What if...?

What if I didn't drop my chain today during the Sea Otter road race, right after making a key break? Well, I do know that the guy's wheel that I was on when I dropped the chain, finished 27th, so I could have potentially finished in the top 30. However, I don't want to dwell on the what if's, and instead concentrate on getting a good finish in tomorrow's NRC (National Race Calendar) circuit race.
What happened during the race was that on the key climb at the start of the 5th of 8 laps, the race shattered. By this point in the race only about half of the approx 100 starters were left. I made it over the top of the climb with a small group chasing another small group about a 100 feet up the road. In order to stay with the group over the top of the climb, I needed to immediately shift into my big chain ring. My front derailleur was slightly misadjusted, and allowed my chain to jump off of the ring. I tried getting it to go back on while riding, but that just wasn't happening. So, I had to pull over and put the chain back on by hand. Within about 5 seconds, the last main group passed me. Because everyone was going flat out at this point, there was no chance of me chasing a group down solo. That was the end of the race for me, though I didn't give up until about half a lap later. There was a steady stream of guys being blown out the back of the race, and I eventually caught up with JP from the Vitamin Cottage team (we used to work together at a bike shop back home). We rode for another lap (completed 6 of 8), and then pulled out and watched the finish.
I felt I was holding my own in the race up to the point of my mechanical, so I'm not writing it off as a total loss. It was a good learning experience, and it looks like my form is coming along, so I'm happy. Tomorrow's going to be an even bigger deal, so I hope I'm ready.