Downieville, California (Sierra Nevada Mountains)

They have a bar here named after a Saint. It’s hard to find food before 5:00PM or after 7:00PM. Nobody can tell you when or if any particular store will open. I have no cell phone reception in town, or in any direction for 50 miles. They have these strangely dressed, um, I don’t know, mannequins I guess, in random places. The power was out most of the day yesterday. Dogs wