This morning I raced in the Cat 3 Cross Country Mountain Bike Race at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey. Sea Otter is the biggest race I’ve entered, and what a race! There were over 450 riders started in 5 minute intervals beginning at 8am. The course was packed in some places, and passing slower riders became a key strategy to build or maintain a lead on the racers behind me.
I’m glad I pre-rode the course last week, because I was able to attack each section more confidently than I would have if I hadn’t been on the course before. I started out fast, intent on sticking with the lead group of riders at the beginning. It was pretty cool racing on the Laguna Seca track; we formed a line and I was able to draft behind 4 or 5 other guys until we left the track. Drafting really helped out the early legs. Transitioning from the track to the fire road was a bit ugly. There were serious ruts in the dirt near the top of the Laguna Seca property, and I almost ate a dirt sandwich crossing one of them at speed while avoiding another rider that cut in front of me.
The first fire road section was dry and decent, a marked change from Tuesday’s conditions. There was an initial climb followed by a fast descent down to the first piece of single track. My GPS says I topped 40 MPH in this section. Holy crap I’m glad I didn’t crash.
The initial single track was really fun. Just moist enough to be grippy, but with no standing water or mud. I was leading a group of 3 that caught up to a slower rider in this section. He was clearly trying to go fast but wasn’t comfortable. He crashed on a sandy section and I had to ride over his rear wheel and step on his foot to get past him. Sorry dude! It must have hurt but was better than me crashing on top of him.
I wiped out once, on “the beach”, aka trail 60, which is a 200 yard long downhill in about a foot of sand. Luckily the crash didn’t slow me down for long. The rest of the course was very ridable, and I cleaned all the tougher climbs but one. In that case a rider in front of me dabbed and I had to put my foot down too.
I took 5th place in my class (65 riders) and made it to the podium!! I won a nifty medal and a bag of goodies including a whole box of Clif Bars. 
Party at my place!!
Here are the GPS track details. Race results (PDF).
