Deniz's Excellent Adventure to Sea Otter

Sign of things to come... A man and his bike in seaside Santa Cruz.

Cam mentally preparing for a busy week ahead.

It's not just about bikes here in California, surfing is sublime just off the boardwalk.

Salty pacific air is divine...unless you are a car.

The salty car syndrome to which most cars within a 50-mile belt along the coast are subjected.

There is a huge car and racing culture here in Cali and this is the best dashboard design of all time..

Drool-worthy collection of automobiles at Bruce Canepa's Garage. A must visit on your next trip to Santa Cruz.

With all the car racing influence around, this Forbidden Druid Painted by TecGnar and curated by Sebastian Salvant of Crankbrothers was a sight to behold.

Gold TRP 12-speed and SRAM drivetrain.

Inspired by the livery of the John Player Special Lotus F1 cars, Mario Andretti would be proud.

He would also 100% be a mountain biker.

Cane Creek Kitsuma Special.

Powder coated gold spokes. The attention to detail is perfection.

Much like inside this LeMans winning Porsche.

SolosJuntos...(Alone Together) Ranch set the mood nicely for the remainder of our trip. It guided us back into line if we lost purpose.. We thank Mr. Ferrentino for his hospitality.

The NSMB rental was a pleasant surprise. Not suited for the twisty roads of Coastal California, but it had a moment to shine at the ranch, like we knew what we were doing.

Meanwhile, at the show, IBIS bikes and Cam and Pete's friend Saris were making sure the mornings were off to a comfortable start.

Plenty of colourful artifacts scattered over acres of show grounds.

Constantly seeking steel fully content for our audience.

Our friends at Outbound Lighting had this sweet REEB on display.

Outbound's new Road/Gravel light Detour was on display.

This cool lens design borrows a lot from car headlights.

Contra Bikes High Pivot Enduro Steely.

It was cool to run into Canadian Meg Fisher and all her medals! 11 World Championships to be exact.

This Intense M29 at the Manitou tent is the nicest looking bike Intense has produced.

Beauty of a Klunker from State Bicycle Co. with White Industries cranks and custom bags. Never mind the boxed wine, that's classy.

Shiny pieces of art.

Norco had all the pre-production mules for the current Range. The first one had a really cool head tube design that allows for a massive reach and angle adjustments.

It was interesting to see the thought process that arrived at the final product. Rapid prototyping has been good to the industry.

They also had a full Kashima Range... over the top?

At Canyon, they don't care about your opinion... they just make rad bikes, wear sweet shades and have sick tattoos.

Neko Mulally's one off Frank The Welder Race bike was at the 5DEV booth. The cranks and lower chainstay yoke are made by 5DEV.

When the smoke cleared, we went for a little hike to clear our heads. Point Lobos State Park was the perfect location.

Found exactly ZERO Sea Otters. But this little guy was enjoying its day in the sun, spared from the Sea Otters.

I have been thinking about this shirt ever since I got back to my normal life... not sure if I missed an opportunity to get one or dodged a bullet!

Cheers to Mike Ferrentino for his wisdom and unapologetic fashion sense.. We'll be back.. before the next Sea Otter!