A Butcher in Downieville

I've spent the last four days in the infamous Downieville, CA. Yes. It is as good as all the videos an write ups say they are. It is absolutely phenomenal. I know I've said it before, but these are some of the best trails I have ridden. They are extremely well built and the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship does a freaking incredible job making sure they stay in the best conditions.

Elevation 2,900ft, population 325 folks

For those who don't know. Downieville is a town of about 325 people in Tahoe National Forest in Northern California. The area has a huge variety of trails and an endless amount of terrain to work with. It has long been famous for how well built the trails are and for how much riding is within a short ride or drive from this tiny old prospecting town. And to add to the trails, the scenery is breathtaking due to the fact that nothing within miles and miles of the town has been developed. Most of the area is old growth and the only people around live in similar towns. One I saw had a population of a whopping.... sixteen people. Yup you read that right. One six. The area is so desolate that I didn't have cell phone service anywhere within an hour of Downieville. But enough of what the town is. On to why it is a mountain biker's dream!

The SBTS guys doing some awesome work on Butcher Ranch trail

The guys from Yuba found a way to make horseshoes more fun. By using Kegs and Kendas!

For starters. The one shop there is great. Yuba Expeditions. Not a big shop at all. Very small selection of bikes and parts, but it has all the small necessities. What makes it so great is the people there and the philosophy with which they operate. It is a three man crew. For the most part only two guys are there though since one is driving the shuttle van to take mountain bikers to different trailheads. The guys there are great. Really friendly, helpful, and really knowledgeable. They certainly don't beat around the bush when it comes to bikes. They are also a non-profit shop. They pay overhead and get the needed inventory, then all other profits go towards the Sierra Butte Trail Stewardship (SBTS). SBTS is a group that does nothing but build professional, sustainable trails in the area. All donations go to paying the full time trail crew and buying the best tools possible to get the job done. On any given day you can find at least three guys from the group on a trail working. And that brings me to the second reason it is such a great area. The trails.

Having a full time trail crew in the area means that trails are always in top conditions. I have ridden in bike parks that don't have trails this well built. Simply put, these trails are phenomenal. Everywhere I rode was well marked, making it nearly impossible to lose your way, and every difficult section you could walk or go around (not that I did; well on purpose...). The amount of terrain options is pretty incredible as well. Some trails were fairly smooth and extremely flowy. Others were super technical and slow moving with lots of ups and downs thrown in the middle of it. The trails that everyone who rides has heard of are the ones that make up the Downieville Downhill. Fifteen(ish) miles of enduro style descending. And it had everything. A couple decent sized jumps, big berms, long rock gardens, smooth sections you could hit Mach 5 on (ok ok it was only 37mph. Between trees.), and natural sections full of roots, rocks, ruts, bumps, and everything else the forest could throw at you. Needless to say, I liked it. A whole hell of a lot. My next favorite trail there was the Mills Peak Trail. I don't remember an exact distance, but I know you climbed then descended  over 3,000 vertical feet. It is a well built path, but is a very natural style terrain. Extremely fast, really technical, and a ton and a half of fun.

And to make the whole experience just a little bit better, the camping had some pretty incredible views and I managed to push the van down a couple "4x4 only" roads! She didn't flinch a bit, and didn't even think about getting stuck! I have to say I was pretty impressed with where I managed to drive the huge truck!

View from the top of the Downieville Downhill

Pretty large logs huh?

Off-roading the Road Warrior!

Whistler

There is nothing to write about Whistler. It really just wasn't that great. I mean how did it become so popular? Oh who the hell am I kidding, that place is freaking unbelievable. And it's not just downhill. ALL the riding there is incredible. Everyone has seen the downhill stuff. And videos do it justice! It IS as awesome as it looks. And what isn't in the big films is even better. Yeah. A-Line is awesome. The Schleyer drop is just flat out cool. And the Crabapple hits are well; ridiculous to say the least. But put yourself on a 5-6" bike and go do the All Mountain trails, and you will REALLY see what fun, technical riding is all about. The AM trails were actually steeper and more technical than almost every trail I rode at the actual park. And there were some serious climbs to get to them!

The park. What Whistler is known for. It's incredible. You have to take two different lifts to get to the top of the runs where you descend something like 5,000 vertical feet back to the village. And almost every trail is just flat out amazing. Whether it's the blue flow trails or the double black technical stuff. It's just fun. The park has everything to ride. The infamous A-Line is just like the videos make it out to seem. Huge jumps and berms that flow together so well it's unbelievable. You can literally ride the whole trail without pedaling and never have to touch the brakes either. It completely changed my perspective on what a well groomed trail is. Then there are trails like Goat Gully. A double black technical trail that did not hesitate to do its best to throw both you and your bike off the best line. And once off that line, things got even gnarlier really fast! Then of course I had to try the Crabapple hits. No. I did not do every jump. I didn't quite have the guts for stuff that big! The first few were ridiculous though!

And the "cross country" trails were so much more than I ever expected. Miles of climbing followed by miles of steep, gnarly descents. I honestly can't believe they considered some of these trails cross country. I can't imagine riding some of these parts on a 4" bike. A 6" was rough enough! But the views, the trails, and the good times I had out on these new trails with new friends was worth the technicality and roughness. Plus a good portion of the trails really improved my confidence on my small bike. I am even more comfortable on even bigger stuff on it now, which means nothing but more fun, better trails, and faster descents!. High Society is probably one of my new favorite trails. It is a long climb up, part road from the village to the start, then nice trail from there to the end. This trail is steeper than anything at the downhill park. And although you are moving a lot slower, it is just as much fun and keeps you on your toes the whole time! And Billy's Epic is well, EPIC! Super steep terrain and spots so off camber and rocky that it was impossible to go straight down the trail. It was all so amazing!

Then of course there was the camping!!!

Short video from whistler on its way, haven't had too much time to work on it yet! Thanks for reading up guys! Van life has been awesome, and I've come all this way and am loving what I've done, am doing, and what's left to come!