1st place overall on a singlespeed, CT Classic 2010

Last weekend I finished 1^st place overall (Geared and Single Speed all ages) in the CT Classic mountain bike race on my single speed.  Time: 10:42:17, Distance: 73.29 mi, Elevation Gain: 11,146 ft.  This is a great race and is a fundraiser for MS.  There is also a two day event that takes place at the same time.  The weather was a huge factor.  Over half the entrants didn’t even start and some who did had to bail out which made the actual finishers a pretty slim amount.  The majority of the race is above 10,000 feet on arguably some of the best single track in Colorado.  The race is brutal with extreme weather (I have had 6 inches of snow fall in an hour with lighting in the middle of August on it), highly technical sections, jagged rocks in long tallis fields, huge exposure on ridges and long rocky downhills.  I felt good, because of the moisture it took more effort to pedal but aside from the hike-a-bike sections it was mostly ridable.  About a half mile from the finish I went over the side of a steep 50 foot slide down heading down to the river below but somehow I caught the trail with my left arm and my rear tire with my right hand which prevented me from a big fall.  Just ended up with some big scrapes down my left side.  It would have probably taken 30 minutes just to get down to my bike which would have for sure been damage if I hadn’t caught it and who knows what would have happened to me!  Here is a link to an article in the Durango paper //www.durangoherald.com/article/20100726/SPORTS/707269965/CT-for-MS.  Here is a link to my garmin tracking http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42041825?sms_ss=email.  I wish I could have taken some pictures of the harsh tarrain that the tires had to withstand.  I cant do it justice just in writing.