Bone Bender race report

Drove down with Nick and Brian after a 4am ride to Norwalk got in almost 2 hours early so plent of time to sit and contemplate the race. Normally I'm very nervous before a race but this time it was no big deal even though I didn't pre-ride the course and new very little about it. It was a mass start with hundreds of people after a short run I got to my bike and threw out every ounce of power to get to the single track as fast as possable but not fast enough. Got stuck behind a lot of obstacle walkers in the first lap, but it made for a nice warm-up / preride lap. Lap 2 I had been passing people for an hour and 15 minutes and started strong. Cleared everything and passed several people until I got to the end of the rock garden and heard the rear tire deflate. A large thorn al most 3/8 in diameter and the tire sealant just couldn't seal it. This is my lesson that Stans dries out and you are suppose to change it from time to time. Got a tube in and inflated thanks to Troy for an extra co2 (this is my lesson that 1 co2 will not fill 2" tires. I was off and passing again the riders that I passed before. This is the point I got lapped by the leader. The leading 2 riders were very fast 15mph + though the rocky cliff I was proud to be doing 8. Back to the Rasmussen tent for some water and I was off to lap 3 at just under 3 hours still feeling strong and ready for 3 more laps. All the way through the rock garden cleaned it and no flat, but the tire was bulging and I had a bad feeling. Oh well push on. 1/2 a mile later the tire deflated I knew I was done :( 2.5 inch cut in the side wall I was walking. almost 3 miles back to the tent. Nick offer of his rear wheel to finish the race was tempting but after the long walk in mountain bike shoes my feet were killing me and I couldn't sell myself on it being worth it. I did learn some valuable lessons: 4 co2 cartridges, small roll of duct tape ( this would have let me ride back slowly instead of walking), no more cheap tires, and Front shocks are awesome in rocky trails. I had a great time and even though I was disappointed I didn't get to finish I did get 4 hours in on a new trail and the Rasmussen team had a great turn out for a race that was 3 hours away. Now I get to do some tire shopping.