Wow! A 3+ hour drive to Williston Vermont was picturesque from camping on the Maine Border. I got there right around 9 AM afterbushwacking my way through a Pinnacle like class 6 road. Race started at 10:00, and I caught wind that the course was dry and quick, so I ditched the camelback and went with the waterbottles. They grouped the the Expert Vet 1 and 2 plus Masters together for a big start. THe start wasn't all that fast, but quick enough to send 2 guys flying. One supermaned over the other into the tall grass as it reminded my of Rasmussen the day before on the tour. We got into the singletrack and Brian was about 2-3 guys in front of me. We were held up for most of the first lap, but enjoyed the pace without redlining. I lost Brian but found him on the only walkable hill on the course. The first half of the lap was mostly fast singletrack and a nice downhill. the Second half of the course was open field riding, up and down, with excellent views. This half you could actually catch a draft. After lap one, I felt good and started to pick it up a notch, apparently everyone else did too, because I only caught 2-3 riders. Came out to the Field side of the road with maybe 3 miles to go, and a couple of Mtbmind guys said Currier is only 20 seconds ahead. So there I go, I start riding above my level, but when I got in the field I noticed he was no where to be found so I just chased the guy in front of me. It was great I could count how many seconds he had on me by landmarks, First it was 25, then 15, then 7, then he turned around and noticed me and picked it up. I chased him until the last corner and realized I didn't have it so I finished happily. The course was a blast. I would have done better with a little more distance or If I had put in a better effort at the start. But I was happy with my 14th place finish. It was close as 1st place was 10 minutes better. 1:36 minutes and change.

This was a great race, most fun I've had in a long time. I had almost forgot how fun this can be when you have dry conditions and a wonderful course like Catamount had layed out for us. My only bobble on the day was setting my pace a little slow at the start. I raced here last year in wet conditions and remembered how hard each lap was, so I paced for a 2+ hour race. When I started the second (and last) lap at 46 minutes I knew I had left a little too much out there. I cranked out lap two at a fast but still comfortable pace and ended up 11th. I really was not ready for the race to end yet, I'm not sure I have ever had that feeling at the end of a race. I know I could have got up to 9th or 10th with a more agressive start, but I had so much fun it didn't bother me.

Next up for me is a new adventure: 1. Don't drown 2. Bike like a mad man 3. Run like the fat kid picked last in gym class. Some people call it a triathlon.
 
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