Sea Otter Classic Experience
words by Andrea Napoli
The first bike race I ever did was at Sea Otter in 2010. It was the excitement of that first race that began my addiction to bike racing, but it was the Sea Otter – a celebration of almost every form of biking, complete with international top pro’s in every discipline battling it out - that I found so unique. All of this happening at one place at one time. Amazing! This year, my third year racing the Sea Otter, was probably my most rewarding. I had upgraded to Pro class over the winter and in doing so, had made serious bike related goals for myself. So, while the snowboards collected dust – my free time was spent on the trainer, in the gym, driving to lower elevations to ride, and reading Mastering Mountain Bike Skills from cover to cover. My goal for Sea Otter 2012 was to simply be able to hang in the stacked pack of pro women in DS and DH – and that I did. There is nothing better than the feeling of progressing in a sport and to know that you’ve accomplished something that just a few years ago seemed so far out of reach. Sea Otter has been a documentation of my progression in cycling and a racing reunion of sorts – where far away friends come together. That’s why I love it. And where else could I have been in the gate with Danny Hart for my DS qualifying run? Almost had him ( :
Photo credits: Brandon Napoli
The first bike race I ever did was at Sea Otter in 2010. It was the excitement of that first race that began my addiction to bike racing, but it was the Sea Otter – a celebration of almost every form of biking, complete with international top pro’s in every discipline battling it out - that I found so unique. All of this happening at one place at one time. Amazing! This year, my third year racing the Sea Otter, was probably my most rewarding. I had upgraded to Pro class over the winter and in doing so, had made serious bike related goals for myself. So, while the snowboards collected dust – my free time was spent on the trainer, in the gym, driving to lower elevations to ride, and reading Mastering Mountain Bike Skills from cover to cover. My goal for Sea Otter 2012 was to simply be able to hang in the stacked pack of pro women in DS and DH – and that I did. There is nothing better than the feeling of progressing in a sport and to know that you’ve accomplished something that just a few years ago seemed so far out of reach. Sea Otter has been a documentation of my progression in cycling and a racing reunion of sorts – where far away friends come together. That’s why I love it. And where else could I have been in the gate with Danny Hart for my DS qualifying run? Almost had him ( :
Photo credits: Brandon Napoli
