hahahaha, that was excellent fun. What a great track to be out playing on the crf on. You just ran out of grunt at the end was why you fell over, momentum was gone. I know it wouldn't suit almost all the rest of your riding, but a 1 tooth change on the front sprocket makes the bike much better up hills like that, and lifting the front wheel weight just on the throttle for bumps and such. Well done, that was real great fun, and the bike bounces well, it's patina ;)
I've been wanting to change the gearing slightly for a while. I'd prefer to add a few teeth to the rear than take away form the front. More teeth spread the load better and it reduces wear slightly. But I think the better option is to just go down one tooth in the front and see how I like it since that's the easier and cheaper option. Like you said, it won't suit all of my riding since a majority of my time and miles are spent on gravel roads at higher speeds. I think it is defiantly worth experimenting with.