MONTEREY >> Henrietta Stern never envisioned herself as an enduro racer. A self-proclaimed “scaredy cat” about going downhill on her mountain bike, she stuck to cross country riding and, occasionally, racing.
Then the Pacific Grove resident collapsed shortly after finishing her cross country race at the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Recreation Area six years ago. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or AFib. Stern underwent two surgeries to regulate her irregular heartbeat and returned to cycling shortly afterward, but she couldn’t climb hills like she used to for fear her heart rate would get too high.
From there, it’s been all downhill — in the best way possible.
At age 63, Stern returned to the Sea Otter on Thursday — this time as an enduro racer.
“You can teach an old dog new tricks!” said Stern, who called racing the enduro “a bucket list kind of thing.”
“I was like, ‘Rock on!’” she added. “I was even thinking, ‘I’m going to sign up for downhill next year. I’m going to try dual slalom.’”
Nearly 600 mountain bikers from across the country and as far away as New Zealand and Taipei competed in the enduro, the only mountain biking event held on the opening day of the four-day cycling festival. The event could be considered the Sea Otter’s sample platter. It consists of four downhill races spread throughout the recreation area, including the official downhill course and the dual slalom course, which bookend two back-country segments. Though riders must pedal from segment to segment, only their downhill times count toward their race standings.
“That’s what’s so wonderful for me,” said Stern, still vivacious after finishing the nearly two-hour and 15-mile race. “You’re only timed on the downhill, so I can toodle around on the other parts.”
Enduro is a relatively new mountain biking discipline and the Sea Otter has only offered it since 2014. So, Stern wasn’t the only racer to take her training wheels off Thursday.
Monte Vista Christian School sophomore Sam Medina also made his enduro debut, competing in the men’s open 18-under division.
The Watsonville teen said his goal was to “have fun and not break anything, bike or body.”
When he streaked across the finish line of the dual slalom course to signify the end of his race, though, it was almost a bigger deal for his mother than for him. Carissa Medina, a teacher at MVC, said she’d competed in her first cross country mountain biking race almost exactly 26 years ago at the Laguna Seca Classic, the precursor to the Sea Otter. At that time, she said, there was only one white exhibitor’s canopy instead of the sea of colorful booths — hawking everything from bikes to beer to belts — that are now squeezed into the raceway’s infield.
“There was just one tent, one canopy, and 100 riders on hardtails with rigid forks,” she said. “It has really evolved into something special.”
Over the years, Sea Otter has become known as the unofficial kickoff of mountain biking season — this year’s festival is expected to attract about 10,000 competitors and 70,000 fans — and even the more experienced enduro competitors could appreciate easing into racing form on its relatively forgiving course.
Pro men’s racer Nick DiNapoli, 22, of Felton said most enduros last three to four hours, cover up to 25 miles and are more technically difficult than the one at Laguna Seca.
“It’s good to get this one over with and ease into it,” the Cabrillo College business student said. “You try to figure out where you’re at and judge yourself.”
Jared Graves of Morgan Hill won the pro men’s race with a combined downhill time of 10 minutes, 8.14 seconds. DiNapoli (11:27.31) took 23rd. Joanna Patterson (12:22.83) of Santa Cruz took third among pro women behind winner Anneke Beerten (11:51.41) of the Netherlands.
Many of the racers, including DiNapoli and Medina, plan to race in the California Enduro Series, among other races, over the summer. The competitive tour includes stops at several ski resorts, including Northstar and Mammoth Mountain, as well at Toro Park in Monterey on May 27.
Kathy Bodie also plans to use the Sea Otter as a springboard into the series. A former pro downhiller and cross country mountain biker, she gave up racing when she started her career as a traveling nurse 10 years ago. Now living in Sacramento, she made her enduro debut last year at the Sea Otter.
“It’s hard on the ego to come back as a non-pro. You have to swallow that pill,” she said. “But I’m so glad to be back because I love this environment, and you don’t have to be a pro to be a part of it.
“It’s a community, and it’s bound by the intensity of mountain biking. It’s so great to be around. It’s like, ooooohhh.”
That about sums up how Stern felt after officially joining the enduro community Thursday. It got her heart pumping — in the best way possible.
“It was a blast,” she said. “It was wonderful.”
Contact Julie Jag at 831-706-3257.
