Warning, this is very wordy and I haven't got the energy to refine it yet.

Start to Pipeline Aid station
There were over 1600 riders crammed together waiting for the gun to go off at 6:30AM. It was cold and I could barely feel my fingers.
I started in the back because my main goal was to finish under 12 hours and earn the silver buckle. I didn't want to make any mistakes by starting up front and going down hard due to my lack of "riding in a peloton" experience.
The first 5 miles of the course were on road. Due to the large number of competitors, the fast descent followed by the small climbs created an accordion like action. So if you weren't paying attention, you could run into the rider in front of you. Thankfully, most of the riders paid attention and would signal when the group up ahead was slowing.
St Kevins:
Once I reached the start of St Kevins climb, things started to slow down a bit. There was a lot of congestion on this climb and no room to pass. Many people were unable to climb this section and were off their bikes and walking. I avoided walking by maintaining a buffer space in front of me that would allow myself time to slow down if the rider in front suddenly fell, or stopped while climbing. I was moving at a snails pace, but there wasn't much I could do with all the congestion. I just accepted it and focused on staying alert and safe. After summiting St Kevins, I watched one rider go to take a drink and in doing so, crashed into the rider in front of him. He went over his handlebars and off the side of the trail. I couldn't stop to help for fear of causing an accident myself. I hope he was okay. Reached the road in 1:05, About 10 minutes slower then when riding this by myself.
Sugarloaf:
The crowd started to thin a bit and I was able to pick up the pace, I relieved myself by the side of the dirt road near the start of the Sugarloaf climb. This is the climb that takes you to the top of the infamous powerline trail. Once I reached the top, I headed down the powerline trail. This trail is a lot of fun but will cut your day short if you don't pay attention. I passed by a group of riders attending to someone that had a bad day. Here is the info I got from a rider who knew the poor guy:

"Apparently he had endoed in a big rut on what I think is the knarliest downhill of the course. His head, temple area, hit a rock so there was swelling and bleeding in his brain. I guess there was a lot of blood.
Then a rider behind him hit him breaking a few ribs. That rider broke his collarbone and ribs too.
Fortunately a few riders back were a doctor and anesthesiologist and an oral surgeon. Without them we don't believe Gary would be here. His brain had begun to shut down so he couldn't breathe on his own. Those riders saved his life and forced him to breathe"

After seeing all that blood, and the severity of the situation, I did a reality check and decided it was not worth risking a fast descent on a crowded day just to save a few minutes. I made it safely down the powerline trail and headed on to the pipeline aid station. Total time for this leg was 2:33:49
Nutrition: 20 oz water, 20oz of infinite, 1 serving of shot blocks

PIPELINE TO TWIN LAKES AID STATION.
This part of the course was basically rolling hills and some off camber single track. I tried to eat during this section since I knew my HR would be lower. Time for this leg was 1:00:34
Nutrition: 20oz water, 20oz of infinite, 1 serving of shot blocks

TWIN LAKES AID STATION OUT BOUND MILE 40
I reached the 1st cut off (Twin Lakes) with about 30 minutes to spare. My crew of Brian, Michelle, and Phil's wife(oops I forgot her name) were great! My chain was lubed, and I was refilled. It was starting to get hot, I dumped a gallon of cold water over my head and headed up to the top of Columbine.
Nutrition: 1 16 oz mexican coke


TWIN LAKES TO COLUMBINE SUMMIT
This was the longest climb of the day. Over 3000 feet of climbing with the air getting thinner with every pedal stroke. I felt good at first, but slowed down from my desired pace due to some knee pain, and the heat of the day. I was expecting to summit in just under 2 hours based on previous practice rides, but ended up doing it in 2:16. Part of the problem was the sheer number of riders. I had to walk a section I would normally ride because there was no room. Too many people walking and with the two way traffic of riders coming down, it just wasn't possible to ride the whole thing from my position. I just tried to enjoy the scenery and took advantage of the hike a bike by drinking some of my infinite. I probably walked at least 1 mile of the 10 mile climb. Once at the summit, I took in some nutrition, got my camelback refilled and immediately headed down.
Nutrition: 20 oz of water, 20 oz of infinite, 8 oz of soup, 16 oz of gatorade

