Downieville Classic 2015

July 30 thru August 2, 2015

The little Gold Rush settlement was overtaken again by crazy MTBers. For a great background on the history of the event and the place, read Rick Gunn’s ASJ article: Downieville.

Occasionally, someone asks me to name my favorite roadshow event. I can’t really say, but the Downieville Classic pops into my head. But then I start to think about the Wildflower Tri, Sea Otter, the Nalu, Biketoberfest, etc., and I just start waivering on the question. There’s no easy answer.

Giant Bicycles team rider Carl Decker had been the champion 5 years running. This year, Decker won Saturday’s cross country, but flatted on Sunday’s downhill. It was Jason Moeschler’s year, the local Nevada City rider sponsored by WTB. Moeschler was back on top of the podium, awarded the 2015 All Mountain championship for the 4th time. I overheard him talking about how hard he’d been training, every single day, and the gratification of all that effort paying off was beamed from his face.

There had been rain in the mountains, which kept the dust down on the trails. It sprinkled from time to time during the event. Mostly it was hot, but not uncomfortably so. Down on expo row, everyone was friendly. Of course, there’s always some local characters who make it interesting. The ASJ booth was well received by riders, tourists and locals;

 

On Saturday night, people got down like two flat tires to the music on the Santa Cruz stage. They were really dancing. Surprisingly, the musicians didn’t actually break the plywood floor like they did in 2014. They must have triple re-enforced it. Others watched meteor showers from the back deck of the St. Charles. I can’t say for sure that it’s my favorite roadshow stop. Neither can I say it isn’t.