The Whiskey fiddie was bound to be a good measuring stick of about where the fitness is this early in the riding season. The weather was just about perfect where it warmed up into the 70's during the day. It had rained earlier in the week so the moisture helped to 'tacky' up the trails so they were not too dry and dusty.
It was my first trip into Prescott to ride and the trails did not disappoint. Prescott sits at a little higher elevation and the course topped out at around 7,000 ft which provided a little extra challenge to flat landers. Fortunately the altitude was right in my wheelhouse since Butte sits at around 5,300ft and many of the trails we ride on are between around 6,000 to 7,000 ft of elevation.
The race started at 7:30 which meant there was a little nip in the air. I erred on the side of caution and wore knee warmers and white arm warmers/sun protectors. It felt great at the start of the race but I found myself rolling down my sleeves about an hour in order to try and cool off a little. I would pay for wearing the knee warmers on the big climb out of skull valley but it is always easier to remove layers than to add layers you did not take....
The start was fast and the organizers somehow encouraged the singlespeeders to line up towards the front of the event which was great for those of us on the singles but probably not ideal for all those gearies behind us. We had around 4 miles of pavement until we hit the dirt. The pavement thinned out the herd, and then thinned it out even more about 2 miles in when the grade kicked up a notch and got steeper. By the time we hit the dirt road, most of us were more or less about where we would be throughout the day. THe course had more or less sorted riders out within the first 4 miles.
As the road turned from dirt road to singletrack, there was a big bottleneck where there was a stream crossing and minor tek section that was very very rideable but somehow managed to stop riders and back us up many riders deep. These situations are always interesting to me because it sometimes brings out the worst in people.
Instead of waiting your turn in line, some eager beavers just HAD to try and forge their way around you. These self centered jackasses basically just thought they were more important than everyone else who had enough sensibility to wait their turn to walk their bikes. As frustrated as most of us might have been at having to get off the bike and wait as things cleared up, we all just moo'd our way along.
One guy decided he would go off trail and short cut the big switchback and consequently move his spot up about 100 places. Another chick got off her bike and started to walk around everyone while saying 'singlespeed female coming through'....At some point, you just have to wonder whether Darwin held back some IQ points as they must have forgotten about the team kits they were wearing. Needless to say, it was poor form.
As the conga line cleared up, we continued to climb on steady singletrack and there were a handful of places where dismounts were required once again to very slight tech terrain that was enough to cause disruption.
The first downhill we got to was steep and rocky! Not big rocks, but lots of waterbars and enough rocks that you did not want to fall...a fall would have definitely left some skin and blood behind. By this time we were about 9 miles in and I was just trying to find the good lines on the descent. Riding a hardtail on steep and fast descents makes a guy pay attention to lines and while trying to find the flow. I managed to more or less stay close to the guys in front of me who were riding full squishees so I was able to not lose my place in the conga line too much. I even managed to pass a handful of peeps on the downhill. There were a couple of spots where there were some nice drop offs and you had to pick your line carefully or else you could end up going ass over tea kettle much like one of the riders in front of me who had a total yard sale and rolled a few times while still being clipped in. Fortunately he was OK and no serious damage was done.
The downhill continued until it spit us out onto the dirt road where we would climb for a couple miles until we hit the aid station. At the aid station, the fiddie riders hung a left and started the out and back down into skull valley. The ride down was fast and I kept thinking the first 3 miles downhill were really fast and they would be brutal coming back up. I picked my line carefully and even managed to pass a few geared guys thanks to gravity working its charm. Once the grade eased back up, those same gearies passed me up as I spun at around a 120 cadence to try to keep up....come on little legs!
About 11 miles into the descent (and about the mid-way point of the race), we reached the aid station at the bottom where I promptly filled up my water bottles and started the trek back out of the valley. The first 7 miles were pretty casual and then it kicked up and got mean for the last 3! I was up out of my saddle for the last 3 miles and dug deep to find some intestinal fortitude to keep pedaling....we finally made it back up to the aid station only to realize there was about another 3 miles of steep climbing ahead of us...urggggg
At this point it felt like it was getting HOT. We were on the side of the ridge where it seemed like it was dead air. I started to get chills from being dehydrated and the infamous cramp hill was living up to its namesake. I pounded a few Hammer electrolyte pills and continued to suck down water. We crested a summit where there were a bunch of people cheering the riders on and telling us we had crested the top. I fed off that energy for about a quarter mile until I realized the climbing was not quite yet done....at least the steep stuff was done though. It was only about another mile of mellower climbing and then onto some singletrack where it had a bit of a steep kicker for a bit and then it was time to head down down down.
The downhill was really fun. I got reeled in by a couple of geared and squishies but managed to keep a good pace downhill through multiple stream crossings. After some great descending, we had a short hill and then more downhill to the paved road where it was 4 miles back to the finish. I managed to get on a couple of geared guys' wheels and stayed with them for a bit until it flattened out and they managed to pull away. The finish came quickly enough and I was glad to have finished without mechanicals or major setbacks.
As always, you always feel like you could go faster or do things slightly differently but at the end of the day, it was an awesome day on the trails and a good day to lay down some base.
Overall, the course is fast! My official time was 4 hrs 39 minutes and there is definitely room for gains on fitness but all things considered, it was a good day in the saddle!
A big thumbs up to the Whiskey for a great event. There was a really strong field of singlespeeders who laid down the gauntlet. The winner of the amateur race was a singlespeeder...major major props to the SS brigade who showed up in force at the Whiskey!
I look forward to a return trip to take it all in again.
