Bailey Hundo Race, Epic competition!

Just finished 4th in the Bailey Hundo 100 mile race in about 8 hours on a rigid singlespeed (and around 27th out of all the geared bikes).  At the finish there was 7 minutes between the top 4 finishers.  Close race!

Tough competition!  I battled it out with Jeffrey Carter the entire race.  This will definitely be one of the most memorable battles in a race I have had moving around between 2nd and 4th many times throughout the race for 100 miles with a close finish.

Rode the singlespeed with 32/18 gearing fully rigid (no suspension) and Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires.  Not sure about the rigid fork decision.  It seemed okay but obviously slowed me down on the descents where I usually am strong.  On the singletrack uphills I was catching back up without any problems.  Where I thought it would help me out was on the road but the steep washboard sections were pretty bad.  Next time I would go with a front fork and 32/19.  Not sure if it would be faster but it would definitely be funner!

All the racers lined up at 6am in Bailey Colorado for the mass start which immediately climbed out of town on a road.  My gearing was tough for the climbs but I was fresh and passing large groups of geared riders.  By the time we hit the Colorado Trail singletrack I was in 3rd place and feeling good.  The singletrack was fast and I continued passing geared racers.  About an hour into the race I spotted another singlespeeder ahead of me on a climb.  They're the ones with a cadence of 40 on the steep climbs.  That turned out to be Jeffrey Carter.  At the rate I caught up to him I thought it wouldn't be long before I had a significant lead on him but he came right back and pass me again.

We went back and forth like that for the remainder of the race.  Every time I though I had some distance on him he showed back up.  At about 45 miles into the race Jeff was bombing down the hill making time on me while I dropped behind getting pounded with the rigid front fork.  After stopping to empty my bladder which was getting punished at every bump I hesitated at an unmarked turn to make sure I was going the correct direction and Andrew Carney showed up and passed me.  This put me into 4th.  It looked like he had an easier gear than me which worked well for that section.

When the trail leveled out I ate some food while riding and had to stop twice and pickup a bunch of stuff that flew out of my feedbag.  I caught back up and passed Andrew and Jeff which put me back in 2nd.  I felt great in the next section of singletrack and Jeff was right behind me and Andrew had dropped back out of site.

After a huge decent on a number of steep switchbacks down to the Sough Platte river at mile 56 there was an aid station with our drop bags.  I almost didn't stop but there was a bottle of Hammer HEED in my bag that sounded much better than all the water at the other aid stations so I stopped to get it which ended up taking more time than it was worth.  Unfortunately for us, during this optional pit, Andrew didn't stop and blew by us (we found out at the end).  Andrew must have really made some time there.  When Jeff and I got started you could see a long distance down the road and Andrew was not in site.  I started to suspect that Andrew didn't pit but I thought we would be able to catch him on the road with our higher gearing.  Jeff and I stayed together on most of the road section.  About a mile before the big climb just after Deckers I noticed Jeff had fallen back and once again I thought I might have dropped him for good and I was in 3rd.

The climb over Stoney Pass was steep and tough with my gearing.  At the top of the first climb Jeff caught back up to me and passed me once again.  We were together until the next climb where he gained some distance on me.  The remaining 10 miles I could always see him and was able to get closer behind him but then he would pull forward again.  I could see him constantly looking back at me and I was giving everything I had to try and pass him but didn't get the chance the rest of the race.

I rolled across the finish in 4th just after Jeff and a geared rider and learned that 1st and 2nd were a short distance in front of us.  Andrew had passed Mark Thompson right before the finish.  Mark Thompson had lead the entire race only to be passed at the end.  Tough finish!  Andrew Carney rode a strong race.  Nice finish Andrew!

They had free food, beer and a band playing along the river at the finish.  Nice!  It was a great race.  The logistics were a little difficult since the pre-race meeting, race start, camping (Friday night only), race parking, and the race finish were all in a different, drive to, locations.  It was all worth it and the fact that the race benefited kids was great!

