As the course winded up and down, Quinn caught back up to me and then made short work of me and I never saw him again for the rest of the race. So up and down, climbing and descending we went. On one of the long downhill sections after the first big climb, I decided to open it up and test the limits of my new bike. So here I am flying down this hill and passing 3 or 4 people. I catch up to this guy on a rigid bike who I pass, then he passes me back. "Alright," I think to myself. "I can smoke this guy." So I really open it up and pass him, only to realize that the course takes a 180° turn in about 50yards. There were several course officials attending to one rider who hadn't quite made it through the turn. They looked up to see us barreling down upon them. I think they nearly shit a brick. Suffice it to say, we both overshot the turn, and had to turn around again to get on the right trail.
Well, after that the mishaps were pretty uneventful. The long, twisty, technical single track of the course was outstanding once again. I rode on until I hit the last climb, Ugh! This long grinder always puts me in shit house. Its more a psychological thing now than anything. 'Cause when ever I ride this course, I have a hard time getting up this long climb. Eventually I made my way up it though, and then I was once again hauling ass toward the pavement track. I passed about 5 or 6 (probably not in my class, but hey it was morale lifting) on the downhill, and was dismayed to find that they took out the old PowerPost Extreme section. I used to love and hate those drop-offs. But I rode on and then sprinted to the finish. All in all, it was a great race.
When we regrouped afterward, we realized that the timers had screwed up and awarded Quinn a DNF. Quinn finished way before me, and people had heard his name being called out over the PA as he crossed the line, but he still got a DNF. I finished in 41st, Matt in 55 in his catagory. Afterward, we preused the venues and I picked up a DV8 jacket and a Marzo Hat. We had good eats and lots of free treats. On the way back home, my mind began to wander toward those Chemistry answers for my final the next day. But pass or fail, that weekend and that race was definitely worth it.

--Mr. Fister

Results:
#41 Derek Wong 1:38:12 Beginner 19-24
#55 Matt Rorick 1:38:42 Beginner 25-29
#DNF Quinn Walker N/A Beginner 19-24
#49 John Boniface 1:40:40 Sport 19-24
#N/A Brian Stevens N/A Later

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