Toby Guillette: Athlete, Adventurer, Social Media Expert

My first mountain bike race out of retirement was quite the challenge. In the days leading up to the trip, I suffered through a major bout with food poisoning and lost 7 pounds. The trip was fun but I struggled with heavy cramping in my legs during the race. Here's my trip and race report...




My buddy James and I headed out to Scottsdale, AZ on Thursday afternoon and stayed with James' friend, Tom. That night, after the first meal I was able to stomach in over 36 hours, I had a great night's sleep and was feeling good enough for ride in the morning.

We hit up McDowell Mountain Park and rode about 12 miles of super-fun single track. It felt good to stretch the legs after being sick and missing a few of my last workouts.



Then we packed up and headed north to Prescott, AZ to get checked in for our race.



Goregous views on the drive from Scottsdale to Prescott.

After checking in to the race, we met Ryan and Sarah at the rental cottage.



We grilled a bunch of good food and then prepped our gear for the race and turned in early.

Race-day, James and Ryan headed out early for the 50-mile race. I got my final things dialed and headed over to the start of my race.

The race started on the road which helped the field get spread out and let the faster riders pull ahead. After being sick in the days prior, I knew I was in for an adventure more than a race at this point so I just sat in and lead it out comfortably.

Once we hit the single track climb, I began to get my legs, but the elevation definitely was evident. The town itself was at 5,200' so we were up there. We topped out eventually and hit a gnarly descent that seemed to last forever. I checked then mileage and we were at about 12.5 miles when we hit the bottom.

That's when my legs began to cramp. I started with a slight twinge in my hamstring and as I took on the 6-mile climb that topped out at nearly 7,000', my legs just kept getting worse. My hamstrings and quads just kept locking up in spasms. It was an uncomfortable feeling that I've experienced before with some of my early ultra running endeavors. I knew my body was off from being sick, but didn't realize how out-of-balance my system really was until this point.



A view from the top

I held on and finally crest the final big climb and began the long single track descent back into town, while fighting off the muscle spasms and stopping to stretch out whenever the cramps locked up my legs.




It felt like it took forever, which it did, (the 25-mile race was actually 29.8 miles), but I managed to get back to town and finished in 4.5hrs.

I rode back to the cottage to find James chilling after he and Ryan (definitely read their reports) crushed the 50-mile course. They both had great races.

Then we cracked some brews and hit Whiskey Row to check out the scene. If you go anywhere in Prescott, make sure you go to the Raven Cafe. Hands-down, the best spot in town. Check out their roof-top deck too. That place was rad. High-quality healthy food and an impressive beer selection.





A bunch of food and brews later, it was an early night to sleep and the next day we packed up and headed out for one last mtb ride before the 400-mile drive back to San Diego. We hit up the trails at Granite Basin and got in a nice spin. Then made one more stop at the Raven for breakfast.



All in all, the race itself could have gone better if I wasn't still recovering from being sick, but I definetely made the most it and enjoyed a solid trip with great company, three days of riding and really good beers. Cheers!