Downieville Downhill

"Snuggled way up North in the Tahoe National Forest is a tiny little town that derives it's revenue from Fishing, Gold Mining, and Mountain Biking. Downieville is situated right on Highway 49 on the banks of the Yuba River which is where most of the gold mining and fishing takes place. More importantly the town sits at the base of one of the most fun and challenging sets of mountain biking trails in California."
On Tuesday I headed up with 12 other willing victims to hit the Downieville Downhill in Downieville CA. The downhill is a +/- 17 mile downhill ride by mountain bike. Since I don't have an extra $4k sitting around to buy one of these full suspension mountain bikes, we procured some from the local rental shop Downieville Outfitters. Be aware though that they only have 10 bikes to rent out on average and don't take reservations. We actually ended up talking two girls at a gas station into letting us rent their bikes for the day. Luckily they agreed so no one had to be left behind. The bikes in Downieville go from $40-60 for the day and a shuttle to the top of the mountain is going to run you $20. We thought ahead and brought a trailer so we could act as our own shuttle.



I thought it might be kind of cool if I could rig up a helmet cam and film the Third Divide which is my favorite part of this trail. Unfortunately due to a slight brain fart, my camera went down Third Divide in my friend's backpack as opposed to on my head. I did take a little footage of some slower riding after Third Divide where I learned that I need to adjust my camera angle due to the way I position my head while riding. This is how I learn I suppose.




It was a great trip and we were all exhausted by the end. Although I myself made it down safely, the rocks did claim their victims. 10 out of 13 people had an "over the bars" experience to take home with them. Nothing too major, just hand gouges, missing chunks of kneecap skin and your various cuts/scrapes. I recommend this for any riding enthusiast out there.