Carson City will be overrun with cyclists next week when the inaugural Carson City Off-Road event comes to town.
The three-day event, an Epic Rides production, features both amateur and professional events starting June 17.
The action begins Friday at 3 p.m. with the Capitol 15 Fun Ride, and at 6:30 is the pro women criterium followed by the men’s pro criterium. At 7:30 p.m. is the Blinkyman Community Ride. The criteriums should be exciting, as pro racers zip around downtown Carson City. There are 12 turns on the flat course. Several streets will be shut down because of the event. On Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and 8:45 the Capital 50 and Capital 35 races, both starting on Carson St. get under way. On Sunday at 8:30 a.m. is the men’s backcountry race followed by the start of the women’s race 10 minutes later. At 9 a.m. is the Kids Ride event.
The event also features three days of live music and an industry expo. Also, spectators will be under “open container” jurisdiction, meaning they are eligible to walk around with their favorite drink in hand while cheering on riders and listening to music.
The event will benefit Muscle Powered, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Nevada State High School Cycling League, National Interscholastic Cycling Association and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada.
It’s refreshing to see something new come to the area, though admittedly I’ve never attended or covered a cycling race. Hopefully it won’t be a one-hit wonder.
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The District 1 Little League All-Star tournament starts its annual run at Governors Field on June 29 and runs through July 10. There are three divisions — 10, 11 and 12. The format is double-elimination with a consolation bracket.
The event brings together players from Truckee, Incline Village, Tahoe City, South Lake Tahoe, Reno, Sparks, Gardnerville/Minden and of course Carson City.
In the 12 years I’ve been here, teams from Reno and Sparks have been dominant. The winner of the event goes to Elko for the state tournament later in July.
The last 12-year-old team to make state was a group that included several current well-known Carson High athletes, including Jace Keema, Tez Allen and Jayden DeJoseph.
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Also coming up is the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Golf & Country Club.
The tournament runs June 27 through July 3. The dates are a little different this year because of the Summer Olympics in Brazil.
J.J. Henry won the event last year, and Vaughn Taylor is the only player in Barracuda history to win the tournament in back-to-back years. Henry has also won the tournament twice. Geoff Ogilvy, Gary Woodland, Scott Verplank, John Cook, Scott Piercy, Notah Begay III, Kirk Triplett, John Rollins, Chris Riley, Steve Flesch, Matt Bettencourt and Parker McLachlin are among the past winners.
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And, speaking of golf, one thing definitely missing in this area is a city golf championship. If it can work in a big city like Albuquerque, N.M., it should be able to work in Northern Nevada.
The tournament in New Mexico rotates courses every year, and its played over the course of two weekends. You have a few good courses here in Carson, and if you wanted to expand to Genoa and Dayton Valley, you have some pretty good venues.
It would be nice to see city officials to get in the same room with golf course managers and make this happen. Of course that means people have to get along with each other, and we know that’s not always an easy thing around here. Come on people, let’s make this happen.
