Robert Ramirez Gives Us His Perspective Of Sea Otter

Note From The Editor; This is not your standard G rated race report, so read at your own risk!

Cat 5 35+ Road Race: This race is really fun. There were like 40 guys all like me racing it. Brett Harrison was there to, we made quite the pair. We all had to wait 2 hours to start however, so I was able to go to the bathroom a couple more times, what a relief. My goal was to not get dropped.

On the first hill, I got dropped. Then on the 2nd hill (there are 2 hills in the race) I got dropped again. But then I was able to stick with the group for 2 straight laps and was feeling good, until my chain popped off at the bottom of the hill. I said my final good by’s to the group and rode 2 laps solo. Gabe and Mitch were passing out water bottles, but messed it up and gave my bottle of EPO to someone else and I had to drink water. On the final long climb home, as I was passing the spot where Matt Benko was rescued last year, and out of sympathy I think, I cramped. I got back to the trailer at about 8 PM and ate pasta. I had a beer (actually 2) and put on the streatchy pants.

Sport MTB Race: At 6 AM the next morning, I got up to get ready for the MTB race. It was cold. I made Kim coffee. The Race was more fun than the road race. There were about 100 guys just like me, except about 55 were faster than me. I started strong, ripping it up! I then cramped. Then I crashed. After a few minutes, I cramped again! I rode home happy but blowing sand out of my nose for quite some time. When I got back to the trailer, I ate pasta again, had a few more beers and hung out with the kids. It was way fun with all the families there and the 17 kids who were camping with us. I was able to sneak down to the podium and take a picture of Matt’s podium where he got 2nd in the circuit race, see below.



Way to Go Matt!

Gabe, throwin down at Sea Otter

35+ Cat 4 Road Race
The road race started bright and early at 8am on Friday morning. It was foggy, a bit chilly, and there was a constant breeze. The race got underway w/ the neutral start down into the valley where we were scheduled to run 6 laps and end w/ the final climb out of the valley to the uphill finish. There were 3 CR’s in the race w/ Pete Sproul, Mitch Karno, and myself. The game plan from the beginning was simple…. survive until the final climb and grind it out to the finish.

The race started off on the .5 mile climb at a hard tempo. The climbers were off the front and determined to split the group. Once at the top of the climb, it was carnage behind and the group was divided in half. We were down to about 25 riders in the lead group w/ all the CR’ers still present. The pace was a constant hard tempo around the course w/ the pace picking up every time up the .5 mile climb.

At the halfway point, we were down to 17 riders and going into the final 2 laps, it became evident that no one else was going to be getting dropped. The group appeared to take it a little easier on the final lap, saving their legs for the final push up the 2k finishing climb. Once we started climbing out of the valley, the pace picked up and riders started to drop off the back. Pete and I managed to stay w/ the lead group up until the final 1k where the hill kicked up and got steeper. Both Pete and I got unhitched and began to lose ground on the leaders. The race ended w/ Pete coming in 8th place and me right behind in 9th. Mitch gave it all he had and came in just outside the top 20.

Once I came across the finish line, I rode up to Pete to give him a pat on the back for a job well done. But before I could say “good job Pete,” his first words out of his mouth were, “Gabe, I finally beat you!” Apparently Pete wasn’t racing against the other 50 riders, his goal was to come in before me. What Pete didn’t realize was that once he attacked for his 8th place finish, I was playing the team role and blocking for him, guaranteeing his top 10 finish. Although Pete doesn’t believe my “blocking for him” excuse, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t an inner squad rivalry between Pete and myself, but after Pete’s untimely comment, there is now!!! :o)

35+ Cat 4 Circuit Race
After Friday's road race, which was suited for the climbers, I was looking forward to Saturday's Circuit Race which was more suited to my strengths. The course is fast w/ one steep, but short climb.

The race started w/ a hard tempo leading into the first climb. I was surprised that the pace started so hard, so early. At the start of the race we had over 40 riders, but going into the final 6 circuits, we were down to only 8 of us. Of those 8, there were 2 teams represented w/ 2 riders each. And from the way all four of them were chatting, it appeared they all knew each other. With the 6 circuits remaining, one of the riders from the represented teams went off the front. I sat in waiting for someone to chase and see how the other team would react. It became obvious that there were 3 riders of the remaining 7 blocking and neutralizing any organized chase for the rider off the front. I glanced around and the remaining solo riders were looking gassed, including me. It was now a race for 2nd. On the final circuit and coming into the final corner, I positioned myself perfectly on 3rd wheel. I tried to catch everyone off guard and lead it out early, but I made the mistake of shifting down and sprinting at the same time. My chain didn’t like the torque w/ the shift, and the chain skipped. My plan of catching everyone off guard failed once my chain skipped and I had a hesitated pedal stroke. I did manage to wind up the sprint and hold on for a 4th place finish and a spot on the podium.

I left Sea Otter satisfied w/ my efforts and results. My goals coming into the races were top 10 finishes. I successfully accomplished my goals and exceeded them w/ a podium finish in the Circuit Race. With the season halfway over, it’s time to take a few weeks off from racing and start to recover physically and mentally.

