Home from the Otter

First I want to post one picture from my drive out to Sea Otter. The trip was a two day drive, and on the in-between night, I stopped for the night at the Utah/Nevada boarder. I knew from my map that the Bonneville Salt Flats were right off the interstate, and that they are on BLM land (read: free camping). I couldn't pass up this opportunity, so I drove out onto the Salt Flats and pitched my tent. The night sky was full of stars (there's not much in the way of light pollution out there), and the sunrise was breathtaking.

Fast forward to Sunday at Sea Otter. I woke up with a scratchy throat and some congestion--always a sign that I'm coming down with something bad. This was the extent of the symptoms at that time, so I decided I would give the cross country race my best shot.
As usual, the race started off very fast, and I maintained a good position near the front of the group. By half way through the first lap (of 2 18 mile laps), people were starting to settle into their paces. It was obvious that many people went out too hard at the start, as they were slowing down quite a bit.
I settled in with one other guy who was going at my pace, and we started riding through the field. We were so evenly matched that we pretty much were riding together for the rest (3/4) of the race. We grouped up with several other riders, and continued passing people. On the final climb to the finish, the one guy I had been with most of the race hit the gas, and opened up a small gap. I dropped the rest of the guys in our group and gave chase, but didn't quite have enough. I finished the race in 17th place, making this my best finish ever for the Sea Otter Classic cross country (out of seven years, though I did finish 15th once in a lower category). Not bad for having a slight cold.
One thing I haven't mentioned yet, is how awesome my host family was all weekend. Just having a comfortable place to eat and sleep, would have been better than what I've had most years at Sea Otter. However, I was served absolutely delicious meals each night, was given many words of encouragement (amongst many other things), and they even came out to cheer for me during the cross country event. Thanks Rosaleen, Scott, and Christian!

Nice car! Cedric Gracia in a photo shoot with his bike, some models, and a very cherry Chevy SS. (In the Skip Barber Racing School paddock at Laguna Seca.)