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the downieville classicAugust 11, 2001 For my birthday I went racing. Mountainbike racing. At 5:15 a.m., Diana gave me a kiss, handed me a bag of fresh-baked banana nut muffins she'd made for me, sent me out the door and said "Be careful and have fun! Your birthday dinner will be ready when you get home." It was a dream birthday in the making. With my trusty bike, my helmet and a whole bunch of food and water, I headed up into the sierras to a little town called Sierra City to race the Downieville Classic, one of the last of the epic cross country adventure races. The race starts in Sierra City and ends 29 miles later in Downieville. Sierra City and Downieville are two beautiful little mountain towns along highway 49 and on this weekend there would be about as many racers as the populations of the two towns combined. Thanks so much to the residents for inviting us. The Classic starts on Buttes Road, just one block off Highway 49. One very steep block. The staging area itself, appropriately, is on a hill and perfectly foreshadows the first EIGHT MILES of the race. From Buttes Road to Packer Saddle the first 8 miles of the Classic gains over 3000 vertical feet and only flattens out once on the way. It's a monumental climb and for someone from the Central Valley who uses freeway overpasses for "hill training" it's humbling. It's steep, loose, rocky and very, very long. You find out exactly what that little teeny chainring is for. The climb took me nearly two hours which means the race winner was probably working on his second beer by the time I crested the summit and I still had 21 miles to go. The fastest locals can climb this hill in just about an hour. Humbling, very humbling. The view on the way up to Packer Saddle is stunning and at the speed(?) I was going I had plenty of time to check it out. Beautiful forested buttes as far as the eye can see. Just being able to ride up there was a treat, even with flaming legs and an oxygen-deprived brain. I thoroughly enjoyed every second just as Diana had instructed me to. After the initial climb, the course 'roller-coasters' over some 'smaller' hills for about four miles and then it turns DOWN. This is the renowned Downieville Downhill course. 4000 vertical feet in 17 miles over some of the gnarliest singletrack I've ever experienced. Its amazing to me what a modern mountainbike can be ridden over. One stretch called "Baby Head Trail", so named for its characteristic rocks the size and shape of, well... baby heads, sets the tone of the downhill right near the top. It's remarkably steep, deeply rutted and unabashed, terrifying FUN! Sort of like riding a bucking bronco on gigantic marbles. When I got to the bottom of Baby Head I had to stop and look back up it out of sheer incredulity, and to let my heartrate get back below 300. I think everyone should scare themselves once in awhile. The downhill winds through the forest, crosses several footbridges and creeks, traverses high above the Yuba river on dizzyingly narrow trails and seems to go on forever. My forearms actually started cramping from so much braking. The locals definitely have the advantage here because there are so many blind corners. The speed is very high all the way down and the terrain unpredictable, so rounding a blind turn can get you in serious trouble in a hurry. I have to admit the sight of that finish line was wonderful but it was bittersweet too. Downieville is an epic ride for me. I used every gear combination my bike has, crashed twice, drank nearly a gallon of fluids along the way, consumed half a dozen GU energy gel packs and raced myself silly for 3 hours and forty minutes in the most beautiful mountains I could imagine. Who could ask for anything more? I got home about 5:45 p.m., tired right down to my bones, and Diana had a roast pork feast waiting for me. I am blessed. – dave © Copyright iriguchi 2001 To see more pictures by John Shafer and coverage of the Classic at MTBreview.com click on the image above. |
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