Race Start

I'm chasing Jeff through the burn area on some sweet singletrack

6am at the start.  A bit chilly

Nice award

The bike setup

Getting ready for the Bailey Hundo this weekend

Here is my setup for the Bailey Hundo 100 miles mountain bike race starting in Bailey Colorado next weekend  http://www.bailey100.com/ .  Fully stupid rigid singlespeed!  Is this a good idea?  Well see.  I wished I could've pre-ridden the course but looking at the route I'm thinking of running a tougher gear.  http://www.bailey100.com/map.html  Riding on a Schwalbe Racing Ralph rear tire and either a Ralph or Nobby Nic on the front.


The Bailey HUNDO supports three youth biking initiatives in Colorado: Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder, which offers mountain biking opportunities to underserved youth and changes lives “two wheels at a time”! Colorado High School Cycling League, a new resource for high school students around the state to be exposed to the world of mountain bike racing--and developing the racers of tomorrow who will ride YOUR legs off!  Kids On Bikes giving new bikes to children in the Pikes Peak region "through programs that inspire a healthy lifestyle, independence, and achievement”.

I LOVE RACES THAT BENEFIT KIDS LIKE THIS!  If you have a pile of cash laying around, you can donate on my fund raising account at http://www.prerace.com/registration/donation/7299 or as an alternative just take a kid biking.  Thanks!

There is some tough competition!  I'm planning, as usual, to do my best and hope to get on the podium.  It looks like an awsome course.  A large portion of the singletrack is on the Colorado Trail which is always rewarding!

This is a proper parking spot if you consider lack of brain cells used to setup a bike like this to do a 100 mile race

224 mile Death ride in a day on the Road bike, Colorado's San Juan Skyway loop by bike

This is a one day road bike ride (aka the Death Ride version) on Colorado's San Juan Skyway loop. Starting in Dolores Colorado; Dolores > Mancos > Durango > Silverton > Ouray > Ridgeway > Telluride > Dolores.  224 miles and around 20,000 feet of elevation gain in over 19 hours
Every other day of the year I race and ride a singlespeed mountain bike. Two days prior to the ride a friend talked me into doing the Death Ride again instead of the KTR. I had done it in the past clockwise but this time we would go counterclockwise.  I hadn't ridden the road bike for over two years so I dusted it off, replaced the tires (Same ones from RAAM a few years earlier) and we started at the Dolores River Brewery at 4:30am. Brutal head winds which really slowed down my progress but overall a great route for a road bike ride.

Due to the high winds forecasted there was some debate whether we should postpone the ride but the following day was the only other option and it was going to be much colder so we started anyway.

Kiviok and I battled headwinds all the way to Durango but still made good time.  In the crowded metropolis of Durango it took as long to get food and stand in line for the restroom at McDonalds as it would have going to a higher quality establishment which burned a bunch of time.  Then some guy asked me how to get to the airport and then didn't believe me when I told him numerous times in several different explanations which cost more time.  I was happy to get out of town again climbing the popular Iron Horse route over Molas pass to Silverton.  The climb was good and there was some tailwind or headwind depending on which direction the switchbacks were facing.  Downhill was crazy with the wind swirling and switching directions.  I had to slow down because I felt like I might crash.  The views were spectacular.

Kiviok had to pull out at Silverton which I had never seen happen before.  He was obviously not feeling well on the climb and was totally bummed.  He had a tough week of hard training.  Obviously too much.  He waited there for his wife to pick him up.

I was feeling good so I resupplied with water and Gatorade ate a lunchable and pressed on over Red Mountain Pass and descended down to Ouray then to Ridgeway.  This section was beautiful and Ouray is a very picturesque town.  In Ridgeway I stopped at a Coffee shop and had a veggie breakfast burrito which was great.

Leaving Ridgeway I was making great time.  At the Dallas Divide climb things slowed down considerably.  The wind had dramatically picked up at noon just like the forecast predicted.  I was in my lowest gear standing during most of the climb.  Even though this wasn't one of the big mountain passes it worked out to be the toughest climb that day.  There were no trees to block any of the wind.  When I stopped to take a picture the wind was blowing me backwards down the hill.

