Young bicyclists will race again in Modesto’s river park. How to watch and volunteer
Young mountain bikers from around Northern California will race once again in Tuolumne River Regional Park.
The events will take place on two weekends — Feb. 18, 19, 25 and 26 — with a starting line next to the Ninth Street Bridge.
These will be the first races of 2023 for the NorCal Interscholastic Cycling Leagues. High-schoolers will compete on Saturdays and junior high students on Sundays.
The organizers are seeking volunteers to serve as course marshals and for other duties. More information is at www.norcalmtb.org.
Modesto hosted its first such event over one weekend last April, amid grasses that had dried out early due to drought. The park is plenty green this time around thanks to the deluges of January.
The full course is a five-mile loop as far downstream as the area of John Thurman Field, with moderate slopes. High-schoolers will do two to four laps. Younger cyclists will do one to three laps on a three-mile portion.
The races for various ages and genders will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the last at 2:10 p.m. Sunday’s starts are between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The first weekend will feature riders from 15 counties stretching from Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Tuolumne on the north to San Luis Obispo on the south. The second weekend is for most of the other counties in Northern California.
The race is hosted by the Modesto Composite High School Mountain Bike Race Team, representing several campuses.
The organizers invite spectators to bicycle to the site because motor-vehicle parking will be limited. South Morton Boulevard will be closed to through traffic between Yosemite Boulevard and B Street.
The racers will pass under Highway 99, Seventh Street and a railroad trestle on their way to west Modesto. This portion of the river park has a few visitor amenities and restored floodplain. Future work awaits on making it a crown jewel with easy access from downtown.
The National Weather Service forecasts sunny conditions for the first weekend, with highs of 61 Saturday and 63 Sunday. None of the wind that challenged riders last year is expected.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 12:58 PM.
