Dude, have you ridden a mongoose lately? They're long travel bikes are some of the best out there. They feel bottom-less, track well, pedal well. They can hang with any long travel bike out there any day. The way mongoose screwed up was letting pacific cycles put the name on walmart bikes. Their high-end bikes are NICE.

I didn't assume anything, it happens all the time. You come up on a rider and ask fot the trail, you think they heard you because you yelled loud enough, only to have them not yield the trail. You may be the exception, but with any music at all it seems unlikely you'll hear "everything."

seriously, bring your ipod? headphones are a bad idea on any well used bike trail, but especially at a race like this. Can you guarantee you're the fastest guy down the trail, with no technicals? If not, you need to be able to hear "on your left..." Plus, if you really want to corner fast, and to the limit of your traction, you need to be able to hear your tires. I see headphones on trails more and more, but they're just a bad idea.