J e f f H i g h a m: 2010: The Bailey Hundo

Last Saturday I took to the singletrack with 150 others to take on 100 miles of terrain outside of Bailey, Colorado for the Inaugural Bailey HUNDO. The field was stacked with the likes of Dave Wiens and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and a host of riders that would finish the race, have a long shower, and a good meal before I pushed rubber across the finish line.

A week prior to the race I took some time to ride the first 25 miles of the course which did not dissapoint.

The course map and elevation profile.

The race started at 6:00AM with a shotgun blast.

We were then off screaming down a short section of pavement and on to a few miles of dirt road with a number of good climbs to get the blood pumping. I started in the middle of the pack but quickly jumped up to the back of the lead group of riders (you know just to see what it's like to be a real mountainbike racer). About 9 miles in we cut left onto the colorado trail and started a healthy dose of some fine singletrack.

The singletrack rolled through the Buffalo Creek trail system and parts of the Colorado Trail eventually dropping us out at Platte River Road some 60+ miles later. After a quick swap at the aide station there (one of 10 along the course) to grab fresh bottles and gel flasks, it was back on the bike for some road riding.

I managed to pass a lot of riders in the previous 60+ miles and was feeling the effects of that effort. A few of the riders I had overtaken previously rode strong to pass as I suffered a low point in the race. I spent this time refueling and watching the knobs on my front tire as I spun along in the big ring. The people floating down the Platte river in tubes drinking cold beverages didn't help much.

After way too much pavement, the course took a left onto some dirt road which immediately started climbing. For some reason hitting dirt got the blood pumping back again and I started digging in. The road kept climbing though and didn't offer any relief until just prior to Wellington Lake. It was here 1 last rider passed me and disappeared over the next hill. I followed catching a glimpse of him over the next few miles but lost him a few miles from Bailey.

Finally my front tire hit pavement again which marked the last mile of road back into Bailey. I was happy it was going to be an easy coast back into town and the finish. Wrong! Just before I hit town there was a corner marshall and an arrow to the right leading a bumpy dirt road down the river. Not too bad I though an easy coast down the dirt road to the finish. Wrong again! A mile or so in, another right turn ending at a steep winding hill. Surprise!!! I dropped into granny gear, closed my eyes, ignored the cramps, and rode to the top. It was there that I saw the yellow tape, a bunch of cars, and yes, the FINISH BABY! My first 100 in the books.

I learned shortly after that I was the first one in my category (30-45) to finish the race placing me 25th overall with a time of 8 hours 16 min. Sweet bonus points! Perhaps the coolest part of the whole race was meeting new people. Dave Wiens was kind enough to sit down and chat with us post-race... An amazingly cool guy.

Shown below is the little award I received for pulling off a 1st place in the 30-45 classification. Also some signatures on my race number from Dave Wiens and JHK.