Weekends: Downieville Downhill

Another weekend, another mountain bike race. This time, Rob and I drove up to the sierras for the Downieville Classic. Downieville was once a town of 5,000 and the bustling center of the gold rush. Now, it’s down to a population of 230 and is known as a remote mountain biking destination.  We camped with the team at Wild Plum a few miles up the road Friday night.

On Saturday, Rob joined the race and I explored the town. There’s a small museum packed with old mining gear, arrowheads, clothes and other turn of the century memorabilia. Plus, a scale model of the town itself:

Rob finished the race in just over three hours and was absolutely covered in dust at the finish. We had a spaghetti lunch at the fire department and beer from a local brewer.

In the afternoon, we went back to camp and swam in the cold Haypress Creek by our tents.

Massive, gourmet taco dinner provided by the race team at our campsite. Followed by drinks and chatting around the fire until late in the night.

On Sunday, I slept in while everyone ate pancakes and bacon provided by the organizers.  Rob and I packed up and drove back toward San Francisco. We stopped for a late lunch with my brother in Davis on the way back – it’s always great to catch up with him!