One of my biking goals for 2022 is to successfully finish the Whiskey Off-Road race. There are 3 options for the race: 15 miles, 30 miles, and 50 miles. I registered for the 30 mile option and as of Saturday April 30, 2022, I can claim the title of “Whiskey finisher.” Yay!

It was a challenging ride and I seriously considered backing out, mainly because I was “getting in my head” and doubting that I could finish the race without cramping or crashing. However, when I brought up the idea of backing out to a few friends (a.k.a., my “emotional support crew”), they were appalled. NO WAY was I going to back out. They booked that weekend off and they were going to see me through it! They told me I did the training and that I’m so strong! And, they were going to bring wine and snacks for the weekend!

Ok, fine.

In retrospect, overall, the race course wasn’t THAT bad. The first 9 miles included most of the climbing for the whole course (about 2,000 ft of the 3,336 ft) and was mostly on dirt roads. The rest of the course was a mix of flowy singletrack, some technical downhill, and some annoying, but short, climbs. It’s hard to capture the experience in words, but I’ll try….

According to Velo News, the Whiskey Off-Road race is one of the US’ most iconic mountain bike races, sending professional riders on a 50-mile course with 6,100 feet of climbing in the Prescott National Forest. Since 2011, this race has paid pro men and women equally, and the 2022 event had a $30,000 purse. The pro race started at 7am and the amateur race was staggered in 4 “waves” to spread out the riders on the course (i.e., there were 4 “waves,” or groups that started 15 minutes apart). There were about 2,000 riders — pro and amateur — total!

When you register for the race online, you are supposed to indicate your anticipated finish time. That information assigns you to a “wave.” I guessed that I would finish the 32 mile course in 5 to 5.5 hours (the 30 mile course is actually 32 miles). That guess put me in wave 4, which was the last wave to start racing. Wave 4 was the largest wave with about 350 riders. My wave did not start until 9:50am, so I had plenty of time to visit with friends, check out the start line, and soak in the atmosphere.

If I could sum up the Whiskey atmosphere in one word, that word would be “spirited” (pun intended)! Everyone was super “stoked” (mountain bike slang for “excited”) to be there and hang out in Prescott for the weekend. It was fun to see all the vendors’ wares and share in the nervous energy. Basically, the whole race weekend was a huge bike party!

As I was in my “wave” waiting for it to start, I remember feeling the same thing I felt before my recitals: can this thing just START already? I always found waiting to be harder than actually performing and this bike race was no exception. Finally, the countdown started and the gunshot sounded and we were off….slowly. Most everyone in my wave was pacing themselves, especially because of that initial 9 mile climb I mentioned earlier. Many of Prescott’s citizens were watching the race on both sides of the course; hearing their cheers, encouragement, and cowbells (yes, a lot of people were ringing bells) was really nice! I felt pretty good on the initial climb and kept a consistent, moderate pace. My first goal was to finish the initial climb; I knew that that would be a psychological mood booster! My second goal was to reach the 16 mile check-in station before 1:20pm because that meant I would NOT be disqualified. (I don’t remember when I arrived at the 16 mile check-in station, but it was well before 1:20pm.) When I arrived, I asked if there was water there, but to my chagrin, there wasn’t any water. I wasn’t out of water, but I was running low and wanted to fill up. The check-in people said there was water in 2 miles. Um, ok. Turned out that that information was WRONG. There wasn’t any water until the mile 22 aid station! I was tired and a wee bit shaky by that point and was relieved to finally reach mile 22. I filled up my hydration pack and ate some pickles, which reenergized me immensely. Pickles are amazing. I had never eaten pickles on a long ride before, but now, I definitely will! They are magical (must be the salt in them).

My main goal was to keep moving, whether that meant riding or walking my bike. Fortunately, I only had to walk my bike a few times (i.e., when I got stuck behind other riders on a technical section or a nasty climb). I was able to ride all the technical sections (when I wasn’t stuck behind riders) and felt really good about that, especially because I was riding the course “blind” (i.e., I didn’t pre-ride the course). I actually received three compliments on my riding during the race! The first was when one guy told me that he was using me as a “pacer” because my pace was steady, I was taking really good lines, and shaking out my hands at the same time he was to loosen them up! (Interesting criteria to have for choosing a pacer, but ok…) The second was when a different guy told me that I “crushed that downhill section” and took “awesome lines!” 🙂 My friends Cheryl and Scott also raced in my wave and Scott said that at one point, he saw that I was towing (i.e., leading) 7 or 8 guys down a technical downhill section and that they all looked confused about how to ride said downhill section until I “showed them how to do it.” 😀 It’s always nice to get real-time feedback! Honestly, I was surprised at how many guys I passed and how many didn’t seem to have the skill to ride the downhill sections.

The last 8 miles were a mix of fatigue (how much longer?), relief (I finally got some water!), and elation (I’m done!). A few bright spots during the last 5 miles included Prescott locals cheering all the racers on, seeing my “emotional support crew” wave and yell boisterously (woohoo!), more locals offering whiskey shots shortly before the final left turn onto the pavement, then hitting that gloriously smooth downhill sprint for the last 3.5 miles to the finish line. My official time is 4 hours and 21 minutes, which I think is a respectable time for my first Whiskey. In addition to being super happy about finishing in one piece, I was also very pleased that I did not cramp (thank you, Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes! No, this message is not sponsored).

After taking some post-race pictures, my crew went back to our Airbnb and relaxed with 90s TV, wine, and snacks. I’m so happy I could share this experience with friends and challenge myself with something I NEVER thought I’d do.

What did I do to prepare? What did I do during the race?

• I only “trained” for a month. I did a long ride on the weekends, with an emphasis on climbing. The long rides I did leading up to the Whiskey race included the ATM (“around the mountain,” i.e., South Mountain), multiple laps of the Alpe d’Huez climb in the Hawes trail system, and cobbling together a South Mountain route that included the Helipad, Mormon, and Beverly Canyon climbs.
• I prepared a goodie baggie for my top tube bag that contained some Shot Bloks and Endurolytes. I put some Skratch Labs powder in my water for calories and electrolytes. It was my first time using Skratch Lab and I really liked it. I’ll definitely use that again for long rides.
• I pretty much ate whatever I wanted the night before, i.e., “carb loading.” I also made sure to drink lots of water the day before.
• I did not listen to music during the race. I don’t think the official rules allowed that, but even if they did, I don’t think I would have used my Airpods to listen to music/podcasts. I didn’t want any distractions!
• During the race, I focused on steady breathing for the climbs. For the more technical sections, I tried to keep looking ahead and be in the proper descending position (i.e., low and back). I also tried to keep my breaks at the two aid stations to a minimum to avoid stiffening up and wasting time.
• Overall, I wanted to “ride my ride” and not be concerned with how anyone else was doing. I think I met that goal.

One more mountain biking goal crossed off my 2022 list. 🙂