Back to reality.

OK, I've finally simmered down a little bit after last night's post losing debacle. Amazing what a night of good sleep will do for you.

Sea Otter is always a great event in spite of the weather which is usually guaranteed to be cold, windy, and raining. This year was no exception; we experienced all of the above however all I can say is it was yards better than last year's weather where it pissed down rain just about the whole time.

For the Haro crew, the event was a real success since we sent out quite a few demo bikes and people were super stoked on them. Of course the Mary 29ers were the hit of the party; I even got an e-mail from a guy today who ran out and bought a Mary SS this morning based on his test ride. I love stuff like that. Marketing can be such an intangible art form, it's always nice to hear when its successful and drives someone into their local shop to buy a bike.

None of us ended up racing the singlespeed class liked we had planned. I got sick earlier in the week, so combined with not feeling too hot and the nearly $70 entry fee to race (What are the Sea Otter organizers thinking?!?), I just wasn't into it. Masiguy sprained his thumb in a pre-ride trip over the bars (imagine that!!!). And our product guys Wayne and Pat weren't really up to racing, either. So we all stayed in the booth and watched it rain...and rain...and rain.

We did manage to get a couple of nice rides in. The race course at Laguna Seca is truly epic from a scenery standpoint...it's just so beautiful. The rolling green hills peppered with oak trees just seem to go on forever. In certain areas of Fort Ord (aka Laguna Seca), there are hundreds of sheep grazing...between the green hills, the sheep, and cold cloudy weather, I thought I was in Ireland or something. Not that I have been to Ireland to know what it looks like, but I've seen pictures.

It wouldn't be Sea Otter without a ton of vendors and cycling-related stuff to see. I spent a bunch of money at Sheila Moon's booth...she does super kick-ass women's cycling gear. I've heard of her line but never had the chance to actually try it on...WOW, what nice clothing she does. You can bet I'll post some sort of review on her clothing here in the not-so-distant future. I also made a point to go check out the new line of hip urban bikes by Swobo. OK, it may sound as if I'm plugging the competition but that's alright. I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade and the new Swobo bikes are pretty awesome. Sky did a killer job with them. Damn, if I had half the product management skills she has, I'd be happy.

So that, my friends, is a Sea Otter wrap. At least until next year!

Happy trails!