See you on the road,
Gabriel

Jed "The Downhiller" Hirsch's Sea Otter Report

Pictures of the campsite and peeps.

A fun time was had by all, as evidenced in these pictures.

You will note the Ramirez's trailer set up complete with homey touches like lamps, flowers, potted plants, paintings hanging on the wall. They really know how to camp.

Thanks for setting all this up, Matt and Kim.

My race went well, I went as fast as I could in the downhill 40-49 sport. My time wasn't good, but I was going as fast as I could. I had a good run. Very fun. After the race, my wife, who was watching on a steep downhill section said to me "I'm glad to see you weren't bombing it" and "I'm glad you were being cautious". I looked her in the eye and told her the truth "yeah, I knew you were watching". Shoot, that was as fast as I could go and I felt like I was flying! I was redeemed when Ben Edwards' son Sean told their dad that "Jed was going so fast when he came by." Thanks kids. Rule # 72 "be somebody's hero". (Quoted from Tom on Beauty and the Geek last night) I finished "mid-pack" 20th out of 39 in my class.




Mike Abbott, a few hours after racing 30 or so miles cross-country raced the downhill, and got an impressive 12th out of 30 in his class.
Imagine if he quit pansey cross-country and focused on DH.
All our kids had a great time on the pump track and jump course. They borrowed demo bikes from Haro and killed it. I took pics, but my camera snaps a second after I hit the shutter, and I got a lot of good pics of back tires.

On a somber note, if you want to read the latest coroners report article about the guy who died, here is a link. Kathy and I are following it.
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9011364?source=email

Susie Willett's Sea Otter Race Report

Ladies and Fellow Ranchers-

I just want to add a few personal comments to Kim's well detailed race report.

The circuit race was definitely a lower than expected turn-out, but I believe that worked to our advantage as there weren't as many to compete against. We had several good climbers in the group which was the critical element for that race and ultimately the deciding factor in the finishing line-up.

The descending was fast, but not too much that you couldn't get back on down the back side.

After the first lap I noticed we had a brutally strong climber in the lead who decided to torture us on repeated laps. She would gently pull ahead as we would start to climb and then hammer it on the beginning of the steep climb just enough to put several of us at threshold. I saw her once actually turn her head and smile as she watched us agonize.

The wind at the top didn't help either as we were in our easy gears still only doing about a 55 cadence. I managed to stay in the front of the pack and was third going into the final stretch.

The woman behind me came around and the sprint was on. I was pushing too big a gear but managed to keep the rest at bay and took 4th.

Turns out the strong climber who took 1st is Sarah Maile, a pro cyclocross rider. At the podium she graciously mentioned she was headed to registration to upgrade to a 2 for the Sat RR.

Kim described the RR well and I would simply add that this is where having more women in the group (we started with 24) would have made a difference.

There were few attacks since no one wanted to be out in the wind for long and the race was all about the final climb.

After 45 miles, I was first coming around the final turn into the climb and stayed with the group of 5 until the last km when I started to feel the effect of the circuit race in my legs.

At that point the girl (junior girl) I was with had her cheering section about 100yds from the finish which is all it took for her to get a bike length ahead of me. I could see my daughter and husband at the top cheering me, but my legs had nothing left. I took 6th (although Sea Otter final results show only 5 finishers) and was glad to be done.

The best part about racing at Sea (Or is it a Beaver?) Otter is rolling into the campsite to hang out with other racers and friends. Thanks to all for cheering me on; we'll do it again next year!

Susie

Ps. A BIG thanks to Dave and Luke for dialing in my old bike. It descended and handled to perfection!!

Kimberly's Sea Otter Adventure

Hi all!
Well, I survived Sea Otter for the 2nd year. Survived is about all I can call it, though!

Here's my little race report. Many folks have great results to report, but I won't steal their thunder. I'm sure reports and stories will come in soon!

Circuit Race: My circuit race was on Friday, at lunchtime. The weather was fine--a tad windy, not too cold.

Only 15 women were in my race (cat 3 is a much smaller category than cat 4 in women's racing), so I knew there would be nowhere to hide. And there wasn't anywhere to hide. I got cooked on the steep part of the main climb the 2nd time up! Being a decent descender, for a few laps I would get gapped on the steep part of the climb, and then chase back on on the descent and backside.

Unfortunately this practice was stopped on lap 4 or 5 (they all run together in my mind) when the girl on the front kicked it up a notch on the climb.

Oh well...Anyway, I finished the race in full-on chase. I wasn't too far back, though, and I nearly caught another chaser on the sprint in. However, the times are all off in the results, and the girl I finished right behind does not correspond with the published results either.

Oh well....the norm for sea otter, it seems. Regardless, I was pretty demoralized after that race, and it was more than a bit of a challenge to try and be motivated for the road race today.

Road Race: After yesterday, I decided to take the road race lap by lap, and just use it as a good training exercise. I knew the race was full of strong climbers, and that it was going to be a challenge to stay attached.

