SALINAS >> Nathan Barnett is moving on up. The Clear Lake High School senior mountain bike rider finished second in the varsity division during a point race on March 29 at Laguna Seca and is now the overall varsity points leader in the NorCal Cycle League.
Ten members of the Clear Lake and Kelseyville mountain biking teams took part in the Laguna Seca race, which features a challenging 5-mile course with a mostly single track that ascends nearly 850 feet per lap. Depending on division, riders race two to five laps (10-25 miles). The Laguna Seca course is exposed to wind and includes long climbs, especially the one up the infamous “Hurl Hill.” Spectators along the course offered words of encouragement to the more than 350 riders from throughout Northern California who took part in the third points race of the season.
Barnett completed his five laps in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 9 seconds and finished 13 seconds behind the leader in the varsity race. He lost his chain at one point, fell behind several riders and was unable to recover completely while finishing second.
In the junior varsity division, which offered the largest field with 68 riders, “Mark” Jeffrey Morton of Clear Lake placed a solid fourth. Morton fought off the challenges of two other riders and benefited from a late crash to secure his fourth-place finish. Also for Clear Lake, Gabe Wind nailed down 29th place while Kelseyville’s Craig Andre was 35th.
The hard-luck award went to Jadon Lindsey of Kelseyville, who ended up 63rd after his derailleur cable broke, locking his bike into the hardest gear. Unable to fix the problem, Lindsey switched bikes between laps (a 30-minute time penalty). By finishing the race he scored points for his team.
In the sophomore division, Solano Dominguez of Clear Lake placed ninth out of 49 despite losing his chain at one point and crashing during lap two.
Other finishers were Clear Lake freshmen girls Zoe Cramer and Taylor Buchholz. Two other Kelseyville riders did not finish their first laps.
The strong performance by Clear Lake riders moved the team up to fourth place out of 33 in the team standings.
Clear Lake’s and Kelseyville’s mountain bikers return to action Saturday in Petaluma.
For more information about the NorCal Cycling League, visit its website at www.norcalmtb.org or contact coaches Tami and Jeff Cramer at 263-3344. You can also email them at ride@bicyclesonmain.com
