Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

MTB Special Report: Divas at Downieville

When Erik and I topped out on the Downieville Classic Cross Country (XC) course at Packer Saddle on our third day of riding, it was a very pleasant surprise to see and chat with a couple of divas, DH Jill and Heather. Four divas were still on the climb and they were going to wait, so we said goodbye and started our descent down Sunrise Trail.

But then we got lost on a wrong jeep road while searching for Big Boulder Trail. The way out was a narly climb — loose with a lot of creek crossings. The fact that there were another group of four on the same road searching for the same trail did not help us realize that we were lost. As a matter of fact, I believe we two groups re-assured each other on the wrong path, all thinking there was no way we were all lost.  We didn’t find out until we waved down two dirt bikers. By the time we got back to the XC course, we’d lost 2+ hours.

But one nice thing about this failed adventure was we converged back with the divas’ path, and we pretty much rode out together. Erik was very impressed with all the divas, from the one who chased him down and passed him on 3rd Divide (Sherri) to the one who did the whole thing on a hardtail (Lesley).

(From front to back and left to right:  Sam, Lesley, Jeanine, Mei, Sherri, Teshia, Jill 2, DH Jill, Heather)

But we were most impressed with the little diva, Lulu, who ran both Saturday’s Pinoneer Trail and Sunday’s D’ville DH barefooted. And she is such a sweet little dog.

In the end, Erik enjoyed a ride with some divas on the way back to Sierra City to fetch our car. It was so much fun hanging out with you all, and thanks for the ride.

I will be writing a long version of my ride report to show people who have never been there what Downieville is about. Here is just a sneak preview.

The breathtaking view on the climb.