I've done the whiskey off-road 4 times now and this year was the worst (as far as weather goes). The weather was miserable, at least for a SoCal native like me. I was warm during my pre-ride, but after everything got soaked through when the race started, I got cold. I contemplated bailing out because I was afraid my fingers and toes would be black from frostbite when I finished! I never stopped though and eventually finished. My fingers got so cold that I could not feel when my fingers were touching. I could feel they were there and they felt about 5 times their normal size. I couldn't grab a bottle to get a drink of water. The few times I managed to get a bottle out of one of my cages, I then couldn't flip it around to drink it. Once I figured way to flip it around, I then couldn't squeeze the bottle to get any water out! I also couldn't get any of my gels open, so I ended up only taking in about 300 calories for the entire ride. The weather made the race horrible for me (and I'm sure everyone else). I couldn't see the trail in some spots. My glasses got frozen over with ice that I had to stop to wipe off multiple times.I descended like a baby because I couldn't tell if I was hitting the brakes or not (and probably wasn't half the time). I couldn't shift at all. The lack of calories caused me to bonk big time coming back up from skull valley. Besides complaining about the weather..... I got a front corral starting spot this year and barely made the start. I got a nail in my tire about 15 minutes before the race started. I went to the Stan's tent to see if someone would be there to help me if it wouldn't seal (I have had some bad luck with Stan's). Well, we pulled the nail out and it didn't seal! So the guy is rushing around looking for a valve core remover and some Stan's. He puts more Stan's in and it seals up. Guess I was just low on Stan's. So, I finally make it to the start with 2 minutes to spare. I tried to seed myself near the top 20 when heading onto the singletrack to avoid the 91esque backup that usually occurs. I think I was 20-30 people back but still had some guys who couldn't ride a mountain bike. I mean, it got backed up and we had to get off and walk a few sections that I thought were very, very easy. That was kind of annoying. Finally, I get past the guy that was making all the mistakes and had smooth sailing until I hit another group with guys fumbling up the water bars. If you are off your bike and someone is riding right behind you, don't keep stopping on the trail to get back on your bike. Either get off to the side or let the people riding behind you by. So, after passing a few people people we got to the first descent. I just followed the yellow shoes in front of me because my glasses were iced over and I couldn't see the trail. Finally made it down to the dirt road over to the skull valley turn off. I picked off a couple more guys there. Down to the turn around I picked off a couple more guys. I started counting people when I saw them coming up. 1...2....3...etc... At the turn around I had only counted 8 in front of me. How in the world did I end up in 9th? Well, this is where the lack of calories started getting to me. I rode as well as I could up the climb but my pace just kept slowing. 11 people passed me from the turn around to the finish. I finish in 4:05 and change and ended up 20th overall, 13th in men's open. Not my best time, but my best place. The worst part is that I know I could have ridden that climb much faster and now I have to wait a year to prove myself right.
kudos to crispy for hanging in there ....this was my first time in the whiskey and it sucked getting soaked waiting for the 25 to start at 9:30 only to get pushed backed to noon and becoming a road ride I will be back next year
This was my first time at the Whiskey 50 and it was quite memorable. The rain at the start turned to hail and then became a full on snowstorm at the top. Guys at one of the aid station made a snowman! Temps hovered about 26 or 27F for the first few hours. I was stuck in the conga line on the singletrack and it cost me a lot of time, though I was just riding to finish. I agree with crispy that some of these guys need to learn how to ride! Put a rock, root or log in front of them and they're off the bike-and so is everyone behind them. All of the people quitting and walking back down the trail didnt help either. Glasses-useless, water bottle tops-frozen, SPDs-frozen mud shut them down for 10 miles! Good news is my PI WRX gloves and Shimano MW-81 boots keep me reasonably warm, though my thumbs checked out for a while on the coldest parts. You know the AVID turkey warble? You should hear it times 50...or more. It took 3 hours just to get to the 50/25 split so I was just riding to finish. A lot of people quit. A lot. The aid station was awesome! I never had an oreo that tasted so good. The ride down to Skull Valley was fun and sketchy due to the mud and my Renegade rear tire. Made the slick corners very interesting... About 9 or 10 miles down and then back up, plus another 3 or so to the top! Ouch!!! What a grind.... Amazing rocky singletrack was the reward and the punishment. Physically and mentally demanding and I didn't have a lot left in the tank-the red light was on the fuel gauge! A little frustrating was ending up in the middle of the re-scheduled 25er race and its complement of fresh, clean, dry, technically inept, riders. Sucks to let someone past only to have them stop and dismount in front of you to carry their bike over a totally rideable rock section. Oh well, someone handed me a piece of bacon and I was on my way to the finish. When I got to the finish the crowd was going crazy! The announcer says-"this guy did the 50-still smiling-look at him!" And I was a sight to see. Covered in mud from tires to helmet, never felt so good to finish. My first race in 16 years.....WOW! I must say, the support of Epic Rides, and the people of Prescott, AZ., was off the charts. People stood in the rain and cheered us on and the support crews along the route suffered through the bad weather along with us. The bad weather was a wild card but I would definitely do this again. I just wish that bacon station was a little further down the hill!
