Slow Motion with D

Last year at Sea Otter, I’d just got my cool job with Pedro’s.  I’d also put in a good winter of riding hoping to do well in some early races, including the Otter.  The job required a bit more time in the beginning and my training went out the window, as did aspirations to race well early.  No worries!  It’s a good job and I was able to get a bit of fitness for cross, so that’s all that matters.  This year, I’m taking a different approach.  Very little riding is in my legs now, and I had no desire to race the Otter….ok, I had a little short track desire, but I resisted and focused on enjoying the weekend without hard efforts.  I’d just come off a good week on the bike and I knew that the majority of the week would go by without riding.  I was actually ok with this, since I knew what to expect.  It was harder last year when I thought a job in the bike industry meant riding your bike all the time!  I do get to ride, but just not as much as you’d think.  There’s work to be done!

Day 1

We had a little press conference.  We’re gonna rock and roll from now on!

Trying to get special coverage with a little bribe.

Our big responsibility for the Otter was sponsoring the bike wash.  We’ve got some great cleaning products and people were appreciative to have us there.  This is Jennifer Gersbach who works and rides for Spot.  The weather was amazing on Thursday.  Warm and not much wind.  3 of us rode our bikes back to the hotel.  Only 45 minutes, but totally worth it.  So nice.

Day 2

What a difference a day makes with the weather.  No rain, but my ride back in to the venue (another 45 minutes, but lots of uphill) wasn’t exactly clear at 7:30 in the a.m.

The long road in.  The first few days of the festival were pretty mellow, so it allowed us to take walkabouts to see new products and industry friends.  I ran into Lance (not Armstrong) at the TRP booth and he showed me the new magnesium cross brakes with adjustable pad post toe adjustment and cable adjuster.  I want some.  I also got to see my friends at Thule, Crank Bros and Edge Composites.

I was also able to sneak out and do the short course on my mountain bike.  It was good to spin, but boy was it windy.  The final long climb, for those who know it, sucked.  I took a spill over my bars and burped my front tire.  It’s becoming a habit lately.  I gotta kick that.  The wind broke my spirit and I decided not to ride back to the hotel again.  Ride time for the day, 2.5hrs.  I’ll take it.  Props to the Clif Bar and Luna crew who rides in and out everyday after set up. 

Day 3

Don’t let the sun fool you.  It was F’n cold.  It was also busier on Saturday, but the boss and I snuck off to talk business and watched some of the pro men short track.

Here’s a few Bend boys fighting it out till the end.  Decker and Shep.  I think Decker stayed just in front after Chris held the lead over him for most of the race.  Ryan got beat by a young’n on the final lap.  It’s funny cause he doesn’t have a mechanic, so now he has to wash his own bike, right in front of us.  Good times.

I can’t really explain how windy it was today.  We took everything down at the end of the day to keep our tents from getting damaged.  The wind died down just in time for us to hit up the Clif Bar party for some beers and margaritas.

Jay and Mellisa, no doubt talking about marketing strategies.  She’s with Luna, who is with Clif Bar, who is with the band.

And that gets us to the front of the line for beers.

Jay even, “helped,” make margaritas with the bike blender.

Day 4

Not too much to report.  Kinda slow and all the racer nerds were out on the big loops of dirt.  We held down the fort and sold a few items for super cheap.  I was making fun of this guy a little, then I realized that he’d earned the jersey he was wearing.

Former world and olympic champion Miguel Martinez.  I can’t even tell you how many times they rode past all weekend just looking all Euro and cool.

This shot is for Kenji.  She gets my style award for wearing leg warmers and jean shorts.  Awesome.

At the end of the day we tore down, packed up and went to bed early.  Another Otter in the books.  Hope you enjoyed the pics.