‘Six Sigma Slinger’ bike race takes place this weekend
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The NorCal Cycling League will be holding its championship race, the Six Sigma Slinger, this Saturday and Sunday at Six Sigma Ranch and Winery in Lower Lake.
Six Sigma opened up its property for the three local high school mountain bike teams (Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown High Schools) to ride on after the Valley fire consumed much of the Boggs Demonstration Forest on Cobb in 2015. Boggs was the main riding area for the teams and also the location each year for a NorCal race prior to the fire.
This is the second year that the winery has hosted the event. In the spring of 2016, the coaches of the local teams pitched the idea of hosting a race to the winery owners and they were super enthusiastic about.
Coaches and riders from the three local teams, along with the assistance of the league and volunteers from the community and other NorCal Cycling teams, designed and hand-built the 5-mile-long race course, finishing just in time to host the first race last spring.
As part of the North Conference – which covers the Bay Area and north – all the local teams will be racing on Saturday. The Southern Conference (South Bay to Monterey area) race takes place on Sunday.
Races begin with the girls at 9 a.m., freshman/sophomore boys at 10:40 a.m. and JV/varsity boys at 12:20 p.m.
Each lap is just under 5 miles with around 450 feet of climbing. Riders will race between two to four laps depending on their category.
All races are open and free for the public to come and watch. With 900-plus riders slated to race over the course of the weekend, it is quite an impressive event to see. Volunteers are always needed.
For more information on viewing and/or volunteering, visit www.norcalmtb.org .
Six Sigma Ranch and Winery is located at 13372 Spruce Grove in Lower Lake.
Tami Cramer is coach of the Kelseyville and Clear Lake High School mountain biking teams.