Bailey Hundo

We had four Feedback Sports riders participate in the inaugural Bailey HUNDO on June 19, 2010, an invitation-only, underground dirt century race that started in the town of Bailey, situated about an hour west of Denver. The event was a fundraiser for Trips for Kids, the Colorado High School Cycling League and Bailey Trails. Kyle Henley, Jeff Connors, Eric Davis and Steve Vanderburg all toed the line at 6 a.m. and rolled out of town to the blast of a 12-gauge shotgun. Quite a few big names were in the field, including JHK, Dave Weins and Travis Brown. Not too shabby for a first-year event.

After a hilly dirt road section spread out the 200+ pack, the first 60 miles of the course were amazing -- mile after mile of ripping singletrack in the popular Buffalo Creek trail system. Riding Buff Creek is a treat in and of itself, but to get the opportunity to race on it was just amazing. Aid stations were interspersed every 10 miles our so, with lots of killer singletrack in between. It helped to know the climbs and the descents in the area. The singletrack portion of the race ended with a loose and fast descent to the Platte River. Eric noted that he and many other left some skin and blood on the trail from spills taken while negotiating some of the tough bits of the descent to the Platte River.

From there, it was a big, hot, nasty ride back on about 40 miles of road and fire roads. After a pleasant and flat spin along the Platte River, things got ugly with a monster climb that started around mile 70, a slow slog up a shadeless fire road. For Kyle, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. He pulled the pin at mile 80 and got a ride to the finish with his tail between his legs. The rest of the Feedback crew pushed through the seemingly endless false summits and punchy climbs that punctuated the road to the finish. The most cruel aspect of the race was a ridiculously steep 200-yard climb right at the finish. It left many of the racers walking the last bit of the ride.

In the end, Feedback riders put up a good showing. Eric and Steve -- both extremely experienced endurance racers -- finished in under 9 hours. Eric, in fact, was third in the men's 46+ division. Jeff, known as a skinny, fast climbing specialist, pushed through and finished his first dirt century in about 10 hours. In the pro field, JHK stomped it in 6:38. Sick fast.

All in all, it was a killer event. Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers who put on the Bailey HUNDO. I know we're looking forward to doing it again next year.