SEASIDE >> Nathan Barnett of Clear Lake High School didn’t collect any dust between seasons. The top returning rider for the Clear Lake/Kelseyville Mountain Bike Teams picked up right where he left off last year, placing second in the ultra-competitive varsity division during the first race of the NorCal Cycling League season on March 1 at Fort Ord in Seaside.
The decommissioned Army base turned National Monument just north of Monterey hosted nearly 700 riders during the season opener, including 10 from the Clear Lake and Kelseyville teams. Weather conditions were close to perfect as showers on Feb. 28 made for ideal racing conditions on March 1. Mountain bikers competed on a 5-mile course wrapping through coastal oaks, rolling grasslands and vernal pools. The sandy soil that made up the course proved well packed and smooth, producing fast conditions as the riders, depending on division, raced between two and five laps (10-25 miles).
Barnett led the way, powering Clear Lake’s team to a fifth-place finish out of 31 teams in Division 2. Barnett and another rider broke away from the pack early in the varsity race and went on to set a course record on the first lap with a time of 17 minutes, 30 seconds. It remained a tight race until the fourth lap when Barnett, who was in the lead, shifted into a higher gear while going downhill, went over a breaking bump and had his chain come off.
“I had to get off my bike to fix it and saw my opponent attack to create a gap on me,” Barnett said. “I tried to make up time but it just didn’t work out.”
Barnett’s Clear Lake teammate, Jeffrey Morton, also turned in a solid performance while finishing fourth out of a field of 76 in the JV race. Despite his own mechanical problems, Morton was able to recover and finish strong.
Another Clear Lake rider, Solano Dominguez, placed seventh out of 56 in the sophomore division.
Also competing for Clear Lake/Kelseyville were Kia Kohler, Gabe Wind, Taylor Buchholz, Zoe Cramer, Craig Andre, Mike Pease and Jadon Lindsey, who had the best Kelseyville finish (12th in the JV race).
The Clear Lake/Kelseyville riders return to action Saturday at Granite Bay State Park on Folsom Lake.
To learn more about the Clear Lake/Kelseyville Mountain Bike Teams and to see more pictures, like us on Facebook at: Lake County High School Mountain Bike Teams.
For more information about the NorCal Cycling League, visit its website at www.norcalmtb.org or you can contact coaches Tami or Jeff Cramer at 263-3344 or email them at ride@bicyclesonmain.com
