Beth's story: The Bad Astra

BaseCamp athlete Beth Huffaker shared her experience at the 2025 Bad Astra bike race in Kansas.

Woohoo! Last race of the season! The Bad Astra (Half Astra for me). I didn't have my phone with me, so here's my goofy selfie. I pushed hard at the start and was actually leading the whole field, which turned out to be a bad move, as I missed the right turn for the Half Astra and had to wait to go back while most of the field went out ahead. I chased back and caught a few riders before the climbs came up but then rode solo the rest of the way. Luckily I had stayed far enough ahead of the 40-milers and came in third female overall. I was pretty surprised when they handed me the plaque at the end, a first for me! 😁