Not helping matters were the strong winds and cold temperatures! It was not a good sign when some of the barriers on the track blew OVER while we were lining up for our start! And the neutral start on the track was more like a sandstorm as the winds whipped. I was very glad I didn't have deep section wheels!

Anyway, the race was pretty uneventful, save for the wind. I got gapped on every single steep climb, but thankfully the course has a lot of rollers, so I could just power back on. This was basically how the race played out for me.

I got to know the moto-ref and the follow car guy pretty well, since I was continually passing and getting passed by them! We had a little conversation going a couple of times...the first time I got dropped he was giving me the encouraging "keep working hard" stuff, which I know only means 'I feel sorry for you'...but later on, he was like "wow, you have quite the motor" because I just kept powering back on.

If only I could climb better...this racing thing would be less work! All the more reason to kick up the training a notch.

Anyway, I managed to stick on all the way through the final lap, but alas all that chasing had taken its toll, and when the grade turned up on the finishing climb, my little motor decided it had had enough. It was a slog up the hill, as those tiny climbing girls rode away. There was nothing I could do. Nothing was left.

I passed 3 struggling masters riders as I slogged up the hill to the finish. Susie was already there, as she is one of those tiny climbers I spoke of....she got 6th!

On the spin back to the car, my hamstring completely cramped up, thankfully it let up with some stretching.

I don't know my final placement, not that it matters much, as I got on the road home quickly. I was happy with my efforts today, though, as I worked through the hard stuff, and had fun on the technical stuff, and am not feeling as bad about my fitness as I was yesterday.


In typical Team Chicken Ranch fashion, everybody was super supportive of each other, and I think fun was had by all. At least it seemed like it to me! And congrats to everyone who did well--please post race reports!!

Cheers,
Kimberly Turner

Did Matt Win?

The first day of Sea Otter and already we have a controversy. The results say Matt won the Cat 3 circuit race, or at least they did at 7:22am on Saturday.

The word on the street though is that he called home and said he got second. Hmmmmmm, guess we'll have to wait for the race report from LJ.

http://www.seaotterclassic.com/raceresults/index.cfm/2008.htm

Then choose the Circuit Race and look at the Elite Cat 3 results

Good Luck to everyone on the rest of the races.

Steve Close & Sea Otter's 55+

2008 Sea Otter Road Race ReportResults: http://www.seaotterclassic.com/raceresults/index.cfm

25 very fit looking 55+ lined up at 11:50 AM April 17, 2008. Weather was near perfect, if slightly warm. 60+ category was eliminated for 2008,placing all in the 55+.

There were 8 over 60 and one 72 year old. 16riders were under 60. The winner was 60 year old Kenny Fuller in a time of 2:24:07 for 5 laps.

he first 14 riders completed 5 laps, the next 11 didonly 4. The race was neutral to the first left turn leading into a steep climb.It’s a harsh way to begin a race: very little warm up before a fairly brutal, all out climb. At the top of this first climb the field had shed perhaps 10 riders. Though tired I was among the first cull survivors.

Going up the hill to the feed zone I was well positioned mid pack, when bam,I went into A fib. Or so it seemed. Demoralized, all I could do was sit and drift off the back. A Fib is like adding 40# to bike weight, and it is worse climbing hills. Symptoms: short of breath and massive lactic acid build ups as circulation drops to 60% (estimate) of normal and heart rate varies between normal and 200+ without pushing much blood. There is occasional discomfort/pressure in upper chest and belly.

I thought about quitting race, but absent a heart monitor, I wasn’t 100% convinced I was in a fib. I wanted to complete the race. Soon a lagging rider passed me at a good clip and I decided to try to follow. We picked upanother 2-3 riders making a chase of 5. I was of no use on the front, so sucked wheel most all the way. I was with the other 3 at the bottom of thef inal hill, but my usual hill climbing strength was gone, so they rode away.

Ultimately I finished 21 with an average speed of 17.1 mph; estimate 2 mph slower than my previous efforts. The 72 year old finished a place or two in front of me. At the finish a pulse check confirmed I had completed ride while in A fib.

I converted to normal about 330 PM on the drive home. Asusual, no negative after effects. The good news is, absent A fib I believe I may have completed race near the back with the 5 lap crowd of 15, comparable to past performances and allowing for increased competition from 55’s.

The bad news is, I have to deal with a fib which is an unpredictable situation. More good news, it’s not a serious health issue, more of a nuisance when it comes to hard bikeriding. It has gone into remission in the past and may do so again.

Meanwhile I will respect my limitations. BTW, I saw Brandon after his road race. He had gauze around his left elbowand knee. He crashed leading group out on lap 2. Probably happened on that sharp, gravelly left turn. He also mentioned he broke his collar bone 4 weeks ago, only getting OK to ride 2 days before Sea Otter. He landed on broken CB side, but everything held. I scratched out of Circuit Race.

Hope to do Saturday ride, either the 7 or 8.

OMS