Everybody was so clean.

"Most years when you finish everyone is just black," said the 35-year-old, who now lives in Lake Stevens.

Where in years past riders had foundered in mud puddles, they zipped down clear trails on a fast course.

Loren Hanson of Issaquah won the pro men's division with a long lead, after spending two laps battling for the lead with Dale Knapp of Des Moines.

"It was like no other Padden Pedal, riding fast," Knapp he said. The dry course was unlucky for him -"Powering through mud is his specialty," he said.

"Loren had the horsepower today."

Another one who missed the mud was Kevin Noble of Bellingham, who competed in the pro division using a bike with only one gear. The hills weren't so bad -he could jog those, he said. But with a single-geared bike, he said it was harder to spin as fast as the leaders.

Clean or dirty, the Padden Pedal has a reputation for being tough. The main course measures 3.7 miles, with 650 feet of vertical gain. Each pro man makes six circuits, which means a total climb as high as Mount Baker Ski Area. The terrain itself is a test. There's "the Wall" a short but nasty steep bit near the top of a long uphill, and there's a long downhill section of narrow, snaking switchbacks and blind corners.

The terrain makes it one of the more challenging races in the area, said Josie Beggs,, who came in second out of two pro women.

"A lot of the courses right now are on gravel fire roads," she said.

With high speeds, organizers were on the watch for injuries.

"Every year we have a fast race we have at least a broken collar bone or something," said race director Mark Peterson.

Megan Metz, a beginner racer from Kirkland, dislocated her shoulder. Medics sent Dale Plant, of Bellingham, to the hospital for stitches after he gashed his ear.

Firefighter Willy Spaulding showed up at the race in case they needed medics, but ended up entering, on impulse, on a cyclocross bike. He ran across the finish line carrying the bike, which had a bent front wheel.

"They don't roll so good this way," he said.

But for most of the 179 racers competing in 18 categories it was a matter of testing physical limits. Chris Mellick, a racer in the pro category said that for him the race follows three stages, for the first couple of laps he's finding a pace, for the third and fourth he's in good shape, and by the end, pain is starting to set in.

The struggle wasn't reserved for the experts.

For Steve Muzzy, who finished second in the beginner's category, the finish was a beautiful sight.