July 15th, 2019

Pascal Bonaventure, Justin Rivers, and Dan Mahlum participated in the Carson City 50 mile MTB race which is part of the Epic series (Whiskey 50, Grand Junction, Carson city and OZ trails).
Dan and Justin entered the Open men and finished 14th and 37th respectively.  There were 150 participants in this class.  Pascal entered the Masters Men 45+ which had 100 participants.  He finished 3rd.  Below is a brief description of Pascal’s race.

I had always wanted to race on the amazing trails near Lake Tahoe.  The race was originally scheduled for early June but because of the unusual amount of snow the race was postponed to late June.  Despite the later date the original course was shortened (48 miles instead of 52 instead) due to patches of snow on the highest trails.   The race started by a long climb on a paved road transitioning to a dirt road followed by a long single track with many switchbacks and beautiful views (Ash Canyon to Kings Canyon trail) and a flowing descent to Kings Canyon road.  King Canyon road is a long steady climb on a sandy deceiving fire road.   Following Kings Canyon road the fun began with the iconic Flume trail along Lake Tahoe and Snapdragon.  The return to Carson city consisted of a mixture of nasty sandy fire road and super fun flowy trails (Postal route and Jackrabbit).   Obviously elevation is playing a big role in this race. 
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My race was interesting with 2 major incidents.  On Flume trail in a tight corner at the most dangerous place (see photo) I touched a rock with my handlebar, lost my balance and went over the cliff.  Fortunately I was able to grab a big root with my hands. The 2 riders behind me stopped and pulled me out from the precipice where I was hanging.   It was scary and I was really lucky to escape without injury.  

In less than 2 minutes I was back on the bike.  Then on the final single track just before merging on the road for the final miles I flatted on a sharp rock.  At that point I was leading the master field.  I quickly re-inflated with a large CO2 and rode on a squishy tire to the finish line but I lost 2 spots and finished 1 minute behind the winner.

Dan had a really fast race in a super competitive field in the open men.  Justin also did really well, finishing in the top 40.