| 1. |
| After locating myself on the map quickly, I got a good start. It was easy to see ahead to what the leaders were doing too. I used trails as much as possible. |
| 2. |
| I started to fall behind the leaders but since they made a late adjustment, I was able to see their line and make mine a shorter one. |
| 3. |
| This was a blur. I was mostly just in with the crowd still. Alexis was nearby. |
| 4. |
| With a longer leg and a choice to make on the first window, I ran a steady pace partly so that I could read and make a good choice. Ted Good had already moved ahead and Dave Pruden was passing me too. Going for B then A had the advantage of less overall climb but the distance was more. I went to A. It was a long slow climb. Dave went to B. I got to A a while after Ted but only a little before Eddie who had already gone to B. |
| 5. |
| Going down to B, I was a bit tentative. It was too steep and I didn't want to risk further impact injury on my knee, especially this early in the race. I was surprised at how short the distance was. |
| 6. |
| Seeing Alexis going a bit left on the way to D, I walked slow and steady up the steep slope and hit it well. I made up a little ground on Alexis. |
| 7. |
| With another steep mostly walking climb toward C, I wondered how rough the day would be. I reasoned that taking C last was best because of the less climb involved. |
| 8. |
| Going to #8, I lost sight of Alexis who was going a bit to the right. I hit the trails just where I needed and attacked from the intersection with the ride. |
| 9. |
| I went a bit left, cutting through the green on the map and taking the trail. It was a little slow climbing but I kept a steady pace. Coming off a trail bend, I hit F pretty well but expected it to be a little closer to the bend and I expected to see more of a reentrant. |
| 10. |
| Leaving F and going to G, I saw Vadim climbing from below and figured he'd already gotten E. I used trails to get to a bend above the control, then descended on the east side of the rocks. I saw it fairly far ahead but again didn't push toward it while it was too steep for fear of injury. |
| 11. |
| I think Vadim passed me just after leaving G. He led to I. I was able to sight straight lines with him in front to key off of. We spiked it directly even though I couldn't see the control until being right upon it. |
| 12. |
| Going to H, I was again behind Vadim. I started to lose sight of him. I hit the ride above the s-shaped rough open within it so I felt confident of where I was. It was straight in after that. |
| 13. |
| Going to E, Vadim was still leading. I think he contoured a little more than I. At first, he seemed more comfortable reading the rocks than I felt. I realized the control was on a boulder in a reentrant so I felt good about keeping a good pace going toward it. Vadim had slowed with hesitation until the end so I almost caught up. I was also confident of my elevation on the side of the hill due to the change in steepness that was visible. |
| 14. |
| Angling toward the road bend, Vadim again led as I chased. I moved lower to make sure I'd hit the road. As we rounded the road bend and started to make the steep climb, I remembered finishing a previous Stumble here and being able to run up it. Vadim and I talked a bit as we climbed. Though it hurt a bit, I felt my bicycling was paying off on the steep slope. I was able to break into a slow jog near the top so I got a little ahead of Vadim as we entered the map exchange. |
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