Whiskey Off-Road Is Ready to Roll

Photos: James Mandolini
4/16/09
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Dump some Adobo in your Camelbak: it's time for the sixth-annual Whiskey Off-Road race in Prescott (pronounced press-kit), Arizona. The name honors a historic strip near the city's center square—once Arizona's state capital—called Whiskey Row. The street's old-West feel draws thousands of tourists to Prescott every year, many of them from nearby Phoenix. And even though mountain biking is hardly a cowboy hobby, the Whiskey Off-Road fits in with the attractions.

“The town has really embraced the event,” says Todd Sadow, president of Tuscon-based Epic Rides, the company that runs the race. “On race-day they shut down the area, so our finish line can be right downtown.”

The race takes riders through Prescott National Forest, over singletrack that Sadow calls “an authentic cross-country mountain bike course.” From high desert to ponderosa pine forests, the Whiskey draws tires through loam and sand, across stiff climbs and through technical descents. “Maybe it's aspirational,” says Sadow, “but I think of it as like Leadville, but half the distance.”

Speaking of distances, there are three: you can ride either 15-, 25- or 50-mile versions of the course, appropriately called 15-, 25- and 50-proof categories. The ride benefits the Yavapai County Food Bank, for whom Sadow expects to collect about 5,000 pounds of canned foods.

The loop course is largely the same as in years past, with one exception: a 1-mile switchback climb that allows riders to eschew an 8-minute hike-a-bike section that the National Forest Service decided to route around. “The level of their cooperation has been incredible,” says Sadow of the NFS. “They're putting in new trails for us all the time.”

The Whiskey Off-Road takes place on April 25 and 26, and ends with a concert by Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers from Arizona. The city of Prescott has handed over the keys to the city square for the concert, which Sadow predicts will bring in between 3,000-5,000 people. “It's gonna be awesome,” he says. “Just awesome.”

Check out the Whiskey Off-Road site for more information.

Reader Comments

Posted Fri Apr17, 2009, 4:12 AM — By Missing Link Racing

How about that Whiskey. Cannot wait to reach the top of the final climb for a shot of that Whiskey. That will lead to a warm decent into town. Good luck to all. MLR

Posted Thu Aug20, 2009, 1:38 PM — By Aaron Aliiloa Silva

What are the requirements to ride in this race? And since I have never raced before is there a beginners entry leavel? I just want to do it for the ride. I live in Hawaii and wish to travel to AZ sometime within the next year or so. Mahalo and Aloha, Aaron

Posted Sat Mar 6, 2010, 4:50 PM — By Emily Wallace

Im trying to find out how to get registered for this race... moutain biking in prescott March 20th and the 15mile option.