UW STXC MTNBR

so i did the UW STXC MTBR this weekend while eating KFC, approved by the USDA and shown on ABC. any other letters i can through in there? well, this was to be my first mountain bike race. I have done some road races but never a mtn race. So i figure i'll try the short track because its like a crit ,but on mtn bikes. So i got up at seven ,had a good breakfast and headed up to Happy Jack. i registered, got a cool number plate and headed out to ride the course. It was nothing technical, which is good for me. It went through the "meadow" ( not the meadow ski trail) and down ridge. Now, i have never done a mtn bike race before but i thought this course was a good one, a good climb and a long descent to rest. There was a good number of us in the "C" division. The race ended up being 4 laps, the first lap i got a head of a few guys and rode the climb fast to put in some distance. 2nd lap nothing happened, i just rode. 3rd lap i caught a CSU rider and attacked towards the top of the climb, no counter. He caught me on the descent and i stuck to his wheel through the line. We get the bell, 1 more, i knew i had to put in a strong attack to get me to the line ahead of him. Well, i was out of the saddle ready to jump and he dropped his chain and swerved into a tree. Bummer dude, but i was going to attack anyway so it worked out well for me. I held him and a guy from School of Mines off to finish top ten.
overall a good experience, i think i will have to do it again,
keep the rubber down.