DOWNIEVILLE, CA (BRAIN)—Whistler, Moab, Crested Butte, Boulder. Downieville?
Downieville just may be the next great mountain bike destination. And it seems the LA Times has taken notice.
The newspaper had a Sunday cover story in the Travel section on the sleepy, little town 100 miles northeast of Sacramento. Writer Hugo Martin tested his mountain bike chops on some of Downieville’s stellar downhill.
“As a weekend mountain biker and lifelong Californian, I heard all the talk about Moab, Utah, being the ultimate off-road biking destination,” Martin said. “I wanted to find a new biking hub that has the respect of veteran riders without Moab’s crowds and hype.”
Downieville has already caught the eye of the industry. This past July’s Downieville Classic brought some big names including WTB, Chris King Precision Components and SRAM just to name a few. Look for the event to only grow bigger as Downieville captures more national attention.
As Martin found out during the “post-ride bull session,” Downieville attracts a wide range of people.
“About 20 of us—including executive headhunters, lawyers, security experts and winemakers—sit on lawn chairs behind the Carriage House Inn, overlooking the Downie River, drinking wine, beer and tequila shots,” Martin wrote in his article. “We talk about our rides, our falls, our families and our work back home. I stagger back to my hotel room, feeling no pain from my earlier spills.” —Jason Norman
