Fridays pic/ Cohutta countdown

This is Spooner Lake on a cool Fall morning, over near Tahoe. The far side of the lake you can just make out a grove of aspens in their golden hue. Fall is my favorite time of year with all the colors it represents.
This last week saw the last of the big intense workouts before I head out to Tennessee. Yesterday was super tough, but the #'s are exactly where they need to be. Now I just get in some endurance rides this wknd, some good steady rides next week w/ shorter bursts and before you know it, Sat. 7am will be upon me.
I've been studying the race description, especially the start. We get a 3 mile open road/uphill start that leads into single track. There's going to be some serious jockeying for position leading into that first narrow section. Yeah, I know it's a hundred mile race, but no need to let a big gap open up if I can help it. After a half hr or so, things should settle down a bit and I'll be able to get into a good rhythm.