Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

Sea Otter, Monterey, CA
April 14, 2007

I've barely been out of the house, much less take any photos for the past couple months. But the weather was supposed to be sunny today so I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Sea Otter this morning. However, by the time I hobbled from the parking lot way out in the sticks down hill to the mtbr booth, I realized I had made a mistake. The knees were killing me! It was good to see my old buddy UncleMTB and Aussie Bob, neither of whom I'd seen in a long time. I had pretty much decided to call it quits, hobble back to my truck, and head home. However, the guys pointed out that the downhill races were way back up near my truck. 

I'm pretty stubborn or perhaps just stupid so I decided to hobble over just to see the DH course. I was amazed at how fast the folks were going and they were doing a lot of jumping. So the photographer in me took over and I stuck around. Although I brought my 70 - 300 mm lens, I barely took it out. Instead I stuck with the 17 - 85 mm since you could get literally inches from the racers on this course. I wish I had know that and I would have brought my flash. So sorry about the shadows. 

I had always wanted to photograph one of those trick jumping contests. Although the knees were really hurting, I figured they couldn't get much worse, so I went all the way back down to the main venue. I am glad I did. The photos do not do it justice, it is amazing! As some of the photos show, the jumpers have incredible concentration, in addition to amazing skills. I did not alter the camera position in any way, those guys really are upside down. After seeing some of the photos I'm glad I went. and I got a nice ride through California on a beautiful day with the hillsides and mountains all green. 

Photos may not be used without permission. But I'll give it to most anyone who asks that does not have a commercial interest.

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