Good times out in Prescott, AZ this weekend! Hotchkiss and I loaded the car, and went out for our 1st Whiskey 50. We had no clue what we were in for, but we were determined to check it out, ride our bikes, and have a blast. We pre-rode the 1st few miles of sweet single track and took a few pix. By the time we turned around, the 15 Proof Fun Ride had started, so we cheered on the riders, took more pix, then headed back to the hotel. I participated in the Women's 50 Proof SS category, which meant my start time was 7:30 Sat morning, (temps in Prescott were around 40 degrees-#-o). Greg did the 25 Proof Men's SS, so his race didn't start till 9:30. He was able to shoot some footage of the 50 Proof start. Talk about energy! It seemed like most of the town was out, lining the streets, cheering for all 300+ of us.:bang: The first 5 miles were on the road, meandering uphill towards the mountains. Then it was time for the single track awesomeness! Unfortunately, with that many riders, both 25 Proof and 50 Proof had some major bottle-necking. But, in Whiskey 50 fashion, some hecklers were there offering sips of beer to geared riders, and sips of whiskey to the SSers. (I told him I'd have more than enough blurry vision by the end of the race, I didn't need the whiskey :lol. The climb out of Skull Valley was a grind, and I saw a lot of guys pulled over with cramps. I just tried to not look at my garmin (which was reading up to a 17% grade at times. yuk), and took in the gorgeous views! Around mile 40, I was greeted with some sweet single track downhill goodness. Even though my legs were feeling it, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. The race ended by dropping back onto the road for the final few miles, where I did my best to tuck into a ball and let gravity try to do the rest. I heard someone screaming behind me, and I turned my head to see Hotchkiss fly by me smiling. It was rad to be able to finish with him! All in all, I beat my goal time by a good 45mins, finishing in 5:49. 6th Place. Not bad for a Whiskey 1st timer. I had some very fierce competition, due to the fact that the 1st Place Men's and Women's SSers won round trip tickets to the SS World Championships in Ireland. There were some gnarly women out there! Greg had a goal time of 4:30 (and a secret goal time of 4hrs flat), which he beat by 10 mins, coming in at 3:50, 43rd out of 66 SSing men.:bang: I'm super proud of him! We grabbed some amazing grub on Whiskey Row and enjoyed some of the live music, even got to catch up with a few of you STR dudes! So nice to see some friends out there!!:wave::wave: Didn't get the Podium Flask this year, but we'll totally be back next year, so here's hoping! Cheers! Here's the link to the starting line video http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1675081559726
Nice! GREAT finish for your first time at the Whiskey! The climb up from Skull Valley is a grind for sure. I can't imagine doing it on a SS! Thanks for the pictures and RR! I'll try and make it back out there next year!
I returned for my second Whiskey 50 after falling apart and cramping up last year. I was better prepared this year and was able to meet my goal of sub 5 hours (4:47). It is simply amazing that the town of Prescott embraces the event and closes off the main street of downtown Whiskey Row for three days. Such a cool city with a great vibe... and tons of great trail to boot. It's worth a visit.
I went up for the whiskey 50. I really had no idea of what to expect, but thought I could finish in around 3:50 (random guess). Well, I didn't make my goal. When I first got on the s/t I was thinking, dude, thats like over 12mph average speed, I can't ride that fast! Anyways, quick run-down... Get to the start late and have to fight my way into the start. Work really hard to catch main pack before hitting the dirt. Get toasted trying to hop up all those logs. Have fun on the downhill. Get caught by Fuzzy John right before the aid station. Have Fuzzy John (on a SS) keep up with me (with gears) on the descent to aid #2. Count people on my way down, 25th at the turn around...YES! Start climbing feeling good, realize I haven't eaten anything and have only had one 20 oz bottle of fluid (2 hours into it). Mile 33, hit the WALL, small ring, start fighting demons. Stop at aid #1/3 on the way up, passed by a few people, sitting ~31 overall.Get back on the bike, catch a few people back, Fuzzy John catches me again, stop at aid #4 get a couple cups of water, big group of like 5 guys pass me. Get on the single track and have some fun descending. Wash out in some loose rocks, fall on my right side. Descend some more. Fall on my left side in a creek, soaking wet. Get onto the road and get a draft from a car until we hit the first stop. Cramps finally come on that last slightly uphill stretch before the left turn down to the finish. Done! 4:01. So, a bit off my time, but I am not complaining. I was in better shape to faster physically, but my brain needs some help with telling my hands to grab the gels and the water bottles. I only went through about 2 small bottles with maybe about 300 calories total. No gels the entire race. So, no wonder I bonked. Now I know what I need to focus on. Oh and final place, was 26th in the Men's Open division. I was stoked!
I can't wait for 2012. I need to shave at least 1.5hrs off my time to be happy. One thing that I should do is maybe ride more than once a week leading up to an event like this. I finished in 5:57 (without cramps) and I'm stoked on that for now. Here's a few shots from my ride. These were all taken while pedaling to take my mind off the pain. Nice to meet you guys (K44 and Hotchkiss), there were a few other STRers I met also on the trail.
