MONTEREY >> Mother’s Day turned out to be mountain bikers day as well on May 8 as 350 high school riders from the NorCal Cycling League, including seven from Lake County, competed at the Laguna Seca track in Monterey. Kia Kohler of Kelseyville turned in the top finish on the 5-mile-long course, taking ninth in the JV girls’ division.
Riders from Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown high schools were part of the Lake County contingent along with one independent rider from Hidden Valley Lake. They were competing on the challenging and exposed Laguna Seca course, which is known for long climbs including the demoralizing Hurl Hill, which can have a voracious head wind by the afternoon. Riders race two to five laps (10-25 miles) depending on division.
“This was definitely the most challenging race of the season between the heat and the head wind, so I tried to just keep a smile on my face even after Hurl Hill the third time around,” said Kohler, who was in a field of 22 riders. She raced for three laps (15 miles/ 2,400 feet of climbing) and finished in 1 hour, 16 minutes. The fastest time in her division was 1:05.33. The fastest lap time was just more than 21 minutes.
In the varsity boys’ division, the fastest lap times were recorded at around 17 minutes. They race five laps (25 miles/4,000 feet of climbing). Jeffrey Morton of Clear Lake started out strong with the lead pack but a flat tire near the end of lap two dropped him from contention. Morton attempted to pump up his tubeless tire to no avail. Realizing he already was in last place, he decided to go ahead and put in a tube and finish the race. Although he finished last, completing the race earned him valuable points toward the state competition.
In the JV boys’ division, Soloano Dominguez of Clear Lake nailed down an 11th-place finish out of 55 riders. Middletown senior Michael Murphy, who is enlisting in the Air Force, turned in his best finish of the season at 35th. Murphy joined the the mountain biking team to get in shape and lose weight and he was successful on both counts.
Independent rider Seth Spitzer of Hidden Valley Lake placed 11th out of 48 riders in the freshman boys’ division while Justin Perez of Kelseyville came in 21st. Noticeably absent was freshman rider Christian Lindsey, who sustained a wrist injury days before the race and was unable to attend.
For more information about the NorCal Cycling League, visit its website at www.norcalmtb.org. To contact coaches Tami or Jeff Cramer, call 263-3344 or email: ride@bicyclesonmain.com.
