Fortunately the back side of the Third Sister was nicely shaped ( ;) ) for speed - reached well above 30MPH here. Things got kinda mundane for a while - the usual rolling hills (a few kinda big), a fair number of steep ups and downs. It started to rain slightly, almost like a heavy mist. The soil in this area starts out pretty sandy, for the most part. When it gets a little wet, it feels like you are riding on velcro. With the big tires, it was Industrial Strength velcro. The next test was not in last year's race. They decided to lose ~1 mile of pavement and add 2 miles (the aforementioned W. Sager and Shaw Roads) of deep sand and deep mud and deep puddles sure to sap the last bit of strength and will from your legs. Well, not for the fat bikes. Once again I motored through the nastiness passing fallen and walking cross bikers. There was a gentle upslope for the first mile or so, then things got a bit harder. The next 1/4 mile rose ~100 feet, all the while dodging puddles and humanoids pushing bikes at 3MPH. The road looked like it had been shelled by artillery. As I finally crested the top I found a sweet downhill and ...SAND. I saw a tandem pair try to navigate their way down on the bike, but they merely ended up covered in wet sand. The fat tires, OTOH, went right down the middle with nary a worry. Well, I worried enough for the both of us, and feather the brakes all the way down. After seeing what happened to the tandem, I was a tiny bit skittish. The bottom of the hill was even more rough than the previous section. More, bigger puddles interspersed with more, deeper mud. The thick, nasty kind that reminds one of peanut butter or a sinus infection. The kind that grabs tires and won't let go. Double-plus un-fun. Then something really stupid happened. The bikers that did the 62 mile race were "paced" by a 4WD Subaru that essentially led them the whole race. Guess where they caught up to me. You know it! Here I am, negotiating this minefield when someone yells "Car back!". WTF! They catch me right as I am approaching a puddle that stretches across the entirety of the "road". Well, naught to do but pick a side and hug it. I got off to the right as far as possible and kept on truckin'. I barely get past the monster puddle when the pace car hits it and sends water splashing over the sides. The first wave of 62 milers follow immediately after and stick to the left side of the road. After a few more waves come by there were only stragglers to contend with. Whose idea it was to drive a car through there while other racers were present is unknown, but I hope it doesn't happen next year. To add insult to injury, almost immediately after that fiasco comes the last big climb of the race. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), it is paved. Rising ~175 feet in ~1 mile, the quiet of the paved surface lulls one into thinking "Oh, it can't be too hard". Hah! I poked along at 6.5 - 7 MPH until I reached the top - the highest point in the race. From here it was 5 miles of absolute hammering to the finish. The final 5 miles consisted of paved rolling hills with a generally negative grade. I got behind a pack of the FFG's on CX bikes and tucked (well, as much as my wide body could tuck) in behind them and followed their lead. Given that I was on a fat bike and they were were on cross bikes, they kinda ran away eventually. Conveniently, there were other packs to take their place. I continued this cycle until the entrance to the park, 1 mile from the finish. Having hammered for 4 straight miles, I took a short break and kept a steady pace until I got within sight of the Finish Line. I summoned up what little was left and laid down a final kick into the chute, hitting it at 20+, my wife there to greet me. I had a goal of 3 hours and non-DFL. I came in at 2:59:21 and 20 of 22 in the Fat Bike class. This is ~10 minutes faster than my time from last year, with an extra mile (of crap) and on a Fat Bike (last year's choice was the Black Sheep). Altogether, a fairly productive trip. :)