Article

by Joh Rathbun

April 10, 2014—The Sea Otter Classic has humble beginnings. It started in 1991, a project of Frank Yohannan and Lou Rudolph, with approximately 150 spectators, 350 athletes and three employees. It has since mushroomed into the world’s biggest cycling event. With attendance usually around 50,000, approximately 10,000 athletes, thousands of staff and about 1200 volunteers scheduled to help for the long weekend, it's a parade of people from all walks of life, with one thing in common: bikes.

As such, there's a little bit of something for every kind of cyclist known. This festival is a “celebration of cycling,” so the SOC caters to families, roadies, the extreme downhiller/dirt jumper, casual riders and even the cyclo-cross geek. Athlete registration opens on Wednesday, April 9, at 12pm and runs until 6pm, with the camping registration opening and closing time at the same time.

The SOC is known for its sprawling expo food court and beer garden, with free swag abounding for the opportunistic. The expo will have about 400 exhibitors. For the free swag, get to the expo early. Thursday daytime or Friday morning is prime freebie time.

Read about the 2014 Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival
Read about women's mountain biking groups in Santa Cruz

Daily yoga sessions, led by Ryan Leech and Rita Leon, are a new and welcome event. Held at the Chaparral Campground events building, the classes are geared towards unhunching, unbunching and straightening out the cyclist.

Since the SOC caters to such a large crowd, there are activities every day, running concurrently with each other. There are free kids’ bike races daily. There's even a free Easter egg hunt for tots, as well as a free SRAM ride zone and kid's area. The Little Bellas day camp also returns. Hosted by Olympian Lea Davison, this all-girl's clinic is aimed at girls aged 8 to 14, an often neglected demographic.

Practice for both downhill and dual slalom are on Thursday, with the SRAM Criterium on the same day. Friday offers practice for the downhill and dual slalom, with some of the pump park events (also known as speed & style) road races and short track going off in the morning. The rest of the day will be spent on the circuit race, which is to finish around 4pm.

Raleigh cyclo-cross, the SRAM Road Race and the Gran Fondo are scheduled for Saturday, with the cross-country race, and pro pump track and dual slalom events as well. The hardtail downhill competition is on Saturday too. The pro downhill and dual slalom are scheduled for Sunday.

Women's outreach has grown over the years, and as such, the ladies get in on the action with the SRAM Gold Rusch Tour, with both a ride and a cocktail hour called Ladie's Lounge. The event is hosted by Rebecca “The Queen of Pain” Rusch and Lindsey Voreis of Ladies' Allride. If that's not enough, Shine Riders Company, whose mission statement “is to illuminate and inspire” female cyclists, has secured the air bag on Thursday from 4-6pm for the ladies only. (Full disclosure: the author helped start Shine Riders Santa Cruz.)

Regardless of how you get your two-wheeled fix, this weekend will satisfy you. The on-site fee is $12 for ages 13 and up, or $35 for a four-day pass. The festival hours are 9am-5pm from Thursday through Sunday, with the expo closing Sunday at 4pm.

Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey. Thurs-Sun, April 10-13. $12/day or $35 all four days.

Joh Rathbun is a freelance action sports writer, and columnist & ride leader/coach for Shine Riders Co. To stay up to date on West Coast events, or to join her on a ride, like her Facebook page, or contact her at johrathbun.wix.com/freelancewriter.