wednesday it seems that I’m recuperating well and should be just about ready to resume with some training that’ll have me ready for the Whiskey 50. At 47 miles and over 6000 feet of climbing I’m excited for the challenge and plan to be at 100% for it.
TJ