okearthbike.com | D’VILLE-Classic-Downhill, California 03

D’VILLE-Classic-Downhill, California 03

Downieville California, a small town in the Sierra Nevada’s mountain range, this town is MTB friendly and is fast becoming a world-renown MTB destination with a killer downhill named the Downieville Downhill Classic. D'ville will cater to your downhill fantasies!
D'ville is nestled down in a quiet valley - so quiet you can here Pauly Creek running through town, the town is way over populated with about 350 residents (hehe) - but what has the most significance is the town has two MTB outfitters (Yuba Expeditions and Downieville Outfitters); both can get you hooked up with a $15.00 shuttle and if you left your favorite ride at home throw down $35.00 for a all day rental and get a great pick of the litter, such as a full line of Santa Cruz’s at Yuba Expeditions and Specialized Big Hit & Enduro at Downieville Outfitters. All excellent rides for this type of terrain. You might want to take a pass on the Bullit and Big hit - THERE IS A 510’ 1/4 MILE CLIMB about half way down this run. I might suggest you leave your bikes at home especially if you have hardtails and xc-bikes and enjoy the rental fleet these guys have to offer!!..
Ron and myself enjoyed two downhill runs on different rentals, the Blur and Enduro and was most pleased with them - I will give the nod to the Enduro on the fast runs, due to the longer frame, but the Blur held its own and when it came to the climbing it excelled...
The Downieville classic downhill course is a beauty, with a combined elevation drop of 4500’ in a 14-mile run- it’s a howling good time!!!
The D’ville classic is broken into three sections, the first is Butcher Ranch - this section has wide corridors and some rock litter to keep your eyes popping a few rock moves throw in to really get the pucker factor up, two of which I did not clean. Butcher Ranch takes you down as fast as you can hang on to the first bridge crossing across Pauly Creek. Pauly Creek is never to far a way, NICE TO HEAR THE WIND IN THE TREES AND THE PAULY talking to us all the way down. Next up is the 3rd Divide and this section comes up after the first bridge but before you can start down the 3rd divide you must pay the climbing gods their due. I was really hurting up this climb and then the bugs caught up and starting landing on my sweaty face - yummy!. The bug invasion continued on up the climb, I guess if I could climb a little faster than 2-miles an hour I could have dropped these pests... Boy I sure was glad to get to the top! After a brief rest it was so long losers! (bugs), it was back to jockeying down this screamer of trail. 3rd divide has few steep sections with brake bumps that will eat you up and it also has the most beautiful waterfall; about 40’ down from the trail was a greenish blue six foot falls strung together inviting us to come on down for a swim! So Ron and myself being the gamers we are climbed down this steep slope and decided to go for a swim - seemed like a good idea at the time - NOT, this water is cold and will piss of the boys if you know what I mean... Now that we got the sight seeing done, it was time to get back to point and shoot of this downhill and big speed. The action carried on until we got down to the soft-pedaling and exposure sections of the 1st divide with some more great views and then the final drop in to D’ville. IS IT OVER ALREADY?!!
Seriously if you can get to D’ville it truly has one of the best downhills anywhere...
I apologize if I got names and places wrong and will let the pictures tell the rest of trail...

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page - St Augustine