Golden Eagle XC at Briones Race Report by Rich Henthorn I decided to give this one a shot. I've done Treez n Breez the last two years and I don't like the Poison Oak. Plus, I don't really do well on that course. Well, as you probably know, Briones has very little singletrack and there was NONE on this course. Very uninteresting. One lap of 18 miles. Lots of climbing, though. Some guy had 4000 ft on his altimeter for 18 miles. Not bad. The race started with all the Sport class racers at the same time. I was in the front row and actually led the race for over a minute. Wow. Clear sailing, baby! After the first climb, I was still in third and feeling pretty good. Not too long after we caught the back of the experts and I followed them down some fast descents. A short climb, a couple guys passed me (who I'd be racing for the remainder of the race) and we came to the only trouble spot. I must be cursed. A fork in the road and the course marking is on the ground, useless. The guys in front of this group went left, so I followed. As you probably have guessed, it was the Wrong Way. Turns out, we hooked up with the real course a bit later after only loosing about 90 seconds according to some guy at the finish. Plus, since all the guys I was racing went the same way, I didn't let it bother me. About half way through, I felt really tired and, of course, we start a steep extended climb. I get off and start to hoof it. 10 minutes. Ten. That's a long time, and none of it was good for any sort of recovery. However, I managed to pass one of the guys that got me earlier. He was the fast one, I thought. It felt good to get back on the bike. I guess I used different muscles because I was pushing a bit harder now. After awhile, about mile 15, I could see the other guy (blue Stumpjumper) that passed me earlier, about a third of the way up a switchback climb. I don't think he saw me. I decided to relax and get in a groove in order to make up some time. When I reached the spot I saw him, I checked back and saw the guy I passed on the hike-a-bike. I decided he wasn't a threat any longer and that I'd concentrate on Blue. On what turned-out to be the last climb, I caught him, waited until about 20 yards to the top, and passed. After a very fast and rough descent, we ride on very hard washboard for about a mile, I swear. I stood on it for as much as I could, not bothering to look back for fear of what I'd see. I finished pretty strong and way ahead of Blue. 1:53, almost 19 miles (via the Wrong Way). Good for 5th out of 12. Not bad. Would I do it again? Probably not. I managed to score a jersey during the raffle. Woo-hoo!