Very cool story! Thanks for putting it all together and sharing. Your tales of Idaho City brought back so many memories. I raced there for 5 years in a row. First B and then A class. Some years conditions were just perfect. One in particular, was brutally hot and dusty, I forget what year it was, 07 or something like that.... I'm not ashamed to say that I bailed out at a checkpoint on the first day after riding through blinding choking dust for about 5 hours, I'd had enough. It's a tough race, even in good conditions, especially if you do both days. I can't imagine 6 days....
Good luck at the ISDE!
