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.

MORE FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE

Garmin File

Cycling News

NUE #3 Mohican 100- Redemption Race!

Another NUE weekend is in the books with the NUE #3 Mohican 100 in Loundonville,Ohio happening on Saturday.  This race is the cornerstone of the NUE series as it is the race that started the NUE as we know it today thanks to Ryan O’Dell’s leadership.

Trip Out

Started the trip this year on Thursday as I headed down to Bettendorf and stayed at my aunt and uncle’s house to get an early start on Friday picking up Nebraska Rafal to make the 8 hour trek out to Ohio.  Trip out went without a hitch arriving around 5:45 EST in time for packet pick-up, camp set up and a short pre-ride to shake out the legs for the next day’s adventures.  After pre-ride it was out with Team Noah Foundation teammates for some grub with some tag alongs from the east coast in the form of Daniel Rapp and Ryan Herschap.  Great times we had as we had a head butt, karate chop on a passing waitress, salt eating ensued and most of the time spent laughing at the random comments and jokes that came out of our mouth’s (G Rating it was not!!)  Back to camp early enough to get prepped for the following day and off to bed at 10 p.m.

Race Morning

Morning came as usual quite early with a 4:30 restroom call for me and so I was up for the rest of the morning.  Not much sleep was had but enough to satisfy myself.  I was up early enough to make a race morning McDonalds run for a good breakfast of Bacon/Egg and Cheese Bagel, Beet Root/Orange Juice combo, Another Blueberry Bagel and part of an Egg McMuffin.  May be my new race morning food!!  Got back at 5:30 to the camp with to much time on my hands as I sat around not really getting ready just shooting the shit with DRapp annoying probably the whole camp ground with our obnoxiousness!  Finally got close enough to race time that it was time to get the rest of the kit on, pack up and off to the start.

Rode the paved trail the 2 miles to the start which is perfect to spin the legs for what is about the ensue.  Got there early enough to take a front row start with fellow single speed fast guys and wait for the countdown.  Ready to start is was about to take off.  Few seconds to go and AIR-HORN!!  OFF…..

Race Time

Race was off hot as usual as there is a cash prize at the top of the climb out of town for the first rider up. 100 K and 100 Mile all start at the same time so it is hard to tell who is who as you spin your brains out trying to stay with the lead pack. Got a good start holding DRapp wheel up the climb and didn’t know what to expect form there as it was a new start once up top.  

Once up top it seemed like the road section never ended.  With my knees about to explode due to the 150 plus cadence that I had to spin to hold position with the lead pack we went about 3-5 miles out of town on the highway and finally hit the gravel and then double track that would lead us back to Mohican Adventures (Campground where I stay every year!). Got through this fairly safe at the tail end of the leaders, which was perfect as it made me hold my pace down a little which was a downfall at Cohutta for me!  Got into the camp and started the opening singletrack. After some missteps by some early folks, thus requiring early running by me up some opening hills, I settled into a pace through the fast Mohican State Forest Trails. We would be in the trails for about the next 25 miles.  The trails are just like home with roots and some flat rocks thrown in for good measure around the twisty tight trails. Had a little to much pressure in the tires in prep for later in the race where the road sections would be coming into play, so the roots were a little slick under the tires and was sliding out every once in a while.  Also coming into play in the first sections was the fact that sunglasses couldn’t be worn because the sun was too low in the sky not allowing enough light through.  Spent about the first 2 hours trying to balance my sunglasses on my forehead, having to push them up every other downhill!  I will figure out where to put them sooner or later!  

Lost touch with DRapp in the opening parts of the single track but once again wasn’t concerned as I needed to conserve the pace a little and I had my Voodoo doll of him out and was walloping it in the hips to give him some problems!!  Sometime around mile 10 of the trail I came around the corner and there he was in front of me so I got on his wheel and we were together for the next 30-40 miles.  THIS WAS A BLAST!!  Something I have come to love about these races is getting to ride with awesome folks out there for long extended periods of time and getting to chat while we still push the pace out on course! Whole different breed than XC racing which I have no interest in anymore! 

