Not a bad start

March 13th....I'm usually one to call that number a "lucky" one. Yesterday was not exactly one of those days.
The day started early, we're talking 415am early. Headed out the door for Park Hills, MO which was going to be a 5+ hr drive. Arrived at the venue with plenty of time to change, get my gear ready and get a good 20+ minute warm-up.
I wasn't sure how the pace was going to start, though I figured it would be all out from the gun.....which it was. I found myself into the single track in the top 5 OA, which was pretty good, except I was behind a roadie who had zero skills once the power section at the start was over. I got an opening up a short punchy little climb and went by him into 4th......but the first 3 guys had about a 15 second gap already.
Hit it pretty hard, and was joined by another rider as we ran down 3rd place. By the end of lap 1(of 3) there were the 2 leaders(both in different classes) and then 3 of us about a minute back(all Cat.1 40-49). This is when my tire luck struck.
Not sure exactly what happened, just figured I burped a tire on the tight hairpin turn just before the start/finish, because I lost about 1/2 my air pressure in the front tire real quick. I decided to try and ride it low, but over the first log , it bottomed out. I figured it was best to use my co2 for a quick burst of air, maybe lose 20 sec., and chase back on. Yeah, that didn't work too well. There's something with me,races and using a co2 inflator that just don't click.....because the head was jammed and nothing would come out. At least I didn't waste a bunch of time figuring what to do.....I was only a few 100 yards from the tech area so I went back and bummed a pump(even though everyone said they didn't have one, I found one myself in someone's gear, thank you).
Long story made short, I spent the last 2 laps chasing my tail off. Pulled back some time and places, but not enough.....settled for 3rd in class.
All in all, it wasn't a complete disaster. I got to ride some sweet singletrack for a couple hours, I'm not in too horrible shape, and I have a bit of motivation for my next trip over there in a couple weeks......not a bad start.