There was no reward when I finally reached the crest and started to descend.  The wind was so bad that I had to still pedal with considerable effort down the hill.  I was looking at the elevation graph to make sure I was still going downhill and it showed I was descending but it didn't feel like it. There were broken limbs in the road and an aspen tree.  Looking at the trees getting rocked by the wind I started to worry about one landing on me.  Then it started to rain but there was not a cloud in the sky close to me.  Rough section that day!

After the turn and climbing toward Telluride the wind was still horrible but was more intermittent.  In Telluride I resupplied and grabbed a pizza slice at the Conoco station and immediately started the climb to Lizard Head pass in an effort to beat the sunset to the summit.  There were a lot of elk alongside the road in this section.  I never could figure out why the grass is so much tastier there as opposed to the millions of acres of nation forest nearby.  I arrived at the top of the pass just after dark.  It was brutally windy and cold.

After two elk ran directly in front of me in the dark on top of the pass I became skeptical that I had sufficient light to spot wildlife on the descent.  That became a non-issue on the descent since the wind was blowing so bad I couldn't get going a high speed anyway.  The descent was cold and it rained lightly until I hit Rico.

After Rico my wife Dani showed up to follow me to Dolores.  How cool is that?  The extra light was great.  I could see the numerous limbs on the road from the wind.  The last section required continued effort even though it was mostly downhill due to the constant wind.

I arrived in Dolores around midnight.  It was great to be done even though it was an awesome ride!  Just after finishing the rain really started coming down.  Glad I missed that!  Legs still felt pretty good at the end but the neck mussels and hamstrings were a bit sore and I was glad to get off the saddle.

I would definitely recommend this as a bucket list ride.  If not one day, take your credit card and do it in three or four days which would still be difficult.  It can be done faster than this but I took time to check some things out and was not riding at a race effort.  There is a race on this loop as well and a three day tour also called the Death Ride. http://www.deathridetour.com/about.php
Overall the ride is not as tough as a 24 hour mountain bike race solo effort in my opinion but it is still very difficult.

Check out the stats:


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/89085325

What I took:

On the bike:
3 water bottles
2 tubes
pump
Adapter to fill tires at a gas station
Blinky
Put on my mountain bike seat (since that's what I always use)
CO2 cartridges
Tools
Tire levers
TP
Velcro straps
Light on my bike (Aye-up 6 hour)
Garmin 705
Rechargeable external Duracell USB battery for Garmin (Get at Wall Mart)
Feeder bag by stem for energy food
Feeder bag by seatpost for trash
Jando frame bag.  These are sweet!  Take the weight off your back!
Extra parts: Bolts, cleat and screws, zip ties, duct tape
Small bottle of chain lube
Blister pads
Phone in a waterproof bag
Driver’s license
Cash & credit card
Camera

For me:
Rain jacket (strapped to the bike stem)
Arm warmers
Knee warmers
Wool socks
Warm gloves
Summer gloves
Clear glasses
Sunglasses
Head beanie

Fuel I started with and consumed throughout the ride:

3 bottles of HEED

1Tube of Hammer Gel

2 Honey Stinger chews

3 Honey Stinger waffles

6 Advil

3 Natural enzymes

12 Endurolytes

Fuel I purchased during the ride:

2 Egg McMuffins, water and some Powerade in Durango

1 Lunchable, water & Gatorade in Silverton

1 Veggie breakfast burrito, water & Powerade in Ridgeway

1 Slice of Pizza, water & Gatorade in Telluride

4:30 am start in Dolores

Sunrise just before Mancos

McDonald's in Durango

1st pass

2nd Pass

View toward Silverton from Molas pass

Lost of snow still

3rd pass, Red Mountain

Motorcycle went over the side on Red Mountain, they just winched it up on the trailer from down below

Cool shot of Ouray

Waterfall between Ouray and Ridgeway

Coffee shop in Ridgeway

Ralph Lauren's ranch outside of Ridgeway

Riding to the other side of those mountains

Not a pass but was tough with the wind that day

Telluride is in the distance

4th pass, in the dark

Finished!

