What a great race it was this year. I loved the training. I loved being out in Colorado. I loved the comeraderie. I loved the race. My goal time this year was sub-10. I beat last year's time by a healthy hour and ten or so minutes, finishing 9:48. Reasons for the success? Great training help by CTS, a Gary Fisher Superfly , great weather and trail conditions, better nutrition, and better strategy. I did some preriding of the course and tested out the Powerline descent at a race pace to see how fast I can do this on race day. I tapped my breaks lightly to control my speed and went into a full skid, fishtail, and ultimate tailspin into a rut, biting it HARD. Conditions were really dry and sandy, and I was second guessing my ACX Jones front and XDX rear tire setup. Luckily, the night before the race were big storms, which I feared would plague us race day, but luckily did nothing but make for a tacky fast surface. No traction issues during the race. First, before I go into ...