Lost and Found registration is open
Registration for the seventh annual Lost and Found Gravel Grinder in Portola being held Saturday, June 6, opened Jan. 20.
The award-winning event plans to host more than 1,600 cycling enthusiasts as it expands in 2020. “It is an important fundraiser for new recreational opportunities and important job creation in the Lost Sierra region of Northern California’s Sierra Nevada range,” said event promoter Mark Pecotich in Quincy.
Celebrating the seventh anniversary of taking adventurous cycling souls through the remote and rugged beauty of the Lost Sierra near Lake Davis, the Lost and Found Gravel Grinder offers three course lengths — 36, 67 and 106 miles — through pristine, undiscovered corners of the Sierra Nevada on some of California’s best dirt roads.
The Lost and Found can be ridden on either a gravel bike or mountain bike.
For the first time last year, the Lost and Found started and finished in downtown Portola at the City Park along the Feather River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River. This new base camp for the event was a huge boost to the city of Portola.
Participants camped along the Feather River within walking distance of town. A family-friendly kids’ ride took place on the flow trails through the City Park Saturday afternoon and a free community music concert was offered on Saturday evening. “The town of Portola has embraced Lost and Found as its own,” said Pecotich.
Lost and Found has not only won accolades from Gravelstoke.com as one of the “Top 12 Most Influential Gravel Events” in America, but proceeds from the event also benefit trails and trail building.
Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) is the event producer and beneficiary of Lost and Found, reinvesting all proceeds from the event into creating sustainable recreation for mountain communities in Plumas and Sierra counties.
There are several significant projects SBTS is working on funded with proceeds from Lost and Found. The Beckwourth Peak Trail will feature 20 miles of new multi-use singletrack, starting from Portola and looping around the volcanic ruggedness of Beckwourth Peak, offering expansive views of Sierra Valley. The trail will eventually connect through Gold Mountain and into Mohawk Valley, creating the Mohawk Rim Trail, linking the communities of Portola, Calpine and Graeagle.
The Beckwourth Peak Trail and Mohawk Rim Trail projects are part of a bigger SBTS vision called “Connected Communities.” Thanks to a $360,000-plus planning grant recently funded through the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, the SBTS Connected Communities vision is becoming reality with the plan to link two dozen remote mountain towns in Butte, Plumas, Sierra and Lassen counties via multi-use motorized and non-motorized trails.
Connected Communities will change the future of these struggling counties for the better, and Lost and Found is an important piece to the puzzle, celebrating community and recreation while raising funds to help create what SBTS likes to call #dirtmagic.
The Lost and Found 106-mile course features 8,100 feet of climbing on an 80 percent dirt course, while the 67-mile course features 5,200 feet of climbing, and the 36-mile course packs in 3,650 feet of climbing.
All three distances are filled with vistas and terrific dirt roads, fully stocked aid stations along the way, and all three courses run the final 3 miles along the Feather River, a great way to end a big day on the bike.
Participants are encouraged to register as early as possible, as every edition of Lost and Found has sold out months before event day. To register and get more details on Lost and Found, visit lostandfoundbikeride.com and follow #lostandfoundbikeride and @sierratrails on social media.