Mountain bike ride around McPhee Reservoir in Dolores Colorado

Did a local 67 mile ride around McPhee reservoir on Sunday.  The recent snow made the singletrack trails to muddy to ride so we stayed on the graded roads except through Sagehen where the normally cool trail dropping down to the river was a mudfest.  The rest of the ride was very scenic and pretty mellow sticking to the graded roads circling the lake.  Kiviok and I started from my house through the town of Dolores on 145 and 184 to the turnoff for the reservoir.  Then through Sagehen down to the lower Dolores river to Bradfield bridge.  Normally we take the trail up along the lake to Dry Fork but that would have been muddy.  A big climb up to Salter Y then past the pump station and onto the Boggy draw trail back to the house.  Lots of wildlife!  Singlespeeds geared 32x18.
Stats http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87653055 

Left the house at 9.  I'd fix it up a little but I needed some new parts for my bike

Riding through Dolores

Road next to the lake on the way to Sagehen

Kiviok carrying his bike through the mud

Mud!!! Kiv's bike standing by itself

Couldn't even ride downhill, there was to much mud on this normally great section dropping to the river.  I resorted to dragging my bike by the seat for a bit

Cleaning up

Washing the bike in the Lower Dolores

 

Which way should be go? Bradfield bridge, the 2500' climb up

 

 

 

 

Nice few of the mountains

Boggy singletrack

67 Miles

White Rim in a day, 102 miles on the singlespeed

Last Weekend Kiviok and I did the annual White Rim in a day 102 mile ride outside of Moab Utah on singlespeed mountain bikes.  Normally that weekend we would do the Kokopelli Trail race KTR but this year I was recovering from a rib injury and Kiviok from the flu so we decided to skip the KTR and instead do the White Rim.  This was my 7^th time doing the White Rim and 5^th one day ride.  Both of us used 32x19 gearing on 29rs.  See Garmin stats at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86155888

I rolled out of Dolores and met up with Kiviok at 5:10AM and we continued to Moab where we ate breakfast at Zak’s.  After eggs and bacon we drove out and parked down the Mineral Bottom road at the top of the big climb out.  I like parking there because, when riding clockwise, you knock off the lame 14 mile road and 8 mile pavement section right away and at the end it’s nice to know the vehicle is just at the top of the steep Mineral Bottom climb.

We ended up having to go back to the vehicle twice to get something we forgot.  The second time it was for the Canyonlands Entrance fee.  The official start was just before 9:00am.  When we actually got to the entrance 20 miles later we were informed that about 60 miles into the route the road was impassable due to the green river’s high water level.  After talking to another Ranger (2^nd opinion) it appeared that currently bikes could get around the closed section but if the water level got any higher bikes could not pass either.  In true renegade fashion we decided to go for it anyway.  Anyone who has been on the White Rim knows that once you drop in on the Shafer switchbacks there is no way out on a bike until the end 102 miles later.

The weather was great and the ride was fantastic as usual.  Great majestic views.  There were a lot of bikes going the other direction on the multi day trips, motorcycles and 4wd traffic early in the ride but nothing after about 30 miles.  We ate lunch on Murphy’s Hogback which is always my favorite spot.  When we finally arrived at the flooded area it was pretty unimpressive.  While it was obviously impassible by automobiles it was easy to portage around on the bike in a couple of minutes without even getting our feet wet.  On the remainder of the ride we encountered a small sandstorm then climbed the always painful Mineral Bottom Switchbacks up to the finish.

We loaded up and headed to the Moab Brewery for Beers and dinner.  I arrived back at my house in Dolores that night around 10.  Full day!

Check out this video of the ride stuffed into 18 minutes and pics.

White Rim in a Day, Moab Utah, Singlespeed mountain bikes, wriad from Shawn Gregory on Vimeo.

12 Hours of Mesa Verde Newspaper article, 2011

Check out this article in the Cortez Journal covering the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde race 2011.  http://www.cortezjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=15380