High School Students Take Advantage of Ramona's Rocky Terrain

In May, professional cyclists will roll down Main Street as part of the Tour of California. But there's a group of pedal pushers in town that are already taking advantage of Ramona's natural terrain and mountain paths.

Ramona High School is one of only two high schools in San Diego County to offer its students to compete in the SoCal High School Cycling League, which is sanctioned by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, the U-T San Diego reported last week.

The publication said the Ramona High mountain bike team took runner-up honors in Division II (teams with 12 or fewer riders) with their second-place team finish at the 2011 SoCal Finals at Vail Lake and finished ninth at 2012 SoCal Finals at Lake Arrowhead.

In a place as rural as Ramona, it seems only natural to have a sports team like this at the local high school. RHS student and team cyclist Kyle Skeen told the U-T that riding bike was a part of his growing up in town.

“I started riding the local trails as a kid and I just grew into it,” Skeen said. “When I heard that our school was starting a race team, I definitely wanted to try out.

The Ramona High School cycling team has about eight to 11 riders at a team and will race in the Vail Lake Challenge on Feb. 24, according to the newspaper.

State championships for the cycling team start May 19 at Stafford Lake Park in Marin County.

Read more about the riders, including the sole female rider of the team, over at the U-T San Diego.