Downieville and beyond

As July rolls around, a select few endurance and gravity racers merge to take part in the Downieville Classic. This two stage mountain bike race consists of a point to point XC race on Saturday and 45 minute DH on Sunday, both of which must be done on the same bike. For the event, my teammate Matt Ryan planned to fly into San Francisco Tuesday evening to offer plenty of time to adjust to the fast and wide open California terrain. After making the 90 minute drive to Frisco in 4th of July traffic, I found myself in the cell phone parking lot waiting for Matt’s arrival. During this time I noticed my phone had been turned off, an added feature I did not pay for but randomly occurs due to being a 4 year old well used phone. I turn it on; 8 new texts. First text reads “Aaron, I missed my connecting flight in Seattle, I fly in the morning.” Nice…. So Matt had 10 minutes to get from one end of the airport to the other only to find that Alaska changed the gates, resulting in him missing his flight. So I drove back home to Santa Cruz then back Frisco 8 hours later to pick up the Can-aussie. This fiasco was only the tip of the iceberg for what would turn into a huge fiasco for Downieville weekend.


Following Matt’s luckless travel experience, we were faced with the problem of finding a place to stay. People thought I landed a place to stay, I thought they landed the place to stay; in the end, no place to stay. For those unfamiliar with D-ville, it is a small mining town hidden high in the Sierra Nevada range, an hour from any services. This diminutive community explodes during the Classic as hundreds of racers along with family and friends take part in the festivities. As a result, all housing and camping spots are taken within a 50 mile radius. I guess things could have been worse, and we managed to make things work despite our ongoing adventure.


Saturday rolled around soon enough and I found myself climbing into the clouds with 800 other people. The race starts off with a 55 minute, 2500’ climb which offers endless suffering. While going 110% and seeing red, through my tunnel vision I could see Carl Decker riding away with ease. As I crested the climb I noticed another Giant team rider ahead of me rocking lightning bolts on his calves, Duncan Riffle. Riffle, Ross, Snyder and I cruised the 20 minute fireroad traverse before dropping into the first section of single track. I was looking forward to watching Duncan rail the trails back into town but unfortunately he double flatted. Carl won, Adam was second and I was a ridiculous 12 minutes behind. I guess pursuing Rally racing and turning mountain biking into a hobby is paying off, nice riding Carl.

1 Carl Decker Bend CA 37 35 1 M 0-99 1:50:50.3
2 Adam Craig Bend OR 1 28 2 M 0-99 1:56:35.1
3 Jason Moeschler novato CA 2 30 3 M 0-99 1:58:52.5
4 Tim Olson Chico CA 7 37 4 M 0-99 1:59:27.6
5 Sid Taberlay South Pasadena CA 22 30 5 M 0-99 2:01:46.6
6 Mark Weir , Novato, CA 5 37 6 M 0-99 2:01:50.4
7 Adam Snyder Durango CO 57 25 7 M 0-99 2:01:51.6
8 Aaron Bradford Santa Cruz CA 33 25 8 M 0-99 2:02:54.4
9 Kenny Burt Folsom CA 16 39 9 M 0-99 2:03:13.7
10 Dana Weber Aliso Viejo CA 20 29 10 M 0-99 2:03:54.3
11 Gregg Stone Truckee CA 59 38 11 M 0-99 2:04:13.6
12 Ross Schnell Grand Junction CO 3 30 12 M 0-99 2:06:06.3
13 Clint Claassen Sacramento CA 24 26 13 M 0-99 2:07:07.3
14 Sean Donovan South Pasadena CA 21 32 14 M 0-99 2:07:32.3
15 Kevin Smallman San Leandro CA 18 25 15 M 0-99 2:07:48.8
16 jason sager Ogden UT 54 35 16 M 0-99 2:08:07.4
17 Nathan Riddle Ashland CA 4 34 17 M 0-99 2:08:12.9
18 Mark Jordan Ventura CA 8 36 18 M 0-99 2:09:17.9
19 Duncan Riffle Santa Barbara CA 52 23 19 M 0-99 2:10:09.4
20 Matt Ryan Whistler BC 53 33 20 M 0-99 2:10:54.0

Following my 8th place finish on Saturday, I was sitting well for the overall coming into Sundays downhill. The course was 45 minutes long with nearly 2,700 feet of descending. This race was going to be the first and possibly last time to rock my custom stars and stripes national jersey as nationals was in 2 weeks. With the spirit of things coming into D-ville, I put in a relatively clean top half then managed to plow into what seemed like a drunken spectator standing in the option line on the “waterfall” section. Sweet... In the process, I broke my chain. After some time on the side of the trail fixing my chain & watching riders pass by kicking up a cloud of dust, I was on two wheels again in an effort to salvage my weekend.

