The Whiskey Off Road in its 10th year has drawn
an amateur participation of over 2,000 riders and a couple hundred professional
mountain bikers to the town of Prescott Arizona at the end of every April. The event has grown to offer the largest pro
pay out heard of to date at $40,000 divided evenly amongst men and women and 12
deep within each. As a result, the
highest level riders from around the world travel to this race in hopes to
claim some of that purse.
This year was my second year racing in the professional race
and I was excited to see how I compared to the previous year. Last year, I had barely received my upgrade
to pro status and while Epic Rides does not require the professional card to
race in the professional field, this boosted my resume enough to allow the race
director to place me last minute amongst the finest riders in the world. I was semi trained for the endurance race but
not specifically ready for it and ended up enjoying the day more than others by
coming in last. This year I hoped to
pick off a few more girls in the field and feel good, overall, that I’ve gained
at least “some” improvements over the course of the last year.
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| The Fat Tire Crit , Photo by AZ Athletes In Motion |
Let’s get to it. The weekend starts on Friday with a Fat Tire
Crit. An awesome event that kicks the
weekend off for riders and spectators to watch the pro’s battle a small looped
course around downtown Prescott for 20 minutes.
We are all required to show to the event, otherwise we receive an 8
minute penalty on the Sunday’s race. The
crit is an awesome experience. Its high
intensity, there are people screaming at you, there is free beer to the
spectators, there are people dressed in costumes chasing you and yelling at
you. This year, a gorilla tried his hand
at offering beer to actual riders in the crit.
I saw one girl partake! I love it! This is what mountain biking is! I completed the crit, but I was 2nd
yanked off of course, as the rule states that if the leader is going to “lap”
you, you will be removed from course.
Slowly the field is yanked until just a few remain and they battle to the
end. This year I lasted a few minutes
longer against the field, but not by much.
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| Thumb Butte Area of the Whiskey Course, photo by AZ Athletes In Motion |
The following day we get to cheer
on the amateur division. 2,000 riders
take off into the hills of Prescott to battle in a series of categories which
include a 25 mile distance and a 50 mile distance, single speed and also with
gears. My husband, Nick, lined up with
the 25 mile distance and slaughtered the field by a huge margin and landed
himself a 1st place overall victory. He walked away “swagged” out by
Epic Rides. Always a good day. The evening ends with Roger Clyne and the
Peacemakers jamming away in downtown square and New Belgium Brewery supplying
beers at $3 a pull to keep the night going.
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| My friend Laurel and Nick, she was working Clif Bar Booth |
Sunday comes, and here is my
day. Race starts at 8 and I line up with
50 other professional mountain bike chicks.
Last year, I barely knew any of them but over the course of my first
year playing alongside these girls, I’ve made a few friends. One of them Is Christine Jeffrey’s who lines
up right beside me and tells me good luck. Give it all I have and just enjoy
the day. Always great words of
advice! The horn blows , and the police
escort the entire group of girls out of town. We stick together as a pack. We
all know the game doesn’t start until we hit dirt. Dirt being 3 miles out of town but once
there, the escort pulls off and lets us loose.
Most the girls are gone. Gone like the wind. I hold onto mid pack for a while and
maneuvering the first hour and half of the course just fine. I feel great,
flying. Next comes a nice long descent
into a place called Skull Valley tho.
Once down there, you have to turn right back around and climb 12 miles
out. This climb is gruesome because it’s
literally “all” climb. Its dirt road and
its protected from the mountains so the only thing you feel is a blistering
heat without any wind. I put my head
down and just tell myself to survive. Maybe picture myself in spin class, where
the instructor Steve has just turned the room into a hot yoga studio and
removed all the air, yelling at us to climb! CLIMB he says! Survive this and push as hard as you can. Unfortunately, my hardest wasn’t hard
enough. Most girls climbed out of the
hill within an hour and 10 minutes. It
took me close to an hour and 30 minutes to accomplish the same segment. Ugh!
Devastating!! Even worse,
but something had gone terribly wrong with my nutrition or training in that by
the time I reached the top of Skull Valley, I tried to begin my next descend
but my legs officially gave out on me and with every pedal stroke felt like my
thigh muscles were going to tear apart.
Jaime Brede who races for Honey Stinger catches me around this moment
and asks me how I’m doing (as she passes) and I yell out, “My body has given out, I’m trying to
survive!” She knows and understands the
pain and continues on. I now spend the
rest of the time trying to not do permanent damage to my body on the last
segments of this course by easy spinning my legs. There is a huge downhill segment right before
you reach the road that takes you right back into town and the finish
line. I’ve had numerous friends come out
to support me this weekend, and I had a gut feeling of the location that they
would be waiting to catch their last glimpse and cheer me on to the
finish. This location is a rock garden
taking you over a small stream, completely ride able, and I approach, I look
up… I see , 1, 2, 3, 4 friends … I’m counting them. UGH!
Great all eyes on me. One guy
yells at me, “Lines to the right”. “Uh
huh!Right!” I say. I go for it. I know
how to do it, but panic hits me with all eyes.
I will say this though, my body was drained, it could barely move and
yet somehow, knowing that my friends were going to be there to support me had
given me extra strength through that section and for the remaining of the
course.
So, I’ve learned something very
near and dear to me from this weekend. 2
things. The first thing is HUGE. I learned that the body really doesn’t
operate purely out of physical capabilities… I’ve experienced it before, but
this time its definitely hit a mark with me…. The body also is highly
functional purely on its mental state. Its determination, its desire to do
something, the adrenaline behind it, and the support of its friends and family
to push it beyond what it thinks it can do. The second thing I learned, is that this
sport takes time. While I made my goal
of picking off a few girls this year instead of winding up last, I learned that
I have a long way to go still. These
girls have put in years of dedication to get to their level and I have years to
go. Consistency, motivation, and
constantly reaching for the next milestone will allow me to continue to
grow. You may see me mid-pack amongst
this talented field in a few years. Thanks to Trisports... Adventure Bikes and my family and friends that came to support.
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