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Memberships are as low as $5 per month and include a subscription! adventuresportsjournal.com/membership is the biggest event of the year with thousands of people attending from all over the world, the Classic gives folks a feel of what Downieville must have been like in the early days when gold was abundant and business was booming.

In order to help bolster his fledgling Coyote Adventures guiding company, Greg Williams started the Coyote Classic in 1995. At first, Williams

— Mark Weir, MTB legend and eight time winner with a broom; a tradition he has kept alive to this day. was met with mixed response from residents, but in Williams’ signature fashion, he didn’t give up, knocked on the door of every resident on Main Street and won them over with his sincerity, receiving their blessing so he could shut down the street for the day to run the event. Williams was also the last person seen in town cleaning up after each year’s event, sweeping trash off Main Street

The Downieville Classic is also the only event that ever gave out real gold nuggets, awarding the first man and woman to the top of the cross-country climb with one.

“It’s the only prize I have ever won that has gained value over the years,” said Stosh Bankston, local Nevada City mountain bike legend and Coyote Classic winner.

Before 2020, the only year the Classic didn’t run was in 2004, when Williams welcomed his first child into the world. That year, longtime supporter Santa Cruz Bicycles still cut Williams a check for sponsorship of the event, but instead of it going to producing the Downieville Classic, Williams put that money towards funding the creation of the Sierra to watch a last-minute heatwave melt all the snow a few days before the event, the 25th running of the Downieville Classic will also involve snow shoveling to make some of the upper trails passable.

For most mortals, finishing the downhill in under an hour is something to be proud of. That’s right, an hourlong descent at full speed. And for good measure, there’s 500 feet of climbing to really burn the memory into the lungs and legs as much as the brain.

Buttes Trail Stewardship, a local non-profit trail building organization celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, and the beneficiary of funds raised by the Downieville Classic.

“Without the support of the community and Santa Cruz Bicycles, neither the Downieville Classic nor the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship would exist today,” said Williams.

After a three-year hiatus due to COVID and wildfires, the 25th Anniversary of the Downieville Classic returns in grand fashion on July 13-16 after a historic winter dropping record snowpack on the Sierra Nevada. Much like in 2011 when a massive winter forced hundreds of volunteers to shovel out the trail for weeks leading up to the race, only

It’s unclear if the cross-country event will use Gold Valley Rim Trail due to snowpack depth, but one thing is for certain: the snow won’t stop the Classic, it will only make the 25th running more legendary, especially the river jump thanks to runoff keeping the river running high all summer long.

Today’s population of Downieville is barely 200 year-round residents, when in the 1850s it ranked in the thousands. Considering the Downieville Classic is the biggest event of the year with thousands of people attending from all over the world, the Classic gives folks a feel of what Downieville must have been like in the early days when gold was abundant and business was booming.

Kindred spirit and co-founder of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, Mark “Uncle Coz” Cosbey is a man of few words, but when he speaks, he makes it count, especially when looking back on the history of the Classic.

“We made the race happen during fires, we made it happen with massive amounts of snow, and most importantly to us, we did it when others doubted,” said Uncle Coz. “We all did it because we love it, and because we love each other. We’ve all got the passion for the Downieville Classic; whether you come to race or to volunteer or to just sit in the river with a cold beer. Friendships of

For more information on Downieville Classic registration, volunteering and a schedule of events, visit downievilleclassic.com For more information on Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, visit sierratrails.org.

Earn Your Beer

Volunteering and Gravity Heights

By James Murren