Throughout the next 30-40 miles we would take turns in front of each other only to usually go off course or crash and try and take down small trees with our bike (DRapp) thus allowing the other one up front.  This particular section of the race is my favorite as it is the best single track and it is just a blast to rail on!  I did fairly well riding clean and came to aid three after some nasty hike a bikes, watching geared guys fall all over themselves (really only one, sorry dude) and having to take a piss for the longest time only to be scared by the likes of Roger Masse (1st Place Masters), thus not stopping for another 30 miles!

Carnage and Voodoo Magic

DRapp trying to break
the Voodoo with a
Team Noah T-Shirt!

So after aid three we were off up out of the valley and heading towards the famous Negro Run for 10 miles of rail to trail. It was somewhere around here that we picked up some friends, especially my best bud for the rest of the day Alex from Virginia with Bike Factory Racing (Thanks DUDE!!).  Riding along the ridge right before heading down to the road that led to the rail to trail my voodoo doll magic worked again and boom DRapp threw his chain!! Shit! So the back story on this is every race I go to I make it a point to get in DRapp’s head and make comments on his chain tension and gear selection. Last two races he has dropped a chain!  He blames it on my voodoo doll, which I do many nasty things too in order to cause him as much pain as possible!!!  

Well he dropped his chain and unknown to me in doing so, bent it so that once back on and pedal stroke taken, boom!, chain explode and breaks. Well all this time I didn’t attack as it is not my style to attack a mechanical, no matter what he says!  HA!  I rode on at a reasonable pace with Alex because there was no way I was going rail to trail by myself! 

Rail the Trail to the FINISH!

Well arrived with Alex at the rail section and off we went flying at a kick but pace down the trial towards the next aid. 10 Miles of me spinning my brains out, sitting in when I could and taking pulls as best I could, we arrived at the aid feeling not to bad for the work that just went down.  Finally I was able to take a piss which has never hurt so bad as I was obviously dehydrated from the days efforts. DRINK MORE FLUIDS MORON!!! So after the pit stop I went off in search of the finish. Over the next approx. 30 miles I would take my lickings as some the steep uphill road sections were to much for my worn legs, which required me to run or walk briskly, never really loosing my companions and sometimes catching and passing them.  Arrived at the unofficial mile 80 Aid station feeling good so I took off trying to hold off what I still assumed was going to be DRapp chasing me.  I was able to really push it up throughout the next sections, actually picking people off as I went.

Got to the last aid on an adrenaline high as I knew all that was left was some more kick but single track that we actually rode out on and the finish line and the Great Lakes beer I had been craving!!  As I pushed this last section of singletrack, I was able to catch up to Alex, who had gotten away on some of the open roads leading to the last aid and I was dead set the fact that he was finishing in front of me no matter what! Seeing our time I made the comment we had a chance to go under 8 hours so we bolted in search of the benchmark!  Well as we made the last turn onto the finishing straight, the clock flipped and it was sub 8:01 that we would both have to settle for.  My race went awesome as come to find out after finishing in a time of 8:00:57 I had come into a surprising 3rd place SS finish and 16th Overall.  Stoked by the finish as it will help in the overall down the road in the ridiculous SS Category this year.  Congrats to my Team Noah Foundation Teammates with Dwayne coming in 7th SS, Emily 7th Women Open, Peat didn’t break his hip again and finished very well on a tough course and Adam beating his best 100 time by over an HOUR!!!   KICK BUTT all around Team Noah Foundation!!

Toasted Head Champagne Shower

Thanks again to all that helped me during the race or helped pass the time out there. Always great to ride with you all! See everyone at the next races.  My June is going to be rough as in two weeks I head to my 3 in a row NUE 100’s (Bailey Hundo, Lumberjack 100, and Tatanka 100).  See ya there.  I am tired and slightly tipsy, OUT!!! 

Garmin File Goodness

Sub 10 HOUR!  Kick BUTT ADAM

RIP Emily!  She rocked to 7th WOMEN

Rafal feeling good