A quarter of century ago, way back before Red Bull, GoPros and carbon-fiber mountain bikes, something special sprouted in a dry lake bed. Only nobody was there to see it.
Participants outnumbered spectators 350 to 150. Zero exhibitors showed. Not a single journalist attended.
As the Sea Otter Classic celebrates 25 years this Thursday through Sunday, April 16-19, it will not resemble that scene. More than 65,000 fans will watch some 9,600 participants in events like the dual slalom, cyclocross and criterium races. More than 400 exhibitors will peddle – and/or pedal – items like electric bikes, Bonk Breaker bars and Bibbit’s magnetic bib fasteners. Some 325 journalists will report on the affair. Sierra Nevada Brewery is even crafting a tribute beer for the occasion.
Frank Yohannan started the Otter on his April 6 birthday in 1991 and has steered it since, so he’s as qualified as anyone to put the Woodstock of bicycles in perspective. “Within our sport, the Sea Otter is known globally,” he says. “It’s a tribute to those who have supported us, and most have come from our Monterey County community. ”
His staff collected fun numbers for a Harper’s magazine-style list in honor of 25 years. That appears here, reinforced by the Weekly’s own research.
SUBARU SEA OTTER CLASSIC 9am-5pm Thursday-Sunday, April 16-19. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Monterey-Salinas Hwy, Salinas. $15/day; $50/festival; free parking. 800-218-8411, www.seaotterclassic.com.
The height free riders reach with their aerial stunts: 30+ feet
The greatest distance competitors will travel to SOC: 10,238 miles
Number of cycling disciplines taking place: 11
The distance of the longest event of the weekend: 94 miles
The distance of the shortest competitive event: 100 feet
Number of years multi-national mountain bike champion, Marla Streb, has attended Sea Otter: 20
Number of times Streb has entered a pro racing event at Sea Otter: 16
Span of Streb’s pro racing career: 17 years
First online story published by mountain biking website mtbr.com about the Sea Otter Classic: 1998
Number of Sea Otter Classic race starts in six different categories for Adam Craig, who competed in his first Sea Otter as a junior in 1999: 37
Total race results that one of the founders and influencers of mountain biking, Keith Bontrager, has posted at Sea Otter: 2
Number of times Bontrager has been to Sea Otter in the last 25 years: 24
Year that RockShox debuted its longest-travel fork (the BoXXer) at Sea Otter: 1998
Year in which longtime Sea Otter sponsor SRAM acquired RockShox: 2002
Team with which Johnson tested SRAM’s new Force groupset at Sea Otter in 2005: Jittery Joe’s
Number of team jerseys Tim Johnson has worn at Sea Otter during his pro career: 5
Number of individual jersey designs available at Primalwear.com: 300+
Least popular cycling kit color: skin tone
Amount of dollars in cash and in-kind trade that was donated through Primal’s Give Back Program in 2014: $1.3 Million
People who donated their time to volunteer at Sea Otter in 2014: 2,000
How long an average day lasts – from “o’dark thirty” in the morning until the daily staff recap meeting – for the 130 people who descend on Monterey to produce Sea Otter each year: 16 hours
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