dminor 

Well, I'm packed, the bike is ready, I think I'm ready . . . gonna roll out bright and early for the 17+ hour drive to Sea Otter. Won't be around here much if any for about a week and a half. I'll take picts and try to get a report in or two along the way (staying with some family, so I might have access to a computer - - we'll see).

This will be my first time. Running just the Downhill - - 50-59 Expert. Didn't sign up for the Super-D this time. Goal is to make it on the podium but we'll see.

Take care all and be nice to each other while I'm gone. Wish me luck.

Doug

never

Good luck Doug! PINNER!

Cyclist30907654

Best of luck!

mtnbiker66

Pin it D!

markhr

Good luck, have fun and do you have a helmet camera so we can see some footage of your runs?

rankin116

Sounds like a great time. Good luck and have a safe trip.

legalize

Can someone explain "pinner" and "pin it" to me?

kenhill3

Very similar to "stick it".

Oh, Doug- Best of luck to ya. Stick that pup.

dirtbikedude

Enjoy the runs and do not drink the water. j/k

Yer probably gone but have a kick *** time and if you can make it over to the Main hotel that the sponsors are staying at (not sure which they are using this year) there will be a ton of parties and good times.

Hope you brought your rain tires.

DBD

born2bahick

Go Doug! Watch out, they got some pretty stiff competition signed up this year!

Terrapin Ben

Woohoo Doug!

keisatsu

The Sea Otter is sooo much fun, I competed in 2001 (XC race) and went as a spectator for a few years afterwards since I lived 30 minutes away.

Have fun!

highrevs

Good luck out there man!!!!

mtnbiker66

Full out, balls the wall..............pin it!

rankin116

With the screen name and Dead links, I'd think you'd know what a "pinner" is

redspoke

Bet he rides with a lot of Zigs and Zags too..

HOLD YOUR LINE! One toke over it of course.

santiago

Have a great time, Doug. Bring back a trophy.

troie

Give em pwn!

MattP.

Good luck to ya! I'll be doing the Junior Sport Super D there as well! wOOt

Pheard

I might come down and watch you D. Good luck.

ZeCanon

Good luck! I'm still trying to find a ride so I can race the XC. would be sweeet!

dminor 

Thanks all!

Now a Sea Otter report: In some ways this event is hugely big, with all of the vendor tents in the Laguna Seca Raceway infield; mind-boggling actually. But in other ways it can be very small, like it has been for me for the most part. Note to anybody who comes another year: if you want to really soak up the ambience of the experience, camp on-site or stay in lodging in Monterey (spendy) or Salinas (less spendy?). I'm staying with family 1½ hours away and so I've been rolling in a couple hours ahead of practice and only been able to park, settle in and then start getting ready.

I did get down to the vendors for an hour yesterday and got to meet face-to-face with my marketing/sponsorship guy in the Hayes tent and look at the display with the Stroker Ace 4-pots - - wow! Nice stuff. The master cyl. is a bit different than the Trails but the same radial design. And Clayton is a real cool guy who actually took some time talking with me (without looking like he wished I'd shut up so he could move on to other things ).

I also dropped by the Corsair Bikes booth and it turned out the guy I was talking to was none other than Doug Stuart (formerly president of FSA, one of my very first sponsors a few years back). It gave me a chance to thank him for supporting me 'way back, and it turns out he has Spokane roots so that was cool.

Practice has been interesting. Sea otter is no lame pushover, at least for a tentative, semi-cautious guy like me. The upper part of the course is all jumps . . . and not quite tables either: there are lips on the trannies so if you case it, your landing scrubs speed. So you have to clean to the trannies properly; and so far I haven't carried quite enough speed to do it all cleanly. Avery rhythm-and-flow thing. My nemesis is the first set - - a low double-double set leading to a booter-to table-gap. The gap itself is about 16' so I know I can clear it (but not all the way then across the table top to the tranny), but I haven't gotten the pump down off the tranny before to hit the booter. I feel like such a putz doing the 'chicken' line; but I've figured out how to do it fast in case I'm still not feeling it today.

The log drop that you see all the picts of is fun. The first time I launched it I felt my bars trying to pull out of my hands on the landing but held on and ran it out. Yesteray I tried a line to the right of the big lip trying to split the difference between the big lip and the ride-around and landed hard down in a wallowy hole. Back to the 'big line' today.

Well, I better quit and get ready so I can pick up my better half at the airport. Take care all.

Doug

cryptid01

give 'er Doug!

junkyard

Good luck, dminor.

dminor 

Had a real fun practice yesterday. I made up my mind that I was going to learn the gap up at the top even if I don't hit it in my race run (a face-down-intimidation thing ). After one full run I just worked on sessioning the upper section; go through, push back up, go through again. finally got my timing /distance down on the two doubles and lined up on the booter and hit it - - yahoo! cleared it with room to spare. Of course I went back up twice more and clipped the top of tranny 2 so had to turn out but at least I did it once super clean.

I know this sounds second nature to a lot of you but it's big stuff for a kinda chicken (we'll say "cautious" ) old guy who used to really get wigged out by flying.

Today is race day. Get to watch the pros show me how it's done and then the experts get our turn this afternoon.

Later,
Doug