One of my favorite things about the Downieville Classic race weekend is how much the locals get into it. There's nothing better than seeing the town's elderly residents hanging out in rockers on their porches watching the revelry and waving as you walk past. (Except maybe hearing the sweet lady who runs the Downieville Grocery call a 190-pound, ripped & tattoo'd downhiller "sweetie" as she rings him up.) Volunteer camping is in two places: on the high school baseball field, and on the private property of a Downieville resident, right on the Yuba River. Many locals are volunteers, including a couple of teenagers who -- very creatively -- manned the bike check.
The town's population is 325. The racer limit caps at 800, so adding in significant others, friends, and kids, the town's population on race weekend at least triples, probably quadruples. Parking is non-existent, every hotel and campsite is full, the streets are jam-packed with riders and spectators. But even so, there's no theft, there are no fights, there's no frustration. And because there's also no cell phone service, everyone is forced to slow down and relax.
Except when they're on the race course, that is. ;)
1 comment:
hahaha, that's freaking awsome! That's amazing that the town had accommodate all those people.
--shari
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