After swearing at my sheer stupidity and feeling sorry for myself for several minutes while I climbed back up the hill I didn't need to descend, I finally reached the crest and started to look for where I went wrong. The two single speed leaders had also missed the turn (but thanks to me, they didn't go down the hill) so we all headed back and finally found the missed corner. I had no idea how many people slipped by me in the 5-10 minutes that I was off course but my morale hit the low point for the day. Not only was I now not going to be able to bridge up to Alec, I had also let Tom slip away. For the next 15-20 minutes I was really battling my inner demons. A small part of me wanted to call it a day but the rest of me decided to not be a wuss and reminded me that I was really only in this race to have fun. So after a bit of self-pity I settled on a new plan(actually the original plan), I'd ride at a reasonable pace, have fun and if I was able to pull Tom and Alec back that would be a nice bonus.
After a while I finally started to pick guys off. I wasn't seeing anyone I had seen earlier so I figured a good part of the field had gotten by. This gave the "have fun" mantra even more importance. Despite that, each time I heard myself catching up to another rider I found myself hoping it would be the green and white jersey of IF ride Tom Gosselin. Eventually, as I approached an especially steep hike-a-bike I saw the jersey. Tom, who was already walking, glanced back as I dismounted. A second later, realization kicked in and his head snapped back again. His question, of course, was "how did you get behind me?"
Tom informed me that he was still the only expert behind Alec so my enthusiasm was given a boost and the "fun" mantra immediately changed to "win". With a new impetus, I kicked the boosters in and gave catching Alec a go.
Somewhere, sometime, along the way I started to pick of some of the elite riders who had started 5 minutes up on my group including my pre-race pick for the win, Jeff Wittingham. Apparently, Jeff was suffering for serious stomach issues and his body had shut down.
I continued to dig in, eat Shot Bloks and Sport Beans and drink Heed and Coke. Before long, I found myself in the final sections of single track and rounding the dirt oval to the finish line after 6:38 of racing. I never caught sight of Alec (he ended up finishing 18 minutes up on me) but I felt great after a near perfect race.
In the end, I finished up as the 2nd expert behind Alec and fifth overall (one place better than last year). Team Bikeman.com and Salsa made a very good showing with Harry Precourt getting the overall win on his Mamasita and me at 5th on my Dos Niner. Apparently the Salsa 29'er goodness was just what that course called for.
After the race I was once again reminded just how much I love my Ergon grips as well. After last year's Hampshire 100 my hands were a sore, blistered mess. After this year's race, they were ready for another 6 hrs.
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