I'm getting excited about Sea Otter Classic this week. Today was a staff meeting on-site, where we got our clothes, radios, wristbands, and final instructions for the week. It was fun to catch up with friends on staff. Everyone is excited (and surprisingly calm). The infrastructure is built-out, staff is on-site, and the vendors and exhibitors begin arriving soon.
I arranged my schedule to sneak in a quick road ride before the meeting. I wanted to recon the route for our Friday morning Women's Road Ride so I headed out South Boundary Road (closed to cars at this time) and down to Monterey. There were too many happy tourists to make good time and I didn't want to fight the crowds on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail so I turned back a few miles short of the route's end point.
It was a bit odd riding South Boundary Road today. Because it's closed to cars, I had to go around a number of road gates, which made me feel kinda sneaky. I saw a few other cyclists on my way out, but on the way back it was completely deserted. South Boundary is the road that runs along the edge of the Ft. Ord lands and the view of military remnants, deserted structures, and the posted signs signaling "danger -- unexploded munitions" is a little creepy. Ft. Ord was a munitions staging and testing ground from 1917 to 1994. Clean-up efforts are in place and I've raced both road and mountain bikes on the property. But it still gives me an eerie feeling when riding there, and that feeling was heightened today as I rode alone.
The weather at Laguna Seca (home of Sea Otter Classic) was sunny, windy, and a bit cool. As I rode down to the coast, I found myself in the fog. But climbing 5 miles back up to the raceway I was back in the sun.
All in all, a good day. My legs are feeling great and the short section of 10-14% grades wasn't miserable (the tailwind helped).
http://www.plus3network.com/activity/pre-otter-coastal-route-recon/1772577
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| lovely coastal blooms |
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