Soaked. Rain through the night greased the skids. Lined up with the biggest +50 mountain bike field this year at 22 strong. Several riders from W. Pennsylvania and all the usuals. The first lap was manageable (ie..no rain) but many of the steep climbs looked like a fire drill. How does one ride up a hill you can't walk up?? I was well placed riding in the front 10 as I slid my way through the trees. At the end of lap one the rain started and course became nearly impossible. The tree roots and ruts claimed a lot of riders. I got caught in a tire rut going down hill and went down. I slid for 30 feet in the mud before stopping. This was crazy! I was able to recover and caught my second wind as I passed quite a few wet, tired, muddy riders. I ended up 5th and as a bonus, got to take home 20 pounds of NE Ohio's finest clay.
That was the hardest 1 hour and 51 minutes of my life. My average heart rate was 95% of my max with several excursions into no/no land.
