Mountain biking Mecca. Interesting word - "Mecca". Kind of hard to describe. I guess as it 
relates to mountain biking I would think that a "Mecca" is someplace that attracts riders, is 
popular in print and web, and is someplace that a fair number of us desire to visit before our riding 
days are over. I've been fortunate through hard work, good luck, and some great friends to have 
visited many of our sports so called "Mecca's". Durango, Moab, Marin, Fruita, and Whistler. Now 
add DOWNIEVILLE to the list. Huh? Downie-what? That's right Downieville.

How can a small town of 300 possibly be a Mecca? Well just stand at the intersection (the only 
intersection) of main street (the only street) and the Yuba and Downie rivers and take a look 
around. You will be blessed with the sweet simplicity of years long gone, the crackle of the river 
that splits this village, and a 360 panorama of some of the most awe-inspiring mountains the 
Sierra Nevada have to offer. This is truly God's country. Somehow spared from all the crap 
that's gotten in they way of our lives. My cell phone had zero coverage. No internet connections. 
Just a general store, a small grocery, restaurant, bar, bike shop, Barney Fife and the Sheriff 
Station and a few bed and breakfast inns. Did I mention the bike shop? Yuba Expeditions - 
more on that later. And the Sheriff Station? Actually has a Gallows sitting outside. Now how 
cool is THAT?

So what makes Downieville a Mecca and what in the world brought me here? Geographically 
Downieville is located about half way between Sacramento and Nevada City. Sits 3000 feet up in 
Sierra County. Not close to anything at all. One road in - one road out. A twisty, snake of an 
SOB that I swear is where they film BMW commercials. By the way, I'm sure mine was the only 
21'st century vehicle in town. Kept thinking of the old Aamco commercial - "Shucks, ain't never 
werked on a ger-me-on transmission before." Turns out that once a year in late August, the 
sleepy little town of Downieville opens its doors to a few thousand mountain bikers for the 
"Downieville Classic". It's a mountain bike stage race of epic proportions. Oh yeah - due to the Downieville Classic, this years Blueberry Pie celebration will be pushed back one week. Have to file that in my PDA.

So, you see I had actually heard and read a little about Downieville and didn't just stumble on this 
place by accident. In fact somebody would have to be pretty darn lost to stumble on this little 
slice of Americana. But it turns out that little cross road of Downieville this year will host a second 
biking event, this on in October - The Singlespeed World Championships. How SSWC ends up 
here is another story and as I'll write shortly, Mama this ain't no SS friendly terrain. After an 
inaugural stop in Minneapolis for the first SSWC is 2000 and then the hoof 'n' mouth ridden 
SSWC2K+1 in Bristol UK, the third incarnation of SSWC this year touches down (excuse the pun) 
in Downieville with several hundreds of riders, hangers on, and party searchers probably blowing 
this towns population past the 1k mark. I predict the local grocery is drunk dry of beer before the 
10th party of campers hits town.

As I plan to "compete" - ride, drink, whatever - in SSWC2K+2 in Downieville this fall, I could not resist the opportunity to visit this past July to check it out. Having been in San Francisco and having to get to Tahoe, and Downieville is "sorta" on the way, I figured what the heck. I talked John into joining me on a little "fact finding" trip. From what I had read about DV, it was massive hill terrain. Lots of shuttle rides. The famous Downieville Downhill, etc. How in the world could this be SS territory? Well, simply put - it ISN'T singlespeed territory at all. And THAT will make for an interesting race. Brought FS CC bikes on this trip, which was a very smart move. Pulled into town and checked in at The Downieville River Inn. What a sweet place to stay. A cozy little B&B type of deal run by a really nice laid back couple. I asked the owner where it would be safe to lock up our bikes and she looked at me like I was from another planet. "This is Downieville - you don't need to lock things up around here". If you ever get to DV, please stay at this inn. It's really nice and the rate is something like $75 a night. And everything is town is within walking distance!

