We've had some muddy races this year, but this week's race (Kruger's Crossing) took the cake. Seventeen consecutive days of rain leading up to the race, including 2.5 inches in the two days before, plus another 0.7 inches of rain the day of the race. Now put that on a farm which sits in a bit of a bowl and you've got a recipe for one seriously goopy mess.

Sometime after I wrote post 38 above, I completely forgot that it can be faster to run in the mud. It wasn't until midway through the second lap when a guy who had a flat tire and ended up having to run 3/4 of the race started gapping me that I caught on. To give you some idea what this race was like, that guy who ran 75% of the race didn't finish last -- he ended up 79 of 83. In an earlier race, a dozen or so people got passed by a unicyclist.

My first tip here is going to be a repeat. I'm just leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for myself for next year. But keep reading, I think some of these are good.

1. Consider running in thick mud, no matter how long it goes on. There's definitely a feeling of accomplishment to be had from riding a long stretch of sticky mud, but if you're in danger of falling over due to lack of forward momentum, running would be faster.

2. The best tire pressure for grass isn't the best tire pressure for mud. I pre-rode the course with my tire pressure in the low 30's, and it really sucked -- too much float, not enough sink. So I talked with some guys from Bike Gallery and they suggested I bump it up to around 50-55 psi. I did, and it still sucked, but I think it was better. I think I should have gone even highe