This just in from Burke.  Have a read…

I just wanted to drop a quick line and fill you in on my past weekend’s adventure from the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA.

I had been looking forward to these races for quite some time given that it’s only event all season where I could showcase the dual-discipline nature of my project all at one venue.

I also used the event to put the finishing touches on my fitness for the approaching Tour of the Gila, an event which holds a special place for me. But more on that later!

Back to Sea Otter…this event is the largest mass participation cycling event and festival in the U.S. and as such, garners not only a large amount of media attention, but a substantial amount of spectators and participants at the venues.

I found this to be both a blessing and a curse. 

The blessing is that I was able to interact with a lot of great people during the 4 days I was there. But, this was also the curse! I quickly found it was near impossible to get myself and my equipment ready for the event while fielding questions like “what is teamgive?” and, of course, “Whoa! check out that bike! What is it? How does it ride?” 

In the end I was able to do both and that made for a very fulfilling day of interaction and racing.

As for the road racing portion, I found myself on the receiving end of what I had previously delivered the year before as my former stablemates at Team Bissell arrived to the event with their entire squad in force and, as was the case with the opening criterium, their team made up a full 1/3 of the field!

This made for more than a little frustration as it had been my hope that by being a single rider without a team I would have a little longer leash than normal when it came to getting into breakaways over the 3 days of racing.

Not so. 

I guess I should be flattered that I’m still considered a threat even as solo rider.

Suffice it to say Bissell had a stranglehold on the competition at the road events.

Nonetheless, I did manage to get a top 10 finish in the road race. The following day’s circuit race was a bit more challenging due to my decision to ride to and from the race venue at Laguna Seca Raceway from where I was staying in Salinas. This added about 40 extra miles to my day which I’m hoping will pay it’s dividend for my Tour of the Gila preparation. By the time I got back to my motel room, I was one tired bike rider!

Finally, the 4th day’s event was the Sea Otter Pro Cross Country. 

This event historically attracts the top Mt. Bike racers in the world and this year was no different. There were reigning Olympic, World and National Champions in the very large  field of pros.

This was the event I was most excited for. Billed as a 38 mile race, it was ideally suited to my endurance abilities  and I was hopeful of bettering my top 20 finish of a year ago.

Alas, for reasons that baffled the riders, the event promoter decided to shorten the race to a mere 17 miles. This, coupled with a registration snafu that resulted in my being seeded literally last in the field, meant that I had my work cut out for me and 20 fewer miles to do it in than last year!

This is where I wish I could say I had the race of my life and was able to pass all but a few of the 140 riders starting in front of me, and I actually did pass nearly 100 of them, but I ended up rolling in at what was for me, a disappointing 44th place.

Nonetheless, in hindsight it was a very productive and enjoyable trip.

Up next is Tour of the Gila April 28-May 2nd. As I mentioned earlier, this is a very special race for me. This will be my 16th participation and over those 16 years I am very proud to say that I am the all-time record holder for overall victories (3) and individual stage wins (6).

This year’s race promises to be the most competitive ever with a field of 185 riders including last year’s first and second place finishers, Team Radio Shack’s Levi Leipheimer and some guy named Lance something or the other.

They will, among many other of the riders, be using this event as their final preparation for the Tour of California.

For me, Tour of the Gila will the ultimate test of wether or not this one-man-team thing will actually fly.

I hope to report back to you soon with an emphatic “yes”!

Till then!

-Burke