One chilly January night I was in the mood. You know those evenings when you're all snuggly warm in your pajamas and you're just browsing through the internet dreaming about the days to come? It was one of those nights. I was dreaming of riding my bike, fast and furious and so I logged in, gave them my credit card and was signed up for the 25 proof Whiskey Off Road Race. It was January. It was freezing outside. In fact it might have even been snowing. But I was in the mood.
The reality of signing up for the Whiskey hit me as I looked at the following two pieces of information:
| Average Max. Temperature (F) | Average Min. Temperature (F) | Average Total Precipitation (in.) | Average Total SnowFall (in.) | |
| Jan | 50.7 | 21.3 | 1.74 | 6.1 |
| Feb | 54 | 24.1 | 1.86 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 59.1 | 28.4 | 1.74 | 5.1 |
Yes, that is the temperature average in Prescott. I totally agree with you, that is a lot of precipitation, that generally comes in snow January through March.
So what's a girl to do except get out and get after it.
First things first though. Last January I turned a whopping 42 and I decided I was now officially an adult. (I know it takes me a little longer to reach maturity than others!) As an adult I could afford to buy myself a great birthday present - a bike. I went to the bike shop down the street where we purchased Balin's Specialized last year and said, "What cha got that will make me go fast".
Yup - this little bike looks as good as she rides. She's the 29" Fate - Carbon Fiber makes her light and the 29" wheels make her go over everything - and I do mean everything!
Balin had one comment before I went shopping - "You can't spend more than what we paid for my bike". I said sure honey, not a problem. But then the salesman got talkin' and I started thinking, "I'm an adult now, I can afford this bike." (I kept thinking of my dad during this process as he would've said the same thing)
Balin was a little upset that my bike was more than his, but he changed his tune once we got on the trails. His comment over and over was, "you are such a better rider on that bike - we should've upgraded you a long time ago." Thank you. I agree.
Now mind you, being faster on this bike wasn't a huge accomplishment. I was out of shape and a little overwhelmed at the task before me. I had to ride 31.5 miles by the end of April without wanting to die in the midst of it. Ok. Start small. Baby steps.
First step, big hill on Copper Basin. So I put my long underwear on and winter jacket and started my training. Up Copper Basin. The first two/three times I made it to the base of the "big hill" and turned around. Next. The big hill, and I'm not joking when I say it's a big hill. The first time I did it I thought I was going to puke - it was a hill that literally went straight up. (In fact, during the race I heard quite a bit of puking and lots of people walking up this very hill!)
Next, make it to the trail head. Ok. It was February and I had a couple of weeks of training in and I was just getting to the trail head. Wow. Only 25 miles on single track to go. But we kept training, a little bit more every time. Once we got to the trail it was actually fun, most of the time. It's not so fun to fly over your handle bars as you take a turn a little too fast or hit your front brakes a little hard - I've got scar tissue to show what that looks like.
March came and Balin asked me if I wanted to go on a trip with him for work. I looked at him and with hesitation in my voice, asked how many days of training would I miss. He looked at me cross eyed and didn't answer me. I was committed and going to Las Vegas and indulging myself was not part of my training program. I went anyway and reluctantly spent the day at the spa as part of my training and detox program. (Does it sound like it was work? Trust me, it was!)
By the time April rolled around I found that training twice a week had done its job and I was ready for the ride. Well, I was ready in that I could ride without dying the 31.5 miles in under 5 hours, but I wasn't sure I could ride with the other 800 people without freaking out. You see I have a "politeness problem". Whenever I hear someone behind me I almost immediately pull over and stop so that they can pass me. I was freaking out because pulling over for hundreds of people was going to prove to be a problem. I was certain that I would be slower than everybody and I would constantly have to stop and pull over for others.
The race day day came and I was starting to get nervous. Would I get up the "Big Hill", would everyone pass me? Was this going to be fun or drudgery?
We got in line with literally hundreds of other people - it seemed like I knew someone everywhere we looked and so the time passed by quickly. The countdown started and BAM! nothing. There were so many people that no one moved except the very front people. 5 minutes later it was finally our turn. As we rode passed Park Avenue (my street) and Country Club I felt akin with Greg Lamond as neighbors and friends lined the streets cheering me on! One fellow riding next to me said, "You're famous around here!" It was great and I love the distraction!
The big hill came and low and behold - I was passing people. "On your left" was my phrase and I was feeling pretty good. As I mentioned earlier, people started to slow down, walk and puke - and I wasn't even feeling it. I was even chatting with people next to me as I asked them where they were from. Oh to be from Sea Level - not where you want to train for a race at 6000'.
As we came to the single track something happened that I didn't expect; we stopped. It was like L.A. traffic on I-5. Nobody was moving. Didn't expect that. It was kind of nice. I rested. Got to know my neighbors. I kind of enjoyed it. It took the pressure off to ride fast on the single track - at least for the moment.
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| The real race - standing and waiting for the crowds to disappear. |
Once we hit the up hill single track everyone thinned out and we got to riding at a nice clip. I found myself really enjoying myself. At least for a while. The rest of the ride was...like child birth. When it's happening it SUCKS but in retrospect it was a great experience. The only thing that made me feel a little better during the last 15 miles of the race was that I wasn't riding the 50 mile race. Sometimes comparison does make you feel better.
Balin on the other hand had a tough ride. The weekend before he rocked the ride in 3.5 hours but got heat exhaustion (it was in the 80's that day) during the race and finished just over 4 hours. He welcomed the kids at the finish line by throwing up.
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| Team jersey's were bought by FSR as we had 5 employees ride. |
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| The following day the kids had a 2 mile "race" that they rocked. |
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| Peter, my nephew, rode the 15 proof on Friday afternoon. He flew through the miles and was wanting to do the 25 the next day but the race was sold out. The boy can ride. |
The following Friday we went to the bike shop and got Perrin her very first geared mountain bike, complete with front suspension. We told her that we were happy to help purchase the bike, but she had to pay $100 out of her own savings. She gladly agreed and said, "That's a good thing to spend my money on mom!" I couldn't agree more.
All in all, the race was a huge success. The pain and pressure of training has quickly become a thing of the past and we look forward to next year.
This past weekend we spent the entire weekend at the cabin. The kids had playdates on Saturday so Balin and I were able to put some miles on the bike. It was so much fun to ride for 10-15 miles and feel great the whole time. The rewards don't stop at the finish line.
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