Sea Otter 2008 - Jordan's Initiation Year

Pinkbike.com has been attending the Sea Otter Classic for a few years now, however this year was my inaugural year with the Pinkbike crew. So, after packing up our gear on a Monday morning, and sitting down in the Chevy 2500, we started the journey to Monterey California.

After an early awakening on Monday morning, we packed our gear up into the Pinkbike.com/ChainSlayer.com trailer (formerly the Pinkbike.com trailer) and left Chilliwack's rainy weather for what we only hoped would be a sunny destination, Monterey California.


After throwing our gear in the trailer we left Chilliwack at 0500 hours. First stop, Tim Horton's. After getting the coffee fix we packed back into the truck, and headed for the border. We were greeted by a empty border line up, and 3 green light lines to give us our ticket to freedom. We explained our duties to the friendly border guard, who kindly let us through with a limited amount of questions.

After we hit the United States of America it was smooth sailing, straight to the Outlet malls south of Portland. Come on, no sales tax, Tyler and two girls means some shopping was gonna go down! The 45 minute, turned 90 minute break resulted in 3 coats, one hoodie, some lunch and a shirt being bought, all while Dad aka Radek slept in the truck.

We decided that we would make the first day grind to Ashland Oregon, where we would stay at the high class Knights Inn, and fill our bellies at the Wild Goose "Cafe and Bar". Ok, but seriously, if you think about it, what goes better together than beer and coffee? It's like liquid indigestion available across the parking lot, yes! There was some wild weather coming through the Ashland Pass, including hail, rain, ice, and wind. Once we hit Ashland we were pleasantly greeted with snow. No, were not talking about a light dusting, when we awoke on Tuesday, we were pleased to see 6 inches of snow had fallen. Good start to our California trip eh? Well, don't worry, it gets better.


After awaking to 6 inches of snow we decided to skip riding in Ashland, and just make the drive down to Marin County, in California. After arriving in Marin County, we hooked up with Dain from WTB to ride some gnarly trails with him and his lady friend Jackie Baker. The birthplace of MTB has such great stories that it was a must see for our crew. Thanks for getting out of work to show us around!



He claimed he was ready to "Slay his Chain"
Here's a cool tid bit of information. WTB, or Wilderness Trail Bikes, used to weld up custom frames. Ok some of you obviously know that, but it was really cool for me to see as it's part of the history that I'm learning. In their headquarters they have a few of them on show. According to Dain, they used to make custom Titanium frames, and people still ask about them. Neato!


After shredding mad trails, we headed down to a neat little restaurant, named Joes Taco Lounge. Wow, I don't think I have ever got a bigger burrito for 10$. Sick deals, and awesome food. Highly recommend this place for anyone in the Marin area, who is craving some good munch.

After hitting up Joe's we made a group decision to finish the journey from Marin County, and drive around 2 and a half hours to Monterey California, where we would be staying the night and the rest of the week. After crossing the Golden Gate bridge, we drove our tired, and full tummies down to Monterey, signed into the hotel we are staying at, and settled in for the night.

Awaking at 9am this morning, we were well rested and ready to go. The day consisted of a breakfast trip to Chili's, then we wandered the Laguna Seca Race Way checking out what the companies were bringing to the table.

So, after 20 some odd hours of driving, 7 or 8 seat swap's in the truck, one big ass can of Monster Energy drink, and a lot of hours spent sleeping with my head pinched against a glass window we made it down to Monterey California, to attend the Sea Otter Classic 2008.

We will be providing you guys with daily updates about the Sea Otter Classic, and what new products the companies have been working on this past little while since Interbike.


For more photos from our trip down to the Sea Otter Classic, and regular photo updates, check out my Sea Otter 2008 Album.