The sun is blasting us here at 4,400 feet and it is over 85 degrees. Halfway through the first lap, I see Wolfgang Fasching, this year's Race Across America winner, emerge from the deep brush. It looked like he had missed the curve and kept pedaling through the thick bushes until he popped back out. He stayed on the course until 1:30am and then dropped out. One of the solo guys broke his collarbone on the first lap...short race for him.

Pat Norwil (WTB) launched over the bars and sprained his thumb. The old opposable thumb is pretty critical in mountain bike racing. Without them, you can't shift, can't eat, and can't even hold onto the handlebars. He tried to continue on for a few hours, then had to drop. Christina Begy (Independent Fabrications) was another near victim of the course when she crashed and hit her head, but she held it together and stayed in the race.