Bike Page > Bike Races > '98 Sea Otter

Pictures from the 1998 Sea Otter Classic

I ended up pretty muddy by the time I was heading down the slalom hill to the finish. We'd spent two nights at Motel Hell - screaming adults the first night until 4 am, and then screaming children, snoring parents, and a television left on all night the second. So, out on the course, I stuck the front wheel into a mudhole on the first descent - one fast endo - and dropped the wheel into a puddle on the back side of the course - one full faceplant into the water and mud. On the "Climb Home" a guy caught up to me and said, "man, you look like you've had a tough day..."

And to top it off, some bit of gear had been infected, so I came home with poison oak liberally strewn about my body..... At the time of these "at the finish" pix, I didn't know of the lurking blisters .

And the socks I was wearing did turn out to be "cursed" as well. Everytime I wore that pair, whether commuting to work or going for a ride, something bad would happen - invariably, on the commute, someone would do something above and beyond in terms of stupidly aggressive driving, or I would flat or have other mechanicals while on the trails. I eventually gave them to a kid I worked with, warning him completely about the situation. It was only when scanning these photos in a year later that I realized I'd been wearing them during this race.

Found the photo below while going through some old envelopes:

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