GRANITE BAY, Calif. – If one word could describe the fourth race for local high school mountain bikers it would be “epic.”

Defined as “impressive or remarkable,” this race will go down in the books as definitely unforgettable.

The Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown athletes who ventured to Granite Bay State Park on Saturday, April 8, experienced the full gamut of weather just short of snow.

Normally the 6-mile course with 450 feet of climbing per lap (riders race two to four laps) is smooth, flowy and fast course. This winter it had been served it a beating. The course was muddy and rough, riddled with water ruts and downed trees.

The girls’ races got off without a hitch under the ominous sky. As the girls came around for their second laps, you could see the evidence of the trail conditions. The mud was all over them and you could tell that many of them had crashed.

In fact Kelseyville High School junior varsity girls rider Hannah Warren actually locked bars with another girl right at the start and had crashed out.

“The mud was a good thing because it gave me a soft landing when I flipped over my handle bars,” said Clear Lake High sophomore Rainey Vanoven.

It wasn’t the best day for the girls.

Kia Kohler (KHS – JV girls) had her lowest placing of the season at 12th, Miranda Cramer (CLHS – frosh girls) 14th.

Vanoven managed to pull off another podium finish at fifth. “It was definitely tough test race to keep my spot on the podium,” she said. “The rain was OK but it was freezing at the beginning.”

By the time the freshman and sophomore boys began their race, the rain turned to a downpour. If the rain and cold wind weren’t enough, next came the hail.

Riders came around for their second lap wet and red from the hail pelting them, but with looks of determination and grit on their faces.

The JV and varsity boys race starts were delayed an hour and luckily conditions allowed them to begin. By this time, lap counts had been reduced, making finishing more possible.

Riders appeared to have accepted their wet fate and embraced it. Although one freshman rider had smashed his dérailleur on a rock and pulled out of the race, all the others finished.

Among the boys, the top finishers were Bron Falkenberg (CLHS – frosh) at 18th of 48 and Christian Lindsey (KHS – sophomore) 11th of 43 riders.

As stated in the league race report, finishers “came away from the race with a genuine sense of accomplishment and even heroism. The weekend served up an unbelievable amount of challenges, and our student-athletes and volunteers did what they always do: they stepped up to the plate and took the challenge head first.” Here, here, I concur.

Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown high school mountain bikers will return to race this Saturday, April 29, on their newly built course at Six Sigma Ranch and Winery at 13372 Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake.

Like all NorCal Cycling League races, they are free and open to spectators so come on out and cheer them on. Races begin at 9 a.m.

For more info, go to www.norcalmtb.org and look under “races.”

Tami Cramer is coach and team director for the Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School mountain bike teams.