They just launched prebooking for Sea Otter Australia in Bateman’s Bay, NSW for October of this year. I’ve signed up for the gravel Fondo, and a bunch of us are going to go up to soak up the spring weather, check out Bateman’s Bay, do some mountain biking & gravel riding & make a long weekend of it, might even take the road bike. I’ll be advertising & promoting this event in our spring marketing. Keep an eye out.
The Story…
In the USA, every spring the Sea Otter event in Monterey, California is the biggest industry gathering for launching new products, expo of products for the bike companies & accessory companies. It also hosts UCI road races, Pro Mountain bike series races, gravel fondo, dirt jumping, and every cycling event you can think of, all at the Laguna Seca racecourse. It’s a scene, and you get a big buzz just being there & feeling the energy of the bike industry, and the mix of all cycling enthusiasts & athletes from all disciplines, all mixing up at events, local restaurants, hotels & expo. The last year I lived in California, I raced the Cat4 road race on the Laguna Seca race track (what an experience), did the XC mountain bike race that did a half lap of the Laguna race track course before it sent off into the MTB course, and did the Super D downhill race, all in one weekend, all in one place, then worked the Specialized booth in the afternoons, showing the brand’s wares to the public. It’s something to experience.
The Sea Otter event in Australia is intended to capture this excitement & camaraderie in the hugely-enthusiastic cycling scene in Australia. I hope it succeeds, and if it only captures 20% of what the USA event does, it will be worth going. I want to help this effort succeed as well, so I’m all in. ☺ Come along & let’s do some riding, have a few beers!
It looks like the local caravan park promoted in the event packet is fully booked, but I’m sure there are camping & caravan opportunities locally as well. We rented a local Stayz.com.au property and are setting up to be in the middle of the action.
Hope to see you there!
Sea Otter circa 2007 - our XC team for the weekend