COLUMBINE SUMMIT TO TWIN LAKES
I actually had a fast descent considering the crowds. Only 12 minutes off the Leader. And I was riding a hard tail.
Time:38:42
Nutrition: 16 oz water

TWIN LAKES AID STATION Mile 60
My support crew was awesome, refilled my camelback and got me on my way
Nutrition: 16 oz mexican coke

TWIN LAKES TO PIPELINE AID STATION
I was starting to get a little tired, my shoulders were really hurting from climbing and descending columbine. I was starting to fade. Tried to stay on top of my nutrition, but it was difficult to ride and eat, given the terrain. I just sipped on my infinite which was getting warm. pissed again, just before the single track climb.
Nutrition: 20 oz water, 20 oz infinite, 1 GU Roctane

PIPELINE AID STATION.
I stopped at the Lifetime Fitness aid station and forgot to refill my camelbak. This almost ruined my day.
Nutrition: 8 oz of powerade, 8 oz coke, 1 powergel

PIPELINE TO START.
Headed out on the road to the fish hatchery. Very windy, I was cursing the wind most of the way and now it was also very hot. I wasn't sweating, and was concerned I was starting to get dehydrated and low on glycogen. I tried to drink more infinite, but it just didn't settle. I went for the water and realized I forgot to refill. I drank every bit of what I had left and hoped for the best.
Once I reached the powerline trail I knew it was going to be a long haul home. I was bonking bad, and to top it off, I was dehydrated. I really had to dig deep at this point. I rode up the powerline trail as far as I could go. The support was awesome, people really were encouraging any rider that would attempt to ride the powerline face. I made it half way up the face and finally just stopped out of sheer exhaustion. Looking back, I think that was the dumbest thing I've ever attempted. It made me even more dehydrated and just about depleted any glycogen I had left. I still had a couple more miles to climb to get to the top of the powerline trail and I was in trouble. I climbed off my bike and began a long slow hike to the top of Sugarloaf. My mouth was bone dry and I tried to drink what infinite I had left. It didn't taste good, but I made myself drink it. At least I wasn't the only one hiking. Misery sure does love company and I made the best of the situation by talking with riders who were in the same boat as me. I think this was the toughest part of the course. There seemed to be quite a few false summits and the climb seemed endless. Once at the top I bombed down to the road and thought about asking the first spectator I saw for some water. I didn't though, because it would have meant an immediate DQ if spotted by a course official. I also contemplated filling up my water bottle from one of the many streams I saw and heard flowing. I chose not to, for fear of arsenic poisoning due to the mining in the area. One more major climb left. This one was all road and took us back to the top of St Kevins. I got some great news when I was informed that there was water at the top. I just put my head down and climbed the final 3 miles to the top. Once at the top, I ate watermelon with salt and drank coke. I ate potato chips and drank lots of water. I got my camelback filled and proceeded to ride the jeep trail through St Kevins. I started to get my second wind and climbed the remaining steep ascents while others were walking. My spirits were lifting and I started to feel good. I think it was the food and water I got at mile 90. It also could have been the fact that I knew I was going to get that belt buckle.
I rode strong to the finish. I don't remember much after that. All I thought about was getting more water and cooling down.
Nutrition: 16 oz coke, a few potato chips, 3 watermelon wedges.
This was by far the hardest thing I've done. I basically rode for 11 hours and 23 minutes without any serious rest. I burned 10,000 Kcal and ate about 2500 Kcal. I probably should have consumed a few more calories throughout the day.

Take an extra 5 minutes at Pipeline inbound aid station to refuel and refill my camelback. I think I would have had a better result if I hadn't bonked just before the powerline ascent.

This was more of a cool down. I was hot and dehydrated. There were make shift showers near the finish, and I took full advantage of them.


didn't eat enough, heat, lack of water on the final 30 miles. Probably putting out a A race effort the week before at the Boulder 70.3