Stampede

So the run up to the Custer Stampede was pretty typical...meaning i lost a chainring bolt and therefore bent a chain-ring on my pre-ride.   Spent about three hours trying to match up a chain to my only other gearing choice:  a slightly too high 42x18.  So I had Dan bring me a new chain to the race prior to which Dave and I were able to set it up on that gear successfully. 
Warm up ride revealed my Garmin to be completely dead.  Grabbed a charger from a friend and charged it up to all of about 17%.  More on that later. 
Gun goes off and and I and my giant gearing find ourselves in the lead.  My genius plan at this point is to go as fast as I can to see if I can get away, cuz c'est la vie, you never know, right?  Well this all went to pot on the first freaking real corner.   My back end started coming around so I stick my foot down to stop it but it stopped me.  I went (Garmin telemetry showed later) from 19mph to zero.  So I and my now aching left foot are in like 11th place.  Brilliant. Every other rider can see the douche who crashed out of the lead. 
With the lead group escaping, I am trapped behind three slower riders from my own class with no good passing opportunities.  I finally make it around them to get up to about 6th place, but the leaders are not even in sight.  Second lap has me slowing significantly just because its hard to push when there's nobody in sight.  I decide to draft off a geared rider and save energy, during which time I am passed by another singlespeeder.  Drat, now the chase is on for all of about 5 min when I spin out again and lose this lower geared rider through Granny's Garden.  I figure my day is over at this point I'll be settling for a 7th place, but I keep pushing because you never know right?
Then I start catching glimpses of him and really start pushing it.  I catch him fairly easily and draft him all the way into the finishing straight.  I go all out to the finish but its just not enough.  By the time I got that big gear wound out it was too late.  Bad tactics on my part.  I waited too long.  Fail.

When the race is over, its time to find a hospital.  I was searching all over for my car key.  Finally I just walked up to my car and saw it in the ignition.  Brilliant, the ignition has been on for the last three hours. 
My foot isnt broken, just strained badly.  It'll be weeks before I can walk normally again, but about two days until I can ride without pain, so who cares.