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SEA OTTER CLASSIC: OUR FIRST TIME ON THE SCENE
We just got back from Sea Otter Classic and we're still riding the high. For four days at Laguna Seca, the cycling world rolled into Monterey – racers, builders, pros, weekend warriors, every flavor of rider you can imagine. And for the first time ever, Glade had a tent on the grass.
If you've never been: Sea Otter is the unofficial kickoff to the riding season. Part race, part trade show, part festival, and 100% the place where the industry takes its own pulse. Brands debut new gear, riders demo bikes, and somewhere along the way you end up in a conversation with the person who designed the bike you're riding or the helmet you're wearing. (Oh yeah, and there were plenty of killer tacos, coffee, and cold snacks keeping us fueled throughout the event... the real MVPs.)
For us, it was a little surreal. We've been the goggle people for a while now, but stepping into Sea Otter as a cycling brand felt like introducing ourselves to a whole new community.
Our favorite part? Watching folks who already wear our goggles in winter do a double-take when they realized we make riding sunglasses too.
Our new REVEAL® 4K sunglasses were the star. Riders kept picking them up, holding them to the light, asking about the lens tech, asking why they hadn't heard of us yet. (Fair question. We're working on it.)
The compliment we heard the most was about the optics – riders told us the clarity was sharp enough to make them rethink the brand on their face right now.
As a team made of up of mountain bikers, road cyclists, and gravel grinders, we've been testing the new REVEAL® 4K lenses for a while, but it's a totally different feeling to hear those sentiments echoed from riders in the real-world. High-fives and high-stoke all around. Great job Stef (our Head of Product), you crushed it.
But honestly, the best part of the weekend wasn't a sale or a stat. It was the rider from Idaho who's been wearing our goggles for three winters and didn't know we'd shown up here. It was the trio from Marin who came specifically because they'd seen our ads and wanted to try the sunglasses in person. It was the shop owner who pulled us aside to talk about getting Glade onto her wall. We came home with a notebook full of names, and a real sense that we belong here.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by, tried something on, gave us your two cents, or just came by to chat about lenses, trails, or why our tent flag was a little too short. (You were right.) See you out there.
– The Glade Crew