Ambassadors
Each road to Sea Otter is unique, and we celebrate all roads [dirt, gravel, or paved 😉] that get us to Monterey every April. All culminating in the biggest celebration in cycling. We are here to celebrate the many ways to get there and the magic that happens during: from the seasoned racer or the family to the first-time rider.
Meet our #SeaOtterAmbassadors, beginning with our leader of the pack, Alison Tetrick.
Follow along as Ali and the rest of our #RoadToSeaOtter team gets ready to race, ride, camp, and celebrate bikes this April!
Alison Tetrick
Lead Ambassador
I am Ali Tetrick and I am a cowgirl turned tennis player turned professional cyclist for Specialized. I am a traumatic brain injury survivor, but even though the bike almost took my life – it saved my life in so many ways. It brought me YOU – this beautiful community. The Sea Otter Classic was my first professional race in 2008 and from that moment on, I knew I had found my place. I am a free-range entrepreneur that loves to give back to the community, get more people on bikes, and support education and opportunity for all. After racing around the world at the World Tour level, I won Unbound 200 and was inducted into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame in 2023. But it isn’t about results for me. It is about showing up. Getting to start lines. Spreading the love of bikes and making our amazing sport more accessible for all.
Still working out my schedule, but you can definitely expect to see me on the Family Off-road Tour, Gravel race, and Road race!
I started racing for the USA National Team and then into World Tour Road cycling – but now, I am a proud member of gravel royalty. There is no wrong way to ride a bike. If you are riding a bike – you are doing it right.
Right here in my hometown of Petaluma, California. It is the center of my universe and after racing around the world, I still have to say that I think I have the best training and exploration grounds that there is to offer. Come ride with me to critter watch, find oysters, soak in the views, and bump along the rough Sonoma tapestry that we call our pavement. It is pure heaven on wheels.
My Grandpa. I call him Grampy. Paul Tetrick. He is the man that introduced me to the sport of cycling. He didn’t start racing until he was in his 50’s but he raced well into his 80’s (17x USA National Masters Championships). He always told me I should race a bike but I was a collegiate tennis player and scientist. I never believed his belief in my abilities as an endurance athlete until one day, I donned the dorky lycra and never looked back. Cycling became our love language. He taught me that sports are timeless and cycling always has a way to remind you to be humble. He was always the first person I called when I would win, lose or draw. He would absorb my raw emotions, process them, take a deep breath, and ask me what I could have done differently. Cycling brought me closer to him. I miss him every day. There is never a ride I go on that I don’t wish he would be there with me, dropping me, and in his unique way, making me stronger than I ever knew I could be.
I eat all the foods. All the foods. I also like them mid-ride. I am going to go with carnitas nachos at this moment but that’s just because I am hungry.
I am a domesticated house cat – even if my hair usually looks like a lion. I like the comfort of my own home but I love to roam in the great outdoors. I will purr for attention but if I get overstimulated, I will hiss. I love to take hot laps around the house or the expanses of outside. But you can also find me hiding under a bed, staring, napping, and pondering my next great escape.
I don’t get tired when I ride, so I guess never hungry? I am always hungry.
Hi. It’s me. I’m the problem. I signed up for this. All you can do is be better or change it. Forward progress, take care of yourself.
The Sea Otter Classic is like if our powers combined… oh wait, they did. It is the biggest bike party where you still get to race or do whatever you want in the world. I am home at the Sea Otter Classic.
My first memory is sitting on the sidelines watching the women’s professional circuit race. I watched Tiffany Cromwell solo to the win on the infamous Laguna Seca circuit. I thought, I want to be like her someday. She is bold. She is fearless. She is so strong and beautiful. Fast forward a few years – Tiffany and I got to race “against” each other for the last decade on the road. And now, she joined me in gravel as well and we get to race all over the world together. I just can’t forget that moment when I was so inspired by the amazing feats of athlete prowess at the Sea Otter Classic. And it doesn’t matter if you are racing for the win or trying to finish or visiting the festival. It is just a place to celebrate the outdoors.