Sweet Pix, Mr. Hobbs! Nice to meet you out there! I love the pic of the drum circle. I had false hopes that they were at the top of the never-ending climb, so I pushed hard when I started to hear them. Major let down when I got there, and the trail continued up. haha. But it was a little boost to hear something other than my brain.
This was my first Whiskey Off-Road and I was fortunate to race the 50 with my buddy Andy (onlyontwo). Rather than dwell on how Andy and Candace are breaking all of our hearts by moving back to Indiana, and how I was on the verge of tears the entire weekend, I choose to focus on the real event we took part in: The Whiskey Off Road 2011 WHC (Watering Hole Challenge). We arrived in town Friday afternoon and picked up our packets at registration. Although we had signed up for the Whiskey 50 Proof, little did we know that the 50 was only a pre-ride for the real event, the Watering Hole Challenge. Included with our packets was a small yellow postcard that listed 7 establishments located in downtown Prescott, along with the recommendation to get trashed ("Epic rides highly recommends purchasing a pint and/or shot at each bar in order to optimize your evening's effort!"). We felt up to the challenge and looked forward to experiencing Historic Whiskey Row. The challenge started at 6pm Friday, so we bought a pitcher of Prescott Brewing Company's Pale Ale (WHC stamp #1 of 7) and I ate some Pasta Prescotta, creamy alfredo with zucchini, carrots, and onions, topped with parmesan cheese. We knew we had a big day on Saturday with the 6 other establishments, so we only had a couple more beers at the hotel before getting an early night's sleep. Andy and I slept in separate beds because I was so upset he's leaving (oh wait, sorry, I wasn't going to dwell on that). Saturday morning started with some coffee and a microwave breakfast burrito from Circle K. I was happy to see the sun rise at like 5:30AM, which meant the 7:30AM start would be a bit warmer than I was anticipating. We lined up at about 7:15AM, and settled in for 5 hours and 33 minutes of pain intermingled with brief periods of joy. I think once or twice Andy mentioned how sweet his new Tall Boy was, but I wasn't really listening to him because I was so upset. I do, however, remember drinking a beer at Sierra Prieta Overlook and that made things temporarily better. After the pre-event (the 50 Proof), I was a little worried that Andy wouldn't be up for the WHC. He fell asleep on the grass, so I wandered around trying to find a replacement bromance (no luck, even at an event like the Whiskey). Nonetheless, Andy proved his tenacity, and after dropping the bike gear off at the hotel, we embarked on our challenge. Establishment #2 of 7 was the Jersey Lilly Saloon, where we started with a Fat Tire and some popcorn overlooking the finish line. We wandered down to the street and checked out the sweet bikes from Pivot, wheels that are too light from Easton, and Niner's race fleet hanging out at their van. We also ran into Eddie (Sailor Ripley) who is lean and mean and crushed our 50 Proof times. Nice work, sir! Next up was #3 of 7, Hooligan's Pub, complete with a pint of Kilt Lifter Scottish style ale from Four Peaks Brewery out of Tempe, followed by Matt's Saloon (#4 of 7) where I think I enjoyed an Inversion IPA from Deschutes. My mental notes from Matt's are a little blurry because Andy was flirting with an older woman (she was probably 60-65 years old) and I was getting jealous. At #5 of 7, Coyote Joe's, I sipped a Moose Drool while enjoying a hot dog. I hadn't realized how hungry I was, and it seemed that all of the day's beer caught up to me here. Andy agreed that we needed to get some food, so we headed over to Firehouse Kitchen after getting slightly lost in downtown Prescott. By this point the sun was down and I was not prepared for the drop in 20 degrees. We enjoyed #6 of 7 at the Firehouse (some kind of hefeweizen) along with some bruschetta, a salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and green chili soup. To reach #7 of 7, The Raven, we had to traverse the entire downtown (from one end to the other, at least 2 or 3 blocks), so we decided to bike. Good thing because I couldn't have imagined walking that. I ordered a Dale's Pale Ale and panicked when they said they were out, so I copied Andy and ordered a Deschutes Obsidian stout. This would have been a delicious beer on its own, but after the day's effort, I'm ashamed to admit I could barely choke it down. Last up was the 1 mile hill climb back to our hotel and I was granny gear the whole way. By this point it was really late (probably 9:00PM) and we crashed hard, having earned our 7 stamps. I am proud to have completed this brutal challenge and am already looking forward to next year! Good times and congrats to everyone who participated. That's all I have on my lunch break so back to the real world.
^ Dude, I almost started crying reading your tale of woe (or is that tail of woe?... whatever). Glad you had a good time. It's a great event. - shud
Holy Cow I am old. I completely forgot about all the cool stuff that happened along the way. The roadside drum circle... that was cool. At the top of the road climb there was a small group of folks mascarading as a feed zone. They held out a cup and asked if I wanted a beer... I accepted thinking that they were just joking. They weren't, and boy did it taste good! I kicked up the pace and scurried away knowing that a cold pint awaited me at the finish. Alas the big disappointment was that I was only able to manage the pre-ride and DNF'd the Watering Hole Challenge. Oh well, next year!
