Tony's story: Bovine Classic

BaseCamp athlete Tony Powell shared his experience at the 2026 Bovine Classic bike race in California.

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Rode my last event of the year this past weekend. Did the Bovine Classic short course (aka Happy Bovine). This was in central California, about a 3- to 4-hour drive for me. The course was a mix of paved, gravel, and dirt roads around vineyards and hills, starting in a small town named Atascadero. It was a timed event, with the placings based on certain segments along the course. The short course only had one segment (through a canyon), which I placed 52nd out of 99 for the men on the short course. The day started out really foggy and pretty chilly but turned into a nice, sunny day within an hour or so of starting. I managed to stay on my bike through the gravel and dirt sections and was pretty happy with my off-road skills, which is something I've been working on for the last few months. No mechanical issues, so very happy about that, as well. My goal was to finish in 4 hours or less and ended up with a time of 3 hours and 40 minutes. Overall a nice challenging ride to close out the year.