NUE #4: Bailey Hundo- Fun in the Mountains!

The Bailey Hundo has been on my radar for quite sometime now.  Been told by some very well known Topeak-Ergon riders that it was a must do race for some time now.  This year was the year to finally make it happen with it’s inaugural year in the NUE series. Here is the story…..

Trip Out

Took off on Thursday after teaching Driver’s Ed. that morning for 8 hours. Had everything packed up and ready to go so I was able to get out in a respectable time.  Decided to cut the trip in half by driving to Lincoln on the first day and the rest on Friday. The drive out was fairly uneventful, sleeping in the parking lot of a hotel in the back of my truck (Plan to do the same on the way back!). Got out to Bailey,CO on Friday at around 2 p.m.  Got the camp set up next to the amazing finishing venue and stream that ran right behind my camp. 

Pre-Ride

Camping Set Up for Races

After set up it was off for a pre-ride with A.J.  Haven’t ridden with A.J. since True Grit so it was great to catch up with a now good friend.  Pre-ride made me question everything of course from my gearing selection, to weather I would have anything the next day after climbing out on a what seemed like forever road climb to get to the single track to check things out. I ended up sticking with my 36x20 that I came with as I decided the more I worried about it the more it really wasn’t going to matter as the body would only let me do so much at altitude.  After Pre-ride back to camp for packet pick up, dinner, and a night of preparation and sitting in the Elevated Legs!!! 

Race Morning

Well race morning was more of the same, my routine is pretty well set other than different wake up times. The race was set to go off at 6 a.m. so a little earlier wake up for me at 4 a.m. (5 a.m. CST) and it was into the routine I went.  Got breakfast made on the bitterly cold morning (low 40, upper 30’s) and got everything together in order to ride the 3 miles to the start in downtown Bailey.  With everything ready, hooked up with A.J. and we headed off.  The ride there easy on an old railroad bed as well as beautiful, a preamble to what I would see the whole day.

Race Time

Well got lined up second row right behind Dave Weins and Jeff Kerkove from Topeak-Ergon.  Felt good with this position so was set to go.  SHOTGUN BLAST!!!! and we were off!  The roll out was pretty normal with a high speed cadence trying to stay in the slipstream of the main pack.  After rolling for around a mile or so it was time to climb some mountains.  Here is where my day went backwards!!!  Right away on the first climb I had nothing in my legs.  I had a plan to play it conservative at the start knowing the altitude would affect me but this was worse than I expected. Heart Rate pegged at 175-180 and nothing to give I settled in and shot out of the main pack backwards.  The opening climbs were nice and steep and did a pretty good job of stringing everyone out enough so that after doing the new private land start to the race (crossing a tree bridge along the way!!) I was pretty well set in the position I would be in for the next 30 miles of terrible legs!!

Colorado Trail Time

Race Finish Across the
River

For the first 60 miles or so of the race, the course would be following the well known Colorado Trail.  This was absolutely great trail and lived up to it’s name. I was able to get with a pretty good group, eventually passing them all as I was bombing the downhills faster than any of them (Wide open trails).  The only thing that sucked, especially this year from what I heard, was the kitty litter trails that would become very thick at points and want to pull your wheel into the abyss that was often at the edge of the trail.  Through this opening section of the race, I pretty much had the same thing going on as I would suffer my way through the unrelenting climbs, have a blast ripping the downhills and repeat. One thing that was different for this race though was every time that I felt down in the dumps by the way I felt, I would look up and see the beautiful scenery and instantly have a smile on my face.  The whole race was filled with snowcapped peaks, massive burn areas that were great to see, and endless rock formations that kept me on the up and up! So after railing the Colorado Trail for the first 60 and finally feeling stronger by the minute it was to the drop bag aid.

Aid Stations

Now normally I wouldn’t go into much about these as they seem always to be the same everywhere I go, this race had better Aid Stations that I have seen anywhere!!! Besides there being an Aid every 10 miles or so, the volunteers at these stations were top notch.  I stopped numerous times throughout the race to grab water as I was constantly overheating!  Every time I would pull up to an Aid I was instantly surround by about 5 workers (VOLUNTEERS!!) who were there to take care of my every need. Rarely did I have to ask for something as it was already out in front of me at my picking.  One particular instant that really stands out was the worker (wish I knew here name) who took my glasses off my face cleaned them and stuck them back on all while I stuffed my face and was sprayed from head to toe with a fine cold mist!!  Nothing beats them!

Seems like we crossed
this stream a couple of
times, ICE COLD!!

Back to the Race

Well back on the course after Aid 6 and it was time to switch gears with how I would be riding the remainder of the course.  The last half of the course is a all paved/dirt roads with no single track which is ok with me after the way I felt earlier.  This also meant the views were even more spectacular than before with wide open spaces in front of me!!!  On the 10-15 mile paved section I was lucky enough to get with a local master’s rider Andy and we ticked off the miles taking turns very well together.  We were able to pull in another Master’s rider who Andy wanted to catch up to and once were together it was another Aid and of course I stopped for water.  After Aid 7 it was up a nice long road climb where to my surprise I had the perfect gear ratio for my climbing today!  

After the road climb it was time for the big climb of the day, Stoney Pass Climb! I didn’t know that it was going to be as extreme as it was but again to my surprise I was able to hold the same cadence over the next 20 or so miles of climbing and descending picking off geared pros and age group rides the whole way.  Only got passed once in the this section by Curt Wilhelm who was riding really strong!  The only thing in this section that hurt was the heat as I was not prepared for the sun to be so hot!  I continuously dumping water on my self, both at the Aid’s and on the bike to keep cool.  It must have worked because I was able to take these climbs with no issues of cramping or anything else going wrong.  The only issue throughout the day was a crappy stomach which I blame on the altitude and heat combination.  Clif Shot Bloks still tasted fine so I had some energy at least. 

After the Stoney Pass Climb I was ready for the race to be done, ticking down the miles and Aid stations till the finish. Finally after what seems like a lot longer than it actually was I came to a section I recognized from the pre-ride the day before and I switch to another gear. After finishing the last of the climbs it was downhill till the finish.  When I say downhill, this may be the fastest finishing downhill I have ever had, even beats BT Epics!!  I was easily in the 40-50 mph range as I was pulling away from cars left and right! After blasting down the last downhill, and climbing the last little grunt, it was into one of the most picturesque finishing lines I think I have ever ridden through.  Raging stream on one side, band on a hill in front and the smell of bear made the day complete.
 
Race Results

Well again, day didn’t go as planned but happy with the experience or racing in the mountains and enjoying the unbelievable surroundings all day.  5th SS on the day in a wicked strong field, and 26th Overall with a stacked pro field as well!  Will take the result.  Congrats to A.J. on the strong SS win and pulling off 4th Overall on the day.  A.J. is in the hunt for the Series and from the race today should be on his way!  Like to thank Bailey Hundo for putting on a great race and great volunteers.  I will be back next year for revenge for sure!  Thanks for reading.

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