Probably not too many who’ve heard of this race & almost certainly fewer who’ve done it. I was lucky enough to race the XC about 15yrs ago & the experience is one I’ll never forget. So, this is just a nice little film that reminds an old racer why he loves riding bikes.

I stayed in Downieville on a kayaking trip. It’s an absolutely fantastic place.
Had no idea about the bike race back then.

There was a general store/cafe and I had some Leek and Potato soup in there. It was really delicious and moreish, and I went up to tell them so and ask about the ingredients.

Turns out it had ham in it, which was interesting, being a veggie…

True story.

last couple of years i have tried to get signed on, but due to covid, little info on the website and it selling out in milliseconds (assuming you can find a way to attempt to sign on)… i have had no luck.

Looks like a cracking few days on the bike tho. XC and DH race, all on the same bike…. best concept ever!

XC and DH race, all on the same bike…. best concept ever!

Ahh, reminds me of the old NEMBA series when I was at Uni. All the events were an XC race in the afternoon with DH or trials or something else in the morning. Shame the mixed concept died off as people became more pigeonholed. Back then we all just rode an MTB – no all mountain or enduro or anything like that. Steve Peat won the National DH series on a fully rigid Kona.

Jumpers for goalposts, hmmm, isn’t it?

not the classic but did do the ss worlds there in 2002, spent most of a week there riding amazing trails and drinking beer, probably the best biking week I’ve ever had

It’s a hard race – the pictures & the film don’t really do it justice. For a start its at 4196ft & climbs to nearly 7500ft. It’s often BLOODY HOT & the descents are brutal – proper bike destroying stuff.

This little vid gives a good idea – chunky, loose, dusty, techie, dry & all on XC bike. The 17 mile descent is relentless!

Ps I’m not working for them honest – I’ve just great memories of getting totally battered like never before & it popped up in my feed!

I rode the course about 10-12 years back. Was over for the SSWC in Napa…amazing place. But turning up to Downville late left us eating pop tarts and corn dogs at the local bar.

Would love to go back

A friend’s sister owns the apartment over the bike shop there.

Yes would love to do this race. I quite often watch the Dirt magic film as it always seems to pick me up when I’m a bit pi$$ed off with life.

I’ve ridden the DH portion of the route several times but never entered the race or did the fireroad climb – one day I will. It’s proper bucket list stuff. I regard the top competitors of the Classic as ‘real’ mountain bikers, able to do 4500ft of climbing then nail a tough descent.
There are so many great trails and events in that corner of California that it’s probably my happiest place, thanks to the work of the SBTS. Check out their latest work: https://sierratrails.org/connected-communities/

I visited Downieville a couple of years ago and rode the classic thought I wimped out of the climb and used the shuttle service instead. Great little place (one “main Street” with a couple of dozen shops or places to eat at most).

Some great terrain around there. I also did some road riding and hiking.

Not sure whether theyve been affected by the forest fires last couple of seasons. I really hope not! Would like to get back and spend more time exploring. The have a very active trail organization so I suspect even more riding since I was there…