The other best memory is stopping by a Cross Country (CX) MTB race to watch one certain handsome man win his category in the race. He slid through the sand taking a 180-degree sandy turn around a rival rider. He crossed the line victorious. He hugged his competitor. They laughed and celebrated their day. Sea Otter Classic is all about love. He hugged me. And then I knew I needed this man in my life, well, forever. Turns out that was 2019 and now we are married. It is a memory that I will never forget. It was a celebration not only of bikes, but of love and so much more. Connection. Family. Love. Fast forward to 2022 at the Sea Otter Classic, this very same man, Blaize Baehrens (I like to call him B Bear (I use 🐻)), proposed to me at the conclusion of the Sea Otter Classic. We rode our bikes up to my Grampy’s favorite climb in the area. We said hello to him. And the [bear emoji] proposed. I almost forgot to say yes. And that folks, is a Sea Otter Classic happily ever after. But don’t worry, we aren’t done yet.
Jenny Sterling
I started riding about 10 years ago and fell in love with seeing the world by bike. For me, there’s nothing better than riding an iconic, scenic road or tackling a big climb and enjoying the views at the top. I spend a lot of time researching places to ride, planning routes and building trip itineraries. Riding bikes in new places really excites me and sharing information and details about different locations and events brings me the most joy. I’m all about a ride bucket list and helping others cross rides of their lists too!
I feel fortunate to live in Sierra Foothills where we have some great riding and climbing, but when I get tired of my local routes, my favorite place to ride is Healdsburg in Sonoma County. During the week, I love riding the American River Bike Trail from Folsom because it’s car-free, and therefore stress-free, and I can get a good ride in after work without worrying about rush hour traffic. Plus it’s so beautiful year-round.
Sea Otter is definitely the best festival I’ve ever attended, and I tell friends it is like Coachella for bikes! It’s so fun to visit all the vendor booths, talk to different brands, pick up some swag and enter drawings for free gear. I love being able to socialize with other folks that love riding, meeting IG friends in real life, doing social rides with friends and my favorite bike-lebrities, and watching the pros race. Whether you come for one day or the entire weekend, there’s something for everyone and it is truly a good time!
Tasha Rose Tinagero
Home Base: Chico, CA (although currently living the van life!)
Disciplines: Enduro, XC, Dual Slalom, EMTB, Gravel, Fixies
5, or so?
Enduro, XC, Dual Slalom, EMTB
“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” ― Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker
(Our time on this earth is a short trip, go out, play, and enjoy your time with wonderful people.)
Victor Boyce
Gravel Bike California
Home Base: Sherman Oaks, CA
Disciplines: Gravel, XC
Kid at heart. BMX roots. Graduated to road. Discovered mountain biking and got reinvented. Never had a bad day on the bike. Almost cried when GCN+ shut down. Live by the N+1 rule. 14 bikes in the bike cave. Not a curmudgeon…. have steel, lugged, rim brake bikes. Next to carbon, disc brake axs bikes , XC, single speed… I love and have it all!
Zachary Rynew
Gravel Bike California
Porsha Murdock
Crystal Haggard
Gravel, XC, Family Off-Road Tour
Wherever friends are at!
Lawton Denis
My name is Lawton Denis and I live and breathe adrenaline and speed! I am a bike racer/influencer with over 115000 subscribers on YouTube. With the help of my 14 sponsors, I travel the country with the goal of filming entertaining bike content for my audience on YouTube. If I’m not riding my bike, then I’m most likely modifying and tuning cars for my second YouTube channel. Adrenaline definitely gets me up in the morning!
Martin Jones
0, we’ve got a first timer!
Hello, I am Martin Jones. I am a father of 9 beautiful children and a partner to beautiful woman named Adrienne. I grew up in Colorado Springs, CO, and currently reside in Centennial, CO. I got into cycling around 2018, not too long after my father passed away. Cycling for me started as a way to get out and just enjoy the moments of life, without worrying too much about the everyday life stresses. I used this to help ease the hurt from my father’s passing, and it’s evolved into a way of life me now. The physical and mental benefits from cycling is what I love about this sport. I’m working on getting my kids and partner more and more active on these bikes as well. I’ve also become an active member in the BIPOC cycling community here in Colorado and across the US. I’m the founding member of a smaller BIPOC cycling club called Box State CC, and an active member of a cohort for the Ride For Racial Justice cycling team, as well as an active member of the KRT/QRT Cycling Club. I’m doing what I can in my power to bring more BIPOC athletes/cycling to the sport because representation matters.
Gravel, Road, and both the Fondos
Anywhere with a beautiful scenery. I really love the gravel roads up in the mountains of Colorado, and around Boulder.
lol, I SEA what you did here. I’m sure after I attend SOC, this will be my favorite 🙂 I think it’s because of the showcase of events and family and cycling community that make this event so welcoming. I can’t wait to experience it.