Whiskey Off Road to Ireland!

The last couple weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for sure. Back in January my industry partners and I put together a schedule of events for the season and two of the most important fell in April. Leading up to what was supposed to be a period of top form I experienced none of the usual sensations of being on target.

The reoccurring muscle spasms in my hips, back and upper quads were as bad as ever in the days following Sea Otter and while I must thank my friends Seth and Aaron for all the helpful body work, I was only marginally better. The fatigue that has been with me for over two years seemed to flourish with the stress of travel and racing and luckily I had a doctor appointment for more blood tests the day after returning home from California.

The results came two days later and I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr. While this is obviously not good news, it was sort of vindication for years of symptoms. Night sweats, muscle spasms, chronic fatigue, non-existent recovery, craving/binging episodes, short term memory loss, lapses in judgment, hypoglycemia, low WBC, were just some of the battles I have fought since April of 2009.

When Epic Rides had announced that the 2011 Whiskey Off-Road event would pay out a trip to Single Speed World Championships we decided this would be one of my top priorities for the season. Now with my beating at Sea Otter and subsequent diagnosis with EB it seemed like only a mirage on a dismal horizon!

I rested and did my best to be prepared for the trip to Arizona and we drove down arriving the night before the 50 mile event. I took a short ride after a couple days of no bike riding and felt mediocre at best. The next morning as the shotgun sounded the start and I wasn’t even remotely comfortable on the bike.

We left town and climbed toward the first section of single track. I kept telling myself that the race was long and the knots in my hips and hamstrings would loosen but my heartrate was way too high and soon I was a couple minutes off the leaders’ pace. My anxiety was beginning to hamper my ability to ride as I was even off my bike on uphills that should have been rideable and slow on the technical descents that I would normally crave.

On the ensuing jeep road climb, I passed many of the geared riders but had none of the three single speeder leaders were in sight. Eventually we started down the out/back to Skull Valley and I tucked myself into a bullet, trying in vain to stretch my screaming left hamstring. Halfway down I caught Dejay Birch (Niner) who was drafting a geared rider. We descended the rest of the way to the turn around together and amazingly came in contact with the other two single speed leaders at the bottom.

Despite catching them, I couldn’t locate my pit man and ended up losing another half minute grabbing a bottle. After resuming the chase it didn’t take long to rejoin the lead. As the road from Skull Valley tilted up, I went to the front and only Dax Massey (Honey Stinger) was able to match my pace. Despite still feeling rough and uncomfortable, I was able to settle into a manageable pace and stay seated on the steepest pitches.

The climb was difficult but actually enjoyable as it constantly changed grade and character. The vistas were pristine but the wind was interminable and seemed to be continually into our faces from one angle or another. This made it next to impossible to break away so I patiently waited for an opportunity to test Massey’s metal.

Several miles into the climb I could see that there was a short steep section ahead so I stood to stretch my hips and hamstrings. In doing so, I accelerated and I noticed that Dax had lost contact. I continued to stand over the crest and then sat and spun up my 34-16 as the road flattened. After reaching the next step in the road there was significant gap so I returned to my initial pace knowing that the wind was now buffeting us equally and my lead would surely increase.

By the time I reached the start of the out/back section all of my competition was out of sight but there were still several miles of climbing to go. Luckily the road turned and the wind moved towards the rear making it marginally easier to turn over the pedals. Soon I reached the top and enjoyed a beautiful descent before tackling the last steep, loose climb where I dismounted for a short run to the last summit.

From there it was rolling downhill with numerous stream crossings and occasional fans cheering me on. These trails were faster and more open than those at the beginning of the race and I was able to tuck in and make short work of these last few miles of lovely single track before hitting the pavement where a motorcycle escort was waiting to whisk me back to town.

It was almost like motor pacing and if anything I pushed a bit hard trying to keep up with the cops but before long we made the turn uphill towards the courthouse and I knew that victory was as sure as it could be. After the final left turn, I raised my arms not so much in celebration but more like I was springing to the surface after holding my breath under water! I was overcome by a sense of relief knowing that I had tamed my doubts and delivered what had seemed so uncertain just a few hours before!

Now, I must thank my family for their support of this crazy passion and my friends who believe in my ambitions and help facilitate these racing endeavors. Also thanks to Epic Rides and Todd Sadow for offering me a stellar event to race and rewarding me with such an awesome prize! Now it is time to get well, plan for healthy days to come, and look forward to a visit to Ireland in August!

Here is a look at the ride courtesy of Garmin:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83088112