I got to do Sea Otter this year- the Master Blaster division. Now, you must understand that I absolutely HATE this race with more passion than Mel Gibson for JaySus. I've done the Pro, 1 races more times than I want to recall. I don't hate it because the campgrounds are 3x the price than an Indy Car race weekend, it's not the dirty, soft facial haired scallywags that ride constant wheelies all day (yay, look at me, look at me- Dude, I failed geometry!), it's not the fact that they charge $6.95 for a bratwurst and $5.00 for a bottle of water, it's not the fact that the top 'Pro' teams don't even go anymore, it's not the fact that you feel like you catch ADD like it was a disease the longer you're there, it's not the weather, which can turn from nice to tempest in a matter of hours, and it's certainly not the drive out, which can take for-EV-er, it's not the hotels in the area which charge Moto G.P. weekend rates. No, it isn't all these things that creep on my skin like bedbugs- it the entry fees which make me madder than a hatter. $60.00 a race- WHAT!?!?!

Now I've raced all over this wonderful country of ours, every armpit and broken town you can ponder and you can usually figure out where your $ is going when you sign up for a race, but at Sea Otter I wonder. I mean, you can sign up for Tour of Somerville, a criterium with a $10,000 prize list for $50.00, just like Athen's Twilight Criterium. Sea Otter is $60.00! I've been told, from an unnamed source in the Otter's bowels that registration numbers are off, way off from not 2 years ago, but I guess it would take an enlightened calculator to figure out why.

Note to Sea Otter: you want more people coming? Go Thomas Edison- more for less $.

What I do like are the families that roll up to the parking lot @ Laguna Seca in their motor homes, little guys and girls on wee bikes, Mom and Dad preparing bottles, manning the BBQ, shooting the shite with other parents and helping out the kids' racing. It's cool to see and gives hope to the future generation. I just wish more people would do it.