Retro day at the Sea Otter

[Repack Rider]

Apparently a bunch of the West Coast retro fans will be meeting at the Sea Otter Classic next month. I understand there will be a race in which my pariticipation is unlikely, plus show and tell. It's close enough for me to get there, so I'm going with my 1983 Ritchey.

Just in the last year interest in old-school "klunkers" has exploded, and my friend and neighbor Alan Bonds is the highest expression of that unique art. He and I plan to attend together with some of his recent bikes.

You can check out Alan's bikes on his website, clunkers.net.

 

[john]

Sounds great....look forward to seeing some pics

 

[Repack Rider]

Here are a few of the bikes that showed up. Unfortunately, I didn't take too much care in setting up the shots, so the photography is terrible.

 

[P20]

They're still good photos mate. Looks good

 

[Repack Rider]

Do you recognize this guy? I didn't either, until he called me by name.

Answer in next post.

 

[Repack Rider]

Apparently the sponsor's label on the beer was important for him to get into the photo.

Scroll down for the name.
































Greg Herbold

 

[Repack Rider]

The Sea Otter is huge. I'm told that they expect 40,000 people over the weekend, and that of those some 10,000 will compete. I saw many entire families with race jerseys and numbers.

It's hard to show the scale of the place in a single photograph. This is the infield and merchandise area. There was another area with a demo track and manufacturers lending bikes for testing, as well as a BMX competition area.

Road racing took place on the paved motor racing track, and the various gravity events were on the hillsides surrounding the infield. This photo was taken from the Dual Slalom course. The cross country course, which I didn't ride, apparently winds for 15 miles through the hills of this former military reservation where I was stationed briefly in 1966.

In the centre of the photograph the black structure is a 10 meter platform with a ramp and three big piles of dirt for spectacular hucks. In front of that and barely visible is a wooden trials track that would hurt very much to fall from. Some of the ramps are 3-4 meters above the ground.

 

[mattpayne]

christ!!! that ramps insane!!!! :shock: :shock:

are there many people stupid enough to ride own that??!!!

 

[Repack Rider]

christ!!! that ramps insane!!!! :shock: :shock:

are there many people stupid enough to ride own that??!!!

There were guys going off it all day. They had a mechanical lift to take them to the top.

 

[Joe]

I'd love to go to that one year.

Thanks for the pics!