Assault on Liberty Mountain!

I went to lynchburg this weekend for a much anticipated race, geared not single, for me. I am still riding rigid and 29 and that will not change. The trip down was uneventful and I would have had time to spare before the race had there been any signs or markings of where the race was going to take place . So I drove down the road I thought it was on until I saw bikes and I finally found where I needed to be. I rushed through registation and hurried up getting ready,pinning #'s, changing clothes etc.etc. I was just finishing up when I ran into one of the Black dog bikes family it was Matt Trybus and it was good to see a familiar face. We talked for a moment a then lined up. Matt was riding the smaller race and I was doing the larger 19 mile race so we were not racing together so we wished each other luck and I headed off to the start line. I have to say the trails at Liberty were right up my alley ,climbing but not for six miles in a row, and technical with some nice down hills. I went off the line and into the woods in a good position with the top five or so in my age group and we were keeping a good pace but I found myself in about third and I could see the first and second place guys not to far ahead. I love to have a rabbit to chase! Myself and the guys through about sixth place all rode together trying to catch the leaders when as we were bombing down this hill we see that the TAPE was down and the trail went in several directions. We looked at each other and decided to go this way and it turned out we were wrong so we went back but as I turned around I found I had a flat tire so I reached for my tube that had been in my jersey pocket and found that it was gone. I was riding a 29er and no one else was riding a 29er that was with me so I started walking. Long story short I walked for a while until I was found by a super nice volunteer on a quad that gave me ride back down to the start area. A DNF for me which sucked because I was feeling good and for me to be so close to the front without spitting up blood was a great feeling. I love mountainbike races because of the people . I had more people than I can count ask if I was alright or if I needed anything. I even had one female racer offer me her only tube of which I declined because she may have needed it and been in the same situation that I was already in. I was disappointed but I still had fun I just hope that next year the dont just use tape but maybe some arrows as well. I read some other blogs when I got home and the same things happened to others with getting lost because of the tape being down in spots. I would recommend this race to anyone, the entry fee was $25 and you got a free shirt not bad and they had free muffins and bagels.(free is always good)