Downieville Classic 2005

Last weekend we headed up to Downieville to meet up with the East Bay Crew to do some camping and to race the downhill at the Downieville Classic. If you haven't been yet, I would recommend checking it out, as a good time was had by all.

The downhill consists of a 16 mile trek that is mostly downhill. The average times to do the ride range from 40 minutes to an hour. You're charging the whole time down(and up), which doesn't leave you with much by the time you get to the bottom. Because of the climb, 5-6 inch travel all-mountain style bikes are the ideal set up for the race. My enduro was perfect. I added a Gravity Dropper Seat post the week before the race. It was a good investment for this event. Two of Nor-Cal's fast locals, Mark Weir and Marla Streb were sporting them, so I was in good company

The Gravity Dropper

$250 is a lot of dough to spend on a seat post, but this is a really well thought out seat post. Not only are they easily serviceable, they work exactly as promise. Check one out. When I get my hard tail put back together, this is the seat post I'm going to run. They're that sweet. You'll never stop to adjust your saddle again. The buzz on the internet is extremely positive on this product for a reason. If they could bring the cost down, we'd all be riding one.

But enough about my ride. I'm stoked, it's dope. This was my second time in Downieville, and here I was racing a course I had ridden only once. The good thing was that I didn't have to wait long before my run; I arrived about 15 minutes before I was up, which was about perfect. I hate the wait.

I had an ok run, although I didn't remember the trail, and kept taking bad lines. I definitely took advantage of the adjustable seat post. By the time I reached the climb my legs were feeling pretty beat. I was so tired I got off my bike for for a brief moment and just stood there panting. The spectators on the side of the trail got me motivated again, as I was close to catching several riders. That always helps the motivation. At this point I just wanted to get to the bottom with minimal use of my brakes and without crashing. I achieved one of the two. I ended up plowing straight into a large rock and flying over the bars on the way out of the single track. I quickly jumped up and managed to finish. I ended up finishing in about 51 minutes and change for 26th in Expert, just in front of my buddy Blake. I passed several riders and was passed once myself. My hat was off to that guy, cause I couldn't pedal any harder than I was pedaling.

That's what I get for waiting until two weeks before a race to start training.

Mark Weir ended up taking 1st(not a huge surprise), and got a new record for the event. His time was about 38 minutes. Talk about getting your ass kicked. He had to have been sprinting up the climb! Next year I'm training and shooting for a sub-45 minute time.

We had a great time after the race, hanging out at the festival, and by the river. There was a river jump contest, which was kind of cool.

I forgot to have Jamie grab my shoes and camera, so I was stuck shooting pics with my Canon Elph. I wanted to jump bikes in the river as well, but wasn't about to tear down toward the ramps in my riding shoes. I was more interested in sessioning the jump and trying no-handers and bar spins than competing anyway. I got a couple of good shots though. This guy got some serious hang time. This fool was way up there.

Hat's off to Oaktown local and loyal reader of the site, James Johnston,(in the yellow) for making the podium in Men's Senior Sport with his time of 46:24. Welcome to the expert class buddy!