Recap by Nathan Riddle
"Racing is dead". A number of years ago when NORBA was failing I remember this phrase going around the bike biz like wild fire. The people saying this had likely never been to the Sea Otter Classic. This event has consistently been one of the biggest racing and bike industry events in North America (if not worldwide) for at least the last 20 years I have attended it. Located at the Laguna Seca raceway near Monterey CA, the Classic has consistenly drawn Professional bike racers of ALL (and I do mean all) disiplines from around the world as well as amateur racers of all ages from all over the United States. It also brings bike enthusiast spectators who come to see the conjoined spectacles of racing, and the bike companies who come to support them as well as show off all the cool new stuff they're bring to market. It is often the place where companies come to debut new goods for the first time to the media. I heard someone say that this year there were about 60,000 attendees each day!