OFFROAD RACE SERIES Tour of the OTHER Mining Country -- Aug 4th, 2002 -- approx 13 miles "Brutal." That's the word that top mens finisher Kevin Petrone used to describe the 13 mile "Tour of the OTHER Mining Country" race, Sunday, August 4th, starting at 11:00 AM. Most riders had tackled the course before, but a few were taken completely off-guard at how difficult a 13 mile course could be. The course started near Henderson Road, and snaked uphill through the woods past Ryan Lode Mine. Then, turning onto the Marathon trail, riders forged uphill, deviating from the Marathon trail only once to negotiate a difficult piece of uphill singletrack. Back on the Marathon trail, riders pushed to the top of the "Alder Chute", then rode the hilltops of Ester Dome almost all the way to the Marathon turnaround. Veering left, racers thundered down the bumpy southwest face of Ester Dome, bikes clanking, sticks flying, and hands growing numb. At the bottom of the descent, racers pushed what was left of their muscles to the finish line, two miles away. Though there were a few minor injuries, and mechanical failures, nobody left the race in a bad mood, or mad at race organizer Tom Clark. Clark considers that to be a good sign, and is already making plans for next years race. Thanks to volunteers Pete Wilda and Leif Thompson for help with marking the course and picking up markers, and to Sandy Clark for timing the race. Elapsed Div Overall Expert Men Time Finish Finish ========== ======= ====== ======= Kevin Petrone 1:09:46 1 1 Rocky Reifenstuhl 1:12:30 2 2 David Dohnal 1:22:46 3 5 Sport Men ========= Tom Clark 1:21:27 1 4 Luis Infante 2:01:03 2 8 Doug Burnside 2:01:05 3 9 Beginner Men ============ Anthony Werner 1:29:45 1 6 Christopher Conn 2:20:41 2 11 Beginner Women ============== Jill Gash 2:20:39 1 10 Expert Women ============ Gail Koepf 1:38:27 1 7 Junior Men ========== Noah Mery 1:18:53 1 3