For Sea Otter I’m in the camp of using 49 & Pilarcitos. I’d also drop the Jack’s paved drop and swap in 42, not to mention 75 instead of Manzanita, but then I don’t make the course.
@Jolyzara you’d pull your favorite Trail 18 out as well. That’s going to be a fun bubbling brook next week. (OMG it’s only a week away?)
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Not loving the looks of that. Yikes.
There were a couple of lines through it, but that hill will be seeping moisture for sure. That’s really the south end of the course in a nutshell. Water seeping out of the hillside, finds a trail and then follows that trail as a stream.
And that folks, is how a vast majority of Fort Ord’s rain ruts are made just for your riding enjoyment. Notable places we’ll see that next week.
- Bunch of sections of Couch, mainly the climb out of Beer and Pizza (47)
- 2nd descent in Couch to the bridge (48)
- Trail 18 for sure
- couple of the upper parts of the Trail 50S climb to Lookout
67 had some great berms on it when @Jolyzara and I rode it in March, those were washed out last weekend. You end up having to cross the rut in the middle as it meanders from side to side as that one has “I will consume your wheel if you put it in here” vibes and it’s a fast downhill at the same time.
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TY for this. My buddies and I plan to play along this route on thursday. <3
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Agreed and same (Not sure I’ll use the term ‘play’, but I will be on my bike on those trails).
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I’ve been riding the course every couple of weeks for the last few months and experienced everything that webdev511 has reported. However, I did a complete lap yesterday (Friday 12th) and things are better. Couch Canyon was almost entirely dried up (with a couple of short boggy sections) - a complete change from the previous weekend. The dangerous ruts on the steeper downhill portion of 41 have been fixed. The jumps on 82 are still there with the exception of the very last small jump down at the bottom which has been levelled. 82 remains a technical, bumpy, rutted descent followed by berms and more ruts. Lookout Ridge has been bulldozed and it looks like a mess but is much more rideable than before. The boggy section at the start of the last steep grade had finally dried out on Friday. What was notable was that the typical dry, loose sand was back in places, particularly 36, 38, 39 and 69.
There’s been about another inch of rain today and through the night. I think that will dampen down some of the loose sand. My guess is that Couch Canyon will have enough time to dry out again by Friday. I think it will be as good as it gets.
Watch out for the ruts/craters on the short 95 section just before Hennekens - worse than ever in my opinion.
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Good to hear about the fixes. Imagine with the rain, the worst of Couch will be the bottom of Beer and Pizza (47) and the descent after the first big u-turn to the bridge on 48. That was just a lot of no fun last weekend. 41 being better is also good to know. Lots of folks from out of town would have locked up/freaked out if it was in the same shape as February & March. There was a line, but running up on it at speed made it more like “you have two options here and they both look bad” kind of thing.
I’m glad I’ve ridden it as much as I have when it’s been in crap shape. Should make Friday a tiny bit more pleasant?
There was a good line formed up there last Saturday. Middle on the first set, left on the second. I think I actually PR’d the segment. Since it’s all sand, pretty much any rain can change that. Which is the case for a lot of the ruts.
I did a shorter ride this morning and the trails around East Garrison are mint today - set a near PR on a 5 mile favorite loop, even with the bike being set up for endurance rather than speed.
Yeah, bottom of Beer and Pizza will likely be a bog (near the white poles), but at least it is short. The descent to the new bridge was fine on Friday, and I bet it will dry again in time for the race. I looked at 18 again today and it is wet, but not a running stream. There’s one boggy puddle and one very muddy corner, both should improve this week, again not a big deal.
Signage is out but seems whacked near Addington and 14 - currently directing riders down C35 (?) but not connecting back correctly to 14. They need to fix something there.
I also went back to 95 and your line selection is spot on. I packed down the mud, did some gardening and improved the sight lines on that section on the left. Only technical aspect is a ~6" drop off a rock at the end which can be rolled or hopped on the correct line, and minimal risk since it is near the bottom. I saw 4 strong riders go through at speed - 3 on the left line looking really good, 1 straight down the middle with no incident but some choice grunting.
So excited.
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Looks like perfect racing weather. I’ve been doing Sea Otter since 2012, have only missed two races…2019 I had to cancel due to a sick dog and the fall race they held during covid. I just realized it has never rained once.
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Yep, should have 5 days of dry weather prior to the race.
There was about half an inch of rain this weekend, so the places where water is seeping out of the hill sides, will still be wet, but it’s unlikely there will be running water on course. Muddy patches at inopportune times? 100% with Couch Canyon + Beer & Pizza (Trail 48/47/48 combo) being the prime culpret and there may still be some sticky spots in the middle of Trail 50 S where it’s shaded (The single track climb to Lookout Ridge) .
Driving down from Reno thursday, hoping to get out and preride the xc course first thing Friday before the XL race goes off.
9 AM start for XL, so better start early as both pro fields are Fast as Fork. 2 hour laps for 34 miles!
Planning on 7:30 ish…should be almost done with XC course by the time they go off.
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@craigmanning rode the XC course this weekend… It is a tough one! Up Couch, up 41 (probably the hardest climb IMO), Up 49S, Up 50S & Lookout. All climbs on singletrack with limited passing. With almost 800 registered it is going to be crazy!
Good luck this weekend!
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I dont think there is an easy course at Sea Otter. Cramming 3500 ft of climbing in 21 miles makes it a climber’s course for sure.
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and that kicker on Three Sisters between 41 and 42. Folks are going to take that turn and go “What…The Actual…”
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Oh… I just went back into the Plot-a-Route for the Fuego XL and it looks like the return from Fort Ord to the start finish is different this year, or changed back since the new bridge over the start finish is in place.
Now I do have to pre-ride that for sure.
Is there a bridge over the service road?
The outbound part of the course from start to the top of Turn 7 goes under a bridge between T5 & 6. The rest just looks like crossing over the race track, through the oak grove on the inside of T9 then some ziggy zaggy stuff on the way back to the circuit were we get back on at T4, plow through some sand/gravel and back on to the tarmac for start finish.
The support zone is before the bridge over the track between T5 & 6.
Talking about right here…pretty active service road…usually its access to vip parking and camping.