bike and plopping face first in the mud . In a moment , she was back up and laughing about it , as was the rest of the crowd , as the rider toed back into gear and split down the trail . Insanity !
Happy to have the Rt 93 crossing behind me , I headed down the trail filled with optimism , as I knew we were close to town and the end of my lap . In the last mile or so , we were routed through a beautiful little pine forest , easily the nicest bit of trail on the course . And then , suddenly , the trail dumped us onto a residential street in Davis , and after a couple of turns , I spotted our pits , and friends and family waiting for me . I passed on by in order to go down into the center of town to the finish line , and to have my checkpoint-strips punched to confirm I ’ d indeed put in one lap – my one and only that year . of the race . Every single one of you deserve tremendous accolades for your achievement . I don ’ t know how many riders actually managed to get further than I did , but I know it wasn ’ t many . There were plenty of other riders , like me , who were happy to successfully make it around just once , and many didn ’ t even get that far .
And I was done . Could I have completed even one more lap ? Honestly , I doubt it . I was simply too tired , and even the thought of all the obstacles which lay out there on the course convinced me I ’ d never make it around again . Plus , my old KTM had , amazingly , come through with barely a hiccup and I wasn ’ t about to push my luck . Mark Hyde won that year , increasing my respect for him just that much more , along with every other rider who scored well , or even completed all four laps
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 176