An epic day in Carson City

Stoked and epic.

Those were words thrown around quite a bit Saturday during the Carson City Off-Road mountain bike racing event presented by Epic Rides.

And when you have a dairy farmer who operates out of Yerington, lives in Carson City after moving from Santa Barbara become one of the top finishers in one of the event’s races, what else can you say but that’s epic?

Event manager Kurt Meyer couldn’t have been more pleased with how the event was going Saturday. “It’s been just epic,” said Meyer, former Carson City’s recreation manager. “People are just stoked. They’re going to be stoked for days. Everybody here is smiling.”

Meyer said it’s obviously been an advantage to be a former city employee to work with city staff to put on the event. “They’re awesome,” said Meyer about the city. “They truly rolled out the red carpet.”

About 175 volunteers are helping to put the event on and Meyer said he believes the event can become just as big in the summer as the Nevada Day event is in the fall.

Carson City Visitors Bureau Executive Director Joel Dunn agreed with that sentiment. This year’s event was limited to 650 riders and sold out six weeks before the event started.

“We actually could have easily doubled that,” said Dunn, adding he has no doubt the event is going to eventually reach the 2,000 riders who participate in the Epic Rides Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Ariz.

Carson City has a five-year agreement with Epic Rides to hold the event.

“By year three or four, we’re going to kill it,” Meyer said.

Meyer admitted the unusually cool and windy weather has contributed to the success of the event. He noted there were riders dealing with the snow when they covered to the course.

Chad Turner, 42, finished fourth in the men’s open 35-mile race.

“I was surprised. I just came out here to cheer everybody else,” said Turner about coming to the awards stand. “When the called my name I was really shocked.”

Turner moved to Carson City from Santa Barbara in 1997 and bought a dairy farm in Yerington. He still operates the dairy farm and lives in Carson City. “I’ve always been into surfing and mountain biking,” he said.

He also gave the event high marks, noting he’s participated in races in California and Colorado.

“It’s been great,” Turner said. “This event has been an A-plus for organization. I’ve done some races and by far this is the best one.”

Dunn said downtown business have benefited greatly from the event, but also said Carson City has benefited as a whole. He noted many riders have been coming to the area in the last few months to prepare for the event.

“Overall besides the economic benefit, we’re actually showcasing our new brand to the rest of the world,” Dunn said.

He also said the event has been a plus for local hotels. “Definitely meeting the number of nights (booked) we were hoping for this inaugural year, “Dunn said.