50 Proof

Was there a bike race last weekend? Something, Something hazy seems familiar. My bike is dirty, my riding clothes smell, my legs hurt, my eyballs hurt…

Oh yeah, Whiskey Off Road! That’s the kind of pain and suffering I pay good money for. Brutal. Such a good time, my bike is still a mess and I’m already looking forward to next year.

We loaded up my buddy’s car with 4 bikes, 4 guys, and a ton of gear for a bit of a stag weekend (at least for me) of awesome bike racing and a little libation. Ever wonder what $22,000 worth of plastic, aluminum, and rubber looks like dangling off your tailgate?

It’s a pretty sight. That much is for sure.

I have driven by these wind farms many times, but I still find it a surreal view every time I drive by. Thousands of wind turbines through an otherwise empty valley.

We made the 6 hour drive to Prescott and stashed bikes and gear in a luxurious room worthy of the likes of our marry band.

Yep, two on beds, two on floors, and no room to roll. that’s OK, with the youth soccer team (and there parents…) staying next door, it’s not like we were gonna get any sleep anyhow. By moving all the chairs and night tables out onto the walkway, we actually managed to get the four of us in that thing. Just don’t make any sudden movements…

We kept the bikes outside when we wanted to use the bathroom.

The town of Prescott is pretty cool. An interesting mix of people and some good trails. That’s a good combination. I did the 50 miler.
Whiskey 50 by jonesbenjamind at Garmin Connect – Details.
It was really really hard. No really, it fucking wrecked me. It’s a combination of  about a 25 mile loop of really fun singletrack with an added 20 mile out and back sufferfest down into Skull Valley where you just turn around and go right back up that damn thing. That’s the kind of flagellation I couldn’t do on my own. Why else do we pay to do this stuff to ourselves. Sweet!

My goal was a sub 4 hour ride, I really didn’t know what to expect, but from looking at past results, it seamed reasonable. The start is really cool, we even had a mock gun fight that made all us racers jump. Our start was fast fast fast and our field started shelling riders before we even left the neutral zone. Guess my “warm up in the first 5 miles” idea was the wrong one for what these kids seemed to have in mind. I kept the lead group in view and hit the single track with stars in my eyes from the effort. Only 40 miles left I laugh to myself as we roll on perfect hero dirt trails through the ponderosa pines, one of my favorite riding environments.

An ill timed flat has me floundering the downhill and when I cant get my CO2 nozzle to work, it’s a 3-4 mile slog on a flat tire to the first feed station on course. Drat.

The guys at the aid station were awesome! Filling my bottles, giving me feed, airing my tire. They were so fast, I was impressed. Tire fixed, it was time to charge!

The pressure to do well went out the window with the flat and now it was time to have fun and love the suffering. But first, I had to make it back up from Skull Valley. The last three miles back up and out of the valley were really steep and hard. I was glad to be riding on a hardtail.

But stay alert, grasshopper. Once out of Skull Valley and back on the main course, you still climb climb climb. Ouch.

The downhill back into town is fast and sweet. Love it like nectar. Then push push push through the streets of Prescott and hit the finish line. 3:54.

Made my goal which made my day. And just makes me wanna go back and see what time I can pull without a flat.

Shower nap eat and stay up all night drinking on Whiskey Row.

That my friends is a good recipe. Just watch out for all the bugs on the way home.

Then hang out in the grass at home and enjoy a homebrew in your shiny new pint glass.

Cheers