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Monterey Off Road Cycling Association

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Rolling Out the Brown Carpet for Life Time Sea Otter Classic

Long before Life Time Sea Otter Classic participants begin their ride each April, the Monterey Off-Road Cycling Association (MORCA) gets to work. And after those 10,000 cyclists descend upon Fort Ord trails, MORCA volunteers are back out there restoring the trails. This is the annual contribution that local volunteers have humbly delivered to the world-renown event, to Fort Ord lands, and to riders from all over the world since MORCA was formed in 2002. Maintaining and improving the very trails that scrawl Sea Otter Classic riding experiences for so many people – girls, boys, women, men, first-timers and seasoned pros alike – is part of a year-round stewardship effort by MORCA, and an integral component of the event that is easy to overlook.

Take for example, last year’s event. Riders were treated to a brand new, 50-foot bridge at the bottom of Couch Canyon that spans a seasonal arroyo and reduces congestion as riders transition from downhill to climbing. But why was the bridge built?… Who built it?… And who paid for it?

Couch Canyon Bridge
Rewind to early spring 2023. Erosion from winter rains was so bad that the cross-country course had to be re-routed. The traditional descent from Laguna Seca on Trail 47 and the rolling ridgeline that eases riders into greater Fort Ord was out of contention. But thanks to MORCA, a solution was not out of reach.
 
After coordinating with the Bureau of Land Management it was decided that building a proper bridge was the best long-term solution for this popular trail. MORCA sought and was awarded grant funds needed to pay for materials, secured a delivery and storage site for materials thanks to collaboration with Monterey County Parks and Laguna Seca raceway, and assembled a bridge-building team who spent more than 500 hours building the bridge. A ton of planning, coordination, engineering, and of course good old-fashioned paperwork and sweat equity went into the Couch Canyon Bridge. But for riders? A smoother transition, a year-round solution to an active and expanding drainage, and a chance to carry greater momentum into the next climb…changes so natural that some may not have even noticed.
 
“That’s really what we’re trying to do for our greater MTB community,” shares MORCA Vice President, Peter Berridge. “Anticipate both obstacles and opportunities, collaborate with land managers and our community to come up with a plan that grows our sport and grows community benefits, and ultimately keep the momentum for Monterey mountain biking going.”
 
MORCA recently launched its Sustain the Ride campaign to raise awareness about all the behind-the-scenes work MORCA does for Lifetime Sea Otter Classic participants, and to rally support for Monterey mountain biking by carrying the momentum from Sea Otter. Learn more at morcamtb.org/sustaintheride.