Wow sounds brutal... good job to both of you way to hang in there! yeah and those choke points are also brutal. When I did the 50 in 2012 years ago or so it was exact opposite one of the hottest on record supposed to be in the 70s..it was 95 Deg on the climb out of Skull and I survived but I felt like crap the rest of the day. I can only image what that was like in the mud...NO THANKS! Hard rides make us better... Lets just keep telling ourselves that.
During the Rwanda ride I overheard someone mentioning they got off the phone and being glad that they skipped the Whiskey this year. Reading the ride reports and comments on other sites I can now see why they said that. Congrats to those who made it out there and especially those who finished. Sounds like it was a heck of a ride.
Ride report and video to come...there were many who reached the bottom of the 1st major descent before climbing up to the 25/50 split. We stopped with frozen gear or tech issues that meant going on was impossible. Weird mix...people wearing lots of gear who looked prepared were being pulled by the volunteers at this turnaround point due to hypothermia...not an official aid station but it was right next to Highway 89. Some of us were told that if we went on, we'd be unsupported and stopped from turning down to Skull Valley. At the 25/50 split location, many riders were turned back towards town, but just as many were allowed to go down to Skull Valley. Our biggest worry was that the 25 was scheduled to go off with our significant others participating, and we had to get word out to them to NOT go out. It would have been dangerous...the conditions were dangerous as it is...conga lines notwithstanding, watching someone rail a corner only to hit a small rock and go down hard enough to break a collarbone, and icy rocks on the climbs. I can't tell you the number of people who decided to run around the conga line fighting for 150th only to eff it up themselves at the next water bar or rock section. Live to ride another day. Like the day before was perfect, and the day after was perfect. Edit...that small rock drop noted as "no brakes" in the video referenced by Kevin949...watched someone end their race right there when the front tire slipped like a roadie hitting a painted line.
I pulled into the aid station that had a fire roaring and I really wanted to stop....but I didn't...I knew that if I did it would be that much harder to go on. I was very cold, but my hands and feet were dry, due to my last-minute gear changes, so I just slowly rolled thru. Found out later they were stopping riders there. After that point, things started to thaw a little and a few miles later I was actually able to clip in and feel my thumbs again. Doing log drops in winter spd boots on frozen pedals is quite the experience! Just because it says "rain" in the forecast, doesn't cover what happens at altitude. Ask anyone who has been in the backcountry of CO., WY., MT. and other states. When you're riding inthe mountains in bad weather you better "pack a lunch" and carry it with you. I do not fault Epic Rides or anyone else invovled with this race. Those that tunred around did so by their own sound reasoning and I will never fault them or their decisions. Cheers to next year!
It is the bad weather rides I have done thru the years that I remember the most. With a base layer of smart wool I can handle being because I am warm. Would rather ride in snow that rain and hope the temperature is low to keep the dirt frozen. Ice is no bueno but the ice sheets do not show up until the refreeze the next day. It is that wind that gets me. It was crazy the amount of people that started without the right gear. Racing light was not a good call.
What a crazy experience! Congrats to those those who braved the event.... we've got memories! On my blog, Natespin, I've posted my thoughts if you want to read the experience. But here's my video highlight instead. [video=vimeo;94482764]http://vimeo.com/94482764[/video]
