Mt. Ogden 50K or 100?

Chris and I had been planning on the Mt. Ogden 50K all summer. We did this race last year and really enjoyed it. Being the weekend before the P2P, we thought the shorter version would be best. Then some circumstances changed a bit on Friday--as in the night before. As we drove up, we were pretty sure that we were going to do the 100K. Our reasons for doing so varied. Mad Dog had a pretty good showing. Karl, Carson, Adam, Kevin, and Bruce were all there.

The 100K followed the ICUP course and then continued to climb. On the start line, Sarah, Mary and I figured out our excuses for not winning. I had a heavy bike; Sarah had taken some time off the bike and was not sure how she would feel, and Mary was going to go down and get a bit dirty so she looked like she crashed. Sarah led with a steady pace on the first climb. I got around her right before the short single track section. Sarah came around on the next little road climb and I followed her into the single track. She was carrying a nice, steady pace. And I was content staying behind her. Then she started to slow a bit, so I got around her. I was feeling good and tried to ride smart. The course had some steeper sections, but with the rain the night before it was in great condition. The climbs were nice and steady for the most part with some occasional steep pitches. The descents at the top were more technical than the 50K course but still great. My front brake was fading a bit and at first this got to me, but I was able to stay in control and keep some speed.
I was riding around some different guys on the first lap. On the second lap I was pretty much solo. While on the first lap I thought the climb was not so bad, I was pretty sure I was going to feel it on the second lap. I rode more conservatively on the climbs and had to stop and get a bottle filled at an aid station towards the top. The nice guy who filled it struggled to get the lid back on. I then tried to screw it on and it took me a while also. I was certain that Sarah was right behind me and hoped that I had not spent too much time there.
The descent was amazing the second time through. I started looking at my time as I approached the bottom. I really wanted to get in under six hours and knew it was going to be close. So I started to ride more aggressively. I over shot a corner and had to come to a complete stop. I also took a curve a bit hot and went down. I essentially rolled into a rock. While it was frustrating, I found some humor in being rolled up in a ball next to a big rock. It was as soft landing though. Picking up the speed was not helping so I took it down a notch.
As time was ticking away, the final road climb seemed so much longer the second time up. I got to the flags at the six hour mark. "Son of a...!" I was pretty disappointed that I was not making my goal, but I was not that upset with my race. Even though I came up short (or long as the case may be), it was still a great day on the bike. 

Chris had a good race also.

Chris, Jake, Quinn

Sarah, KC, Mary