1st Leadville mountain bike race, its January, right?

Today was the first Leadville mountain bike race.  Chris, Marni, and I drove up, with Bill H following us in his car.  Because of ridiculous ski traffic, we arrived late, but Chris called his friend to hold the race for us.  29 crazy mountain  bikers started.  I was towards the back of the lead pack for the first 1/2 mile or so.  Then we hit a gradual 3.5 mile climb on a snow packed road.  I struggled to turn the gear that I had on my Rig (single speed).  The climbs today took a lot out of me, and the snow packed snowmobile trails were pretty much impossible to ride.  There were also quite a few downhills, a couple being quite long.  I probably crashed more than 10 times in the 10.4 mile coarse.  It was a lot of fun, and probably more fun to watch.  It took me 1:38 to finish the race.  Upon finishing, Chris asked me what kind of gearing I used, and I said 32:18, which is all I have.  Chris races on a SS normally, and he even stated that was WAY to tall.  This is something my legs would agree with after the first 4 miles.  Also, a 2.25 tire in the front is way to tall.  Feb 7th is the next winter MTB race, and we will see if the lessons of today change things.