OK, I stole the title, and I should probably find a less cheesy victim next time I choose to pilfer language.

Sea Otter is one of the bigger spectacles of the race/expo season, held at the Laguna Seca Raceway venue in Monterey, CA. The expo is cool, with what some estimate is 25,000 people going thru over the 4 days. My Max Lelli bike was a huge hit, with some of the industry vets remembering seeing Cippo race it at Interbike 2 years ago. Everyone loved the 2-tone paint, with more than a handful stopping me to take pictures.

For racing, it's primarily a mountain bike event, with hundreds of different age and disciplines for those into dirt. Thankfully, they let the roadies in on the action.

I raced the Masters and the P1/2 Circuit races, both hosted on the Laguna Seca Raceway itself. Then I added the Masters Road Race, just for a bonus measure of pain.

Since I'd missed Hillsboro, this would be my first racing. For most of the California contingent, they'd been at it for 2-3 months. I knew the rust and lack of intensity would show, but I was game.

Masters Circuit - 90 minutes, 18 laps.

The Laguna Seca Raceway is a 2.3 (or so) mile track with two long false flats, one steep (granny gear, standing) climb, followed nearly immediately by a steep, sharp, curving downhill they call the corkscrew. It's a classic in the motorcyle and auto racing circles, testing the limits of drivers and vehicles. For a bike, it's a real trip to go from a standing granny gear to 53-11 in 30 feet, and even stranger to be spun out in the 53-11 within 5 seconds.

My plan was to mark early moves as much as possible, keep within myself and get back into the swing of racing. The attacks came early and often, and usually on the steep climb. On a few trips up, it was all I could do to stay in contact. I had no impact on the breakaway attempts, but I did manage to stay with the group.

Ultimately there were 5 up the road, we sprinted for 6th, and I was able to sneak in for 2nd in the bunch. 7th place in my first race of the season, and with dudes who've had months of sun while we've had months of grey, crappy, snot-drip weather. I was ok with that.

Pro 1/2 Circuit - 30 laps

I figured 7th wasn't likely in the P1/2 race, but I came to race, so I kitted up and pinned on number 50. Cool, an easy number for people to see and remember.

Being realistic, I packed my cell phone and tire changing equipment in my jersey, guessing that I'd need to ride a bit more than the race to get in my prescribed hours for the day. OK, let's be honest, I figured I'd get my tookus handed to me quickly, maybe even less than 30 minutes in, and I'd have to slink off onto a side road for a couple hours of training to add up to the 3 hrs on my schedule.

I was right, but it was fun while it lasted. During the call-ups, I heard "Levi Leipheimer, please report to the Laguna Seca start line. Hmm, I'm on the start line, does that mean Levi's in MY race? Yep! Wow, that's different, racing with this year's Tour of CA winner.

The race started hot, but I was determined to dig and stick with it. At least for 3 laps, I told myself. I got thru 3 and focused on making it to 5 laps, hoping that someone, anyone, would get a picture of me riding right next to Levi, which I did for 3 laps.

Until the Bissell and Colavita teams decided they needed to put more firepower in the break. They already had one each up the road in a group of 4, but I Levi was still in the pack and they wanted to give the break a fighting chance to stay away from him.

So, in the span of 3 miles, they drilled the break back from 1:15 to :12 seconds, and sent 2 more up the road to bridge. That, friends, is more than this flatlander's got in April and I pulled to the side to ride the next lap alone before I pulled off the track entirely.

What was good to see is that I lasted longer than at least 45 or 50 dudes. By the end, 35 out of 120 finished.

And Levi didn't win. The top 4 came in one by one, the Levi brought in the pack about a minute down.

It would have been nice to have the legs to stick with the group, at least. But I did get to check the "raced with real pros" box on my bucket list.

Masters RR - 64 miles

I'd never done a road race on a closed circuit before, and I'll tell you, it's awesome. The course is 8 laps of a 7-8 mile course, followed by a climb to the line. Scenic, good roads, challenging, but above all, safe.

My legs were tuckered, but I determined to be in the group, and maybe with a break if it happened.

There were 2 climbs, one near the beginning that's a real breaker. We did it 8 times.

It was all I could do to make sure I didn't get dropped on the climb each lap. Thankfully, the guys weren't experienced enough to crank it up over the crest of the climb and just drill it down the backside to solidify any gaps, so I was able to meter my efforts, then chase quickly back on if I lost too much ground any time up.

Ultimately, I was able to hang with the pack until the base of the finishing climb, when I just didn't have enough to go with any moves. I ended up 9th, losing less than a minute to the head of the pack.

Sea Otter is one you should consider if you can make it happen. The weather is good, the races well timed, and the vibe is 100% cycling.

The organization is incredible. We had a closed course road race with a lead moto, a trail moto, a SRAM neutral car and an officials car. The Circuit is even better, with no one on the track and nowhere to hide.

Finally, the Sea Otter folks arrange athlete housing for entries in the P1/2 race, cutting expenses dramatically. I used flight mileage, found a super-cheap car rental, and stayed with my host family. That's racing on the cheap.

What could be hotter, than the "Otter?"

ED