Sea Otter: SO Much in Just Four Days
Not the best race on paper, but progress and fun in other ways
I’ve been eager to go to Sea Otter for the last few years, but 2025 was the first time I committed to making the trip to Monterey. The festival is what you could call a one-stop shop for everything you need as an athlete: racing, friends, and the presence of every brand in the cycling space. As I wrote in a previous piece for my personal Substack, I was stressed about this. With the way my brain works, this sort of stimulus is incredibly draining. The noises, people, and sheer scale of the event combined to create a brooding cloud of anxiety in my head. I’m also the sort of person who will enter an event like Sea Otter and, without a plan, will feel I need to accomplish everything immediately. Thankfully, I had a plan.
My first day at the venue involved a 40-minute ride up (and I mean UP) from Seaside, a lap of the 33-mile Fuego XL course, and collection of my media accreditation and race number. The feeling of cresting the top of the final hill on the access road and peering down into the massive bowl in which the race track was situated was quite jaw-dropping. I knew Sea Otter was big, but not this big. A field of tents and flags stretched out below me. Sea-Otter-branded signage dotted the area for miles around. Once out on course, I quickly realized the entire Ford Ord area had been converted to a multi-discipline two-wheeled playground for a week. Signage for the four mountain bike race distances, multiple gravel races, two gran-fondos, and various other events pointed riders in the right direction on their adventure of choice.
The course was fast and flowy, with punchy climbs and twisty, sandy descents. The views were remarkable, but honestly, I was more preoccupied with checking off my to-do list in preparation for what was to come the day after.
As I was picking up my media pass, I felt like a chameleon, or at least an imposter. One minute, I was wearing the racer hat and the next, I was being handed a media pass as if I were a member of GCN, not the greenest of green journalists (I had never written a tech piece for any publication). Despite this, I was treated like any other member of the media and welcomed in.
As it turns out, the Wednesday setup day was just the opening salvo for what would be a far busier four days. Also, as I learned, the event was stressful and exhausting but quite fulfilling.
My time at the expo spanned Thursday, Friday, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday. I began with various meetings with brands about their new offerings. Topeak, Poc, Wahoo, Continental, Xpedo, and more walked me around their booths, showing off recently released or soon-to-be-released products. As a bike nerd, this was so very fun and also a great way to see what I might want to buy for myself personally. Some of the new products were brilliant, others were odd, and yet others were just beautiful.
I am still nervous about my debut tech piece for Pro Gravel Magazine being released, but I guess I have to start somewhere. Even if I do not write more tech pieces in the future, I learned a lot in the process.
I need to take more time with photos and ask people to move from the shot as needed 😬.
The best way to get a full picture of a product regarding specifics like prices, weights, and exact availability date is via press releases or emails to the brands, not on the spot. Honestly, more than a few PR people did not know those details when I asked.
It’s likely better to walk around to booths than set up times with brands, in most cases. This is more efficient and allows you to check off brands in order of their booths rather than scambling back and forth around the venue.
I enjoyed a twenty-minute chat with tech-reporting legend James Huang, formerly of CyclingTips and Escape Collective and now writing for his own
Substack). James is one of those tech writers I genuinely trust. He says it as it is. Our chat, which included Pivot Cycles marketing team member and resident gravel guru Patrick Ribera-McKay, spanned gravel tires, my unique Unbound XL setup 👀, and much more. James was incredibly nice to take the time to chat during what was a very busy four days. Many people outside of cycling might be like, “James who?” but if you know, you know.I had a plan prior to the event to connect with several brands I want to work with in 2026 and beyond. While I can’t discuss too much, this went much better than expected. Making athlete business cards was absolutely the right move, and I was able to connect with some amazing people in categories in which I do not have partnerships at the moment and start conversations about working together in 2026. I value partnering with like-minded brands long-term, so I had a specific list I chatted to and even made a few other unexpected new friends! I felt I got more comfortable with these conversations as the expo went on. I was able to make personal connections with the brands’ marketing team members, and several athletes I know were kind enough to introduce me to their sponsors.
In addition to potential future partnerships, getting the chance to spend time with my current sponsor and grow those relationships was very important. I spent a long time with Pivot, Vittoria, Carbs Fuel, and Julbo. We chatted about equipment, product feedback, the state of the industry given all of the current uncertainty, my bike setup for the Fuego XL and Unbound, new products coming (hint hint Carbs Fuel), and more. I was able to have some fun doing the Vittoria Air Liner challenge in place of an injured Cole Paton, and also managed to slice my finger open in the process–thankfully, my only injury of the weekend. I won this “race,” so it was worth it.
My actual bike race, the Fuego XL 70-mile marathon MTB event, did not go quite as well as I wanted. This was one of the first times I’ve gone to a race with the actual competition not as my first priority. My legs felt great once I got into a rhythm, but the start climb was a tough way to rip the bandage off, and I was not riding smoothly. I cost myself a good result (I think I was in the top 15?), but I’m happy with where the legs and durability are at heading into my upcoming, and MUCH longer, goals. Despite the challenging day, I had a lot of fun. That course is a proper racing track. I was skeptical initially, but at speed, it was very fun to ride and very dynamic. The downhill course? I heard that was not so good, but I guess that’s what happens when you try to fit almost every cycling discipline into one area that is not designed for most of them.
Sea Otter gave me the chance to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones. I still have to pinch myself when people like Rob Britton and Hannah Otto say hi to me as a friend. It doesn’t feel like that long ago I would have gone up to get an autograph from them (actually, I still would do that).
There were some low points: the traffic was terrible, I got sunburned, the commute to the top of the hill each day with a heavy bag got a bit tiring, the portapotties were overflowing by Sunday, and I lost my favorite pair of Julbo Frequency glasses, but that’s all part of events like this.
I will go back to Sea Otter. It was exhausting but far more rewarding than I could have expected. I have a score to settle with the Fuego XL, at least on the results sheet, but the event as a whole delivered and then some. As an athlete, it might honestly be the most important event of the season. I don’t necessarily mean race. I mean event in the holistic sense.
P.S. To the gentleman (sorry, I am terrible with names) who came up to me at the expo and said, “I love your Substack,” THANK YOU!! That means so much and provides a lot of motivation to keep at this.
Great to meet (and chat with) you, too! I always have time to talk with a fellow bike nerd :)
Excellent read! I felt like I got to experience Sea Otter remotely!