Matt and I chilling after the finish of the super-D. Ross giving the bunny ears

Post DH run, I found myself waist deep in the Yuba River with a beer in hand, finally enjoying the beauty that Downieville has to offer. In the process of packing for my continued trip to Keystone, I missed my opportunity to congratulate Decker on his overall win. 11th in the All-mountain class, I can't complain about that. Also, thanks to Garth and Geoff for the help at the race and thanks to Bri for the feed at the top of the climb. Another Downieville Classic in the record books.

After Downieville, I was off to Keystone with Kirt, Lindsey and Rocco Voreis in the All Ride Tour van. Looking PRO with fresh decals on the team van and trailer, we drove through town after town with people stoked on our rig. The two days and a thousand miles seemed to fly by as Kirt entertained Lindsey and I with endless humorous stories of his adventures on the road. Thanks again for letting me tag along, you guys are RAD!

Once in Keystone, it was time to meet and greet all the employees of Specialized along with the bike shop dealers for the Specialized dealer launch. The dealer launch certainly gave me a better understanding of the relationship between Specialized, its dealers & their customers along with a greater appreciation for the size and influence of Specialized as a whole.

With Keystone being at 9k feet, not only did this trip offer some time in the saddle riding conditions similar to the national championships course at the end of the week, it also got me conditioned for the elevation at nationals. This was a good excuse to ride with friends from all over the country who were in for the event. A day of riding in the bike park with Wes of Sycamore cycles with Sloan leading the crew lead to some good times riding bikes from the 2011 lineup.

Post dealer launch, we were off to nationals in Granby CO, about 120 miles away. By this point, I was beginning to feel some fatigue from the elevation as I was rolling into my second week at <7,500’.>

Crested Butte

Crested Butte

Stumpy in her element



After a few days of CB action, we were off to Fuita CO to hit the familiar Kokopelli trail system. With day time highs near 95 degrees in the summer, we set out for an evening 2 hour ride in much more tolerable temps, good advice from local rockstar Ross Schell. An hour into the ride my rear derailleur cable broke. Despite the mechanical, this didn’t stop us from soaking in the vistas of Colorado’s colorful sunset on desert red slickrock with the mighty Colorado river lazily snaking through the canyon. Following Fruita we checked out the Grand Canyon. It was my forth time to see this famous hole in the ground but it still has the ability to leave me speechless upon walking to its edge. Flagstaff AZ was the next destination on our journey westward. Flag puts off such a positive vibe with its small town atmosphere and colorful people. The town reminded me of Ashville NC or Bellingham WA with the countless places to eat, places to listen to live music, and friendly people to offer advice on the happening things to do. After hitting up Specialized dealer Absolute bikes, Shelly and I began our trek with a detailed trail route (left at burnt stump, right at the two rock piles, etc...) which was part of the Buffalo Park trail network. Once we reached the top of “the climb,” local downhill rippers offered a refreshing Coors Light before continuing on their way. Shelly and I continued to follow our trail route (follow ridgeline, halfway through bolder field veer right….) which rewarded us with views of the city below. After completing a handful of technical descents, the trail dumped us out in the middle of a blooming meadow of wild flowers. Bumble bees the size of quarters were busy gathering pollen in the fragrant sea of blue. Continuing our descent into town, we stopped at the Crepe Place for an amazing Nutella and berries crepe to seal the deal on the days’ adventure.

Evening ride in Fruta

Sunflowers in bloom

Shelly mid ride outside of Flag

Colorado skies at dusk




What an adventure, traveling from one destination to another, riding amazing bikes with amazing people. Lastly, a special thanks to Kirt, Lindsey and the All Ride Tour team for their support and entertainment during the nationals trip. I look forward to more adventures with this fun crew in the future. Check back soon, more photos to come.Get rad!