Ride to the Whiskey

I had not been riding much and “training” even less. I needed a goal, but none of the races I had done in the past were getting me on the bike in earnest. I needed something new, something crazy, something stupid and that’s when it hit me: I’ll ride to the Whiskey Off-Road from Mcdowell Mountain Cycles in Fountain Hills, AZ. And I’ll do it on dirt.

Epic Rides puts on great mountain bike races and they put on even better parties The Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott is a weekend we all look forward to every year. And let’s face it, after 135 miles of dirt and 15,000-ish feet of climbing, you deserve a good bike party. All I needed was some support, a proper bike for the mission and a few crazy cohorts.

I solved the bike issue by scoring one of our Open Unbeaten Paths. If you’re curious, I wrote about my bike build and initial impressions here. Then I hit up some of my more crazy/capable friends with my plan and fortunately Harry and Vince signed on. I now knew who were the true nutcases in my circle of bike friends.

The hardest part was finding support. I’d heard nightmarish stories about the road conditions and I knew for a fact that we’d be way “out there” for long stretches. Without me asking, my dad and uncle stepped up. The ride was on.

There’s a lot to tell about an adventure like this. From the bikes, to the terrain, to the most important component (in anything), the people. But I’ll stop here and invite you to enjoy the shots from our unconventional Whiskey weekend. We can’t wait for next year.

Brent