While proms have themes, the expectation that something similar could encapsulate a particular Sea Otter Classic is a bit of an overreach.
Every year innovations and trends always progress, but change in the bike world doesn’t happen at a rapid nor glacial pace.
Instead, I call it at human scale as there are no instant answers and I’ve been all over the spectrum for my time adopting new directions.
The good thing about Sea Otter is you don’t have to force it with my focus being the gravel race choosing the two lap course over the three options.
Having finished a preview video a couple of months earlier helped me from a strategy point knowing when to push and how to conserve energy.
While each lap was just under thirty miles, there were a number of pitches I stayed at tempo knowing the final two were extremely steep and would put me into the red if I wanted to stay upright on the bike.
The other part of my strategy is to make sure I kept good speed for the first twenty miles going into the single track hoping that would reduce the odds of being bottlenecked which I knew I likely couldn’t avoid on lap two with all the age groups spread apart.
With the early morning fog rolling in, it was hard to count my placement going into the first descent thinking I was in the 10-15 range.
Lap two was pretty lonely though I made sure not to hit a performance lull, although my strategy of not stopping for water (carrying three bottles) almost imploded cramping on the final climbs.
Crossing the finish line seemed inconsequential, but I was shocked to learn I was fifth place in my age group!
Having the gravel race move up a day to the Friday was a big win allowing more stress free time at the festival.
The leading trend was bigger is better concerning tire width as the Allied Able wasn’t shy about it capable of fitting 57mms while hard to ignore its purpleness.
There were other brands like Niner’s newly introduced ORE RDO and Otso’s Waheela that accomodate 50mms under $4K, while Ari’s Shafers carbon option priced well below $3K.
While this wider trend hasn’t completely taken over, a lot of manufactures made it sound like a big change will be coming in 2026.
Another new wrinkle was GBC Jr’s introduction to the Little Bellas program, a day camp for girl to build mountain bike skills.
For ages 8-13, I was impressed the level of climbing and handling they were challenged with and even doing just one day my daughter’s skills definitely improved.
I ended Sea Otter doing the family ride that was less technical than last year and borrowing e-bikes from Bulls made it stress free.
We also caught the Prevelo stunt show with the riders coming from middle and elementary schoolers doing acrobatics with a special permission slips.
While I know I can’t see it all, I did finish Sea Otter feeling a progression in the bike community that only builds year after year.