As I was lining up at the starting line for my first-ever mountain bike race, I asked my neighbor if I had made the right choice by selecting one of Colorado’s most difficult 50-milers. He said “absolutely!” I couldn’t agree more.



The first lap was alright. I clipped a tree early in the race (mile 8 of 50) and bailed over the handlebars. Only an injured ego.




Despite cramping constantly for several miles during lap 1, lap 2 was where it really started to hurt. I was already in the back of the pack when I started, now I was waaaaaay behind. I made the cutoff by 20 minutes.




I was more or less dead at the end of lap 2. My goal was to avoid wrecking in the fast downhill switchbacks at the end where everybody could watch me eat dirt if I mismanaged a corner.


Race cutoff time: 7 hours. My official finish time: 6:51 and I was NOT DFL (dead-effing-last)!
Thanks to my dad who took all of the pictures, including the ones at aid station 2 where he worked a double-shift as a last-minute volunteer.
A great event with well-supported aid stations and well-marked trails, I will be returning next year for the Firecracker 50 2016!