Great event in Prescott. First single speed race for me on my 29er SS. 5:50 minute ride time, cleared the lower part of the Skull valley climb(changed rear cog to a 22) and walked about a 1/3rd of the climb from the rest stop to the top of Preito. Fun race and the town was terrific with a great cycling vibe. Thanks to Southwest Sounds(Ed) who talked me into the 22 cog. He's a one man shop and the single speed guru in Prescott. Next time check out his little shop. He has a great selection of SS frames and parts. Only bummer was the two people who I had to hang with who one broke their collarbone and the other broke her upper arm.
I can't wait till next year! I was telling Sailor Ripley I wouldn't recognize Jeff if he's not on a Tandem, and I didn't. We sat in front of him and Andy on the grass, we even chatted a bit about being from Orange County. Everything about this event was awesome. If I was still drinking I would have dominated the waterhole challenge! Then again, if I was still drinking there would be no way in hell I'd be at a mountain bike race in Prescott. I know we could have done it without alcoholic beverages, but Kimmi and I really wanted to catch the UFC fights at buffalo wild wings. Here's the radness that was 500+ bikers hitting single track at the same time.
Whoa! So glad I didn't have to see that. It was such fun stuff to ride. I didn't even realize I had done 10+ miles when the first real descent started.
This was my first Whiskey 50 and one of the best bike events I have ever been too!!! The whole town had a true bike buzz vibe!!! Good trails, beer, food, live music, and a pub crawl (aka watering hole challenge). What more could you ask for. The trails were pretty sweet also!!! Weather was perfect for biking, cool air, warm sun, except the head wind climbing out of skull valley. ugg... Since I wasn't familiar with the route, I decided to ease into the 50 miles and see where it took me. I experienced the typical fashion of bottle necks on initial 10 miles of single track, oh well be patient, we have a lot of trail left. Then the first descent appeared. It was pretty fast and loose with some technical stuff. Just enough to make my hard tail bounce around and slide a little more than I wanted to on a few corners, but I was able to keep the rubber side down. Hit the bottom and started a climb. Ok how long is this going to last. Just as I was getting worried, the first aid station appeared and the big fire road descent into skull valley. A little way down I thought wow I haven't seen anybody coming up yet, hummmm...... Then a little further down I saw the lead rider, then #2 then #3,4,5,6...... I stopped counting, but it was a lot. Finally hit aid station 2 and the turnaround point. Most riders around me didn't even stop. I said shit I'm getting off my bike to refill water. So I did and took a little time, had some food and hit the climb back out of skull valley. The head wind on the lower portion just sucked. I felt like I was pushing but not moving.... This could be a long one. Then I saw a few riders ahead of me and noticed I was closing on them. Spirits picked up and I passed them. Then a few more appeared and things weren't all that bad. After grinding for a while aid station 3 appeared. Judging my mileage I had about 4 miles of climbing left??? I still have enough water......, so I kept on climbing without a stop. ooops.... shouldn't have done that. I ran out about 2 miles before the top. Right about the time I came by the drummers. Climbed a little more, hit the top and life came back as I started the last descent. Sweet all down hill from here, right. Had some fast flowing ss, then hit a left turn and what.... the trail turned up with loose shale covering the trail with no solid line. OK. We can do this. I stopped to raise my seat I had lowered for the descent because I didn't want to cramp up climbing with a low seat. Only to turn the cranks a few times when bammm!! left leg cramped with about 200 yards of climbing left. uuuuu. I tried to rub the cramp out as rider after rider passed me, after I had passed them on the climb. I think 5 or 6 riders in all. But I got lucky. After choking some Hammer Electrolytes down, the cramps subsided and I was riding again, although gingerly you might add. In the end, the final descent had some great single track, a little of everything, little tech, water crossings, fast flowing, you name it.... Then I hit the pavement, oh cool almost there. And to make it even better they coned off a lane for the bikers and stopped traffic at the intersections. That's right the mountain biker had the right of way. I came bombing down toward a red light and as I started to hit my brakes, I notice a police officer stopping traffic and waving me through. How cool is that!!! Then just a few blocks from the finish I hit the final hill, (after 50 miles it seems like a lot more than it is,) I was able to reel in the last two riders that passed me while I was cramped up. Swung around the last turn and through the finish. Done 4:07. Wow what a cool ride!!! I definitely recommend this event to anybody interested.
glad you guys had a good time.....I was out on the course making sure none got lost. lots of good riding here...stop into High Gear Bike Shop we'll set you up with a map and send you to Sedona just kidding. BTW...if you missed the Whiskey Offroad race or you liked it and want more of what Prescott has to offer come back in October for the Wonderschluatt festival to be held from October 14th through October 16th. http://www.wonderschlautt.com/ Cheers Billy
