Originally posted by RdDezert

means that your tire, either front or rear, lost traction on the dirt and slid out from under you.
That's exactly what happened. It was my front tire. The odd thing is that I chose the tires for the race specifically for that section. If that section wasn't part of the course, I would have used a tire with a little less grip (and less rolling resistance) to make a few of the other climbs faster. But even with these full knobbies and lower tire pressure, my tires slipped out because I was going to fast on the loose dirt.

Progress report: The bruises are coming in quite well, now. My black eye is a pretty purple but luckily it isn't puffy or swollen. The bruise and scratch on my chin is about 1.5" diameter. My whole face hurts when I yawn or sneeze. The various bruises and scrapes on the rest of my body aren't that bad. I just have a general overall soreness. But, yes... I do still love mountain biking.