Made it over to Yuba Expeditions Bike Shop. A small shop not selling much (people don't come 
to DV to buy new bikes), but seemed like they do a good repair business and run a shuttle up to 
Parker Saddle, where most of the vertical rides initiate from. The shop wrench was the only one 
on duty and we tried to ask him about some trail recommendations. He was pretty tight lipped 
about anything originating from town. Obviously wanted us to sign up for the cash-cow shuttle. 
He opened up a bit more once I laid out a Ben Franklin for a trail map. Helped us outline a route 
that would originate at the Saddle and drop us about 4000 feet back into town along the river. I 
quizzed him on the SSWC, but it seems that this whole event is super secret. No body wants to 
officially announce anything. Wrench said the shop owner, Mike, was laying out the course. 
There was some concern (ya think so?) about the idea of a 40 mile course with about 8000 feet 
of cumulative climbing. Said an expert level female on a geared bike tried the course and did it in 
5 hours. Yikes! I'm thinking I might need to bring my lights for this one. Hopefully they can come 
up with something a bit more reasonable for us common-folk SS'ers. I had already rethought my 
training regimen - the heck with the bike, just practice on my trail running up hills.

After a nice meal and a good nights sleep we headed out on our ride. Drove up to Parker Saddle, 
a point not too far below the snow line. Still plenty of white caps resisting the summer sun. 
Armed with two maps, one not detailed enough to be any good and the other too detailed to be 
understood, we made our way down some jeep roads into the forest. Temps were in the mid 60's 
and the sky was that perfect hue of blue that you never get to witness from down near sea-level. 
Trail navigation was a little sketchy at first. Took a few miles to realize that the numbers of the 
forest roads (like 93.3 road) were actually mileage markers as well. Somehow we made all the 
correct decisions at intersections and soon found ourselves overlooking some stunning valleys to 
the west. A few long sustained climbs presented themselves. Not out of the saddle stuff by any 
means, but some good sustained 10 minute heart thumpers. Coupled with the thin air, it made 
anything more than a leisurely pace out of the question. Once we crested and started to drop 
altitude the trail narrowed to singletrack and began to plunge into deeper forest. The sunlight 
speckling it's way through the tree canopy was almost intoxicating. Trail conditions were pretty 
dry and we kicked up some serious dust. Down and down we snaked, as the most utilized 
components of my bike were the suspension and the brakes. Thank goodness for hydraulic 
brakes, but even these required some pretty good stamina in the old finger muscles. 

Soon we made our way onto "Second Divide" and "Third Divide" trails. These are part of the 
Downieville Downhill course. And I mean LOTS of downhill. I think in total we dropped about 
4000 feet with some stunning views and eventually running along the river. Interesting to see 
prospectors and gold panning gear in operation. I don't think we came across another single 
rider for the entire trail. The bikes took a lot of beating out there. More geared for FR and DH 
bikes than the ultra light CC units we brought along. Near the end of the trail we met of with a 
nice family of 4 who were just returning to their camper after some motocross action. Talk about 
expensive gear! They invited us over to the rig for a cold soda, which was much appreciated. 
We rolled the short distance back into town all giggles and grins. Looking back on it now, the 
truth is I really don't remember too many more details about the ride. I usually have almost a 
"photographic" memory about great rides, but most of the time riding in Downieville my mind was 
fixated on how impossible this area is going to be on a SingleSpeed. I also think the uniqueness, 
simplicity, and beauty of the town and surrounding hills just blew me away to the point where 
riding was almost insignificant.

After the ride hiked to a sweet isolated waterfall and swimming hole on the river for an icy dip. 
Just total refreshment and relaxation. I guess that's what this place is all about. Just kick back 
and breathe it all in. Could have been a million miles away from work, bills, traffic - none of it 
mattered in this little corner of the world. I'm really looking forward to returning for the SSWC. 
Any slight twinge of desire to have a competitive race are right out the window after my 
exploratory visit. But that's A-OK with me. Maybe even better off that way. Just kick it back, spin 
a few miles, jog up some hills - whatever. I feel truly blessed to have even set eyes on 
Downieville.

Dave (September 2002)