Once a year, this crew heads to Downieville for a long weekend of big climbs, rowdy descents, cold beers, and some of the best trails around.
At this point, it has become an annual MTB pilgrimage. Instead of recapping everything from one person’s perspective, we had four of our own share their side of the trip: Zack, Jared, Liam, and Tydeman.
Downieville with some of the best coworkers, or maybe just best friends, anyone could ask for.
We rode bikes, competed, completed the All-Mountain Downieville Classic, shared plenty of laughs, and definitely went through some pain along the way, especially on the classic 8-mile fire road climb that starts the XC day.
I think this was my sixth or seventh year doing it. I can’t keep track anymore after the COVID break. Back in 2017, Liam and I made the trip together for the first time to race, and now we have a whole group camping together next to the river with no service, just hanging out, riding bikes, and living the good life.
More than anything, though, it was just nonstop laughs, great rides, new friends, and everyone wearing basically the same thing all weekend. Pure living with some of the best people ever.
It really is the one week out of the year I look forward to the most.
- Zack Weaver
Downieville is a place that I’ve heard countless stories about, and anyone who’s lucky enough to have been there has their own Downieville story. Legends of the brutal climb, the relentless downhill, the oppressive heat, the tire and wheel devouring rocks. It’s the stuff of legend, and I’ve been hearing these stories for years now. This year it was my turn to experience it for myself and come home with my own version of a Downieville story.
Experiencing Downieville during the week of the Classic feels like capturing lightning in a bottle. The vibe around town is absolutely electric, and everyone coming into town has at least one thing in common: they love riding mountain bikes.
Camping with friends, cooling off in the river, cooking delicious food, riding bikes on some of the most epic trails in the world, which happen to be located in some of the most awe inspiring landscapes you can lay your eyes on, and racing in a world famous iconic mountain bike race on top of it all are just some of the ingredients for a week that you’ll never forget. What was originally something that I had to check off my bucket list turned into something that I truly cannot wait to experience again.
- Jared Erickson
This August, I made my 7th annual pilgrimage to the Lost Sierra for the Downieville Classic, one of the greatest mountain bike races left in the world. I spend the majority of my year dreaming of the ripping fast, backcountry trails and hourly river dips to fend off the summer heat. Our crew has grown over the years; in 2017, my first Downieville, it was just my dad, a friend, and me. This year, our group sprawled all over, nearly filling our campground with new faces and seasoned Classic veterans alike.
Our week has had a relatively consistent plan over the last few years, but for this edition, we decided to switch it up a little bit. Together, Liam, young shredder Matthew Fairbrother, and I finally made the short journey up to the Sierra Buttes fire lookout tower. These little relics are scattered up and down the Sierras, and it made my week admiring the view perched high up on the Buttes.
Despite the Classic being arguably my most important race on the calendar each year, a week of Downieville exploring, shredding dusty trails, zero cell service, and countless river dips with some of my best friends has a way of melting the pre-race stress away. We may only be a few weeks post, but I’m already looking forward to disappearing into the Lost Sierra again next year.
- Tydeman Newman
To me, Downieville isn’t just a bike race. It’s what reignited my interest in racing after my XCO days in my late teens and early twenties. Zack and I first showed up in 2017 with very little idea what we were getting into. I was hooked, and I’ve now raced it seven times.
Over the years, it has grown into a full week of camping with the homies, river dips, escaping the heat, and some of the best riding you can do on a short-travel bike. Our group gets bigger every year. With no cell service, the only questions are when we’re riding, where we’re meeting, and who’s cooking dinner back at camp. That simplicity is one of my favorite parts.
The unofficial All-Mountain World Championships has a way of taking over your thoughts. It tests who can truly ride fast both uphill and down, then gives you 364 days to rethink your fitness, equipment, and tactics before trying again. I’ve had flats and rough races, and one of my worst crashes ended in a DNF. This year, I put together my best two days yet, set PRs in both races, and finally broke 50 minutes in the downhill, a goal I had chased for years.
But results are probably third on my list. First is spending a week riding bikes and camping with some of my favorite people. Second is whether I gave it my best. Third is the results sheet, which can show where I finished but never capture the feeling of driving home exhausted after my favorite week of the year.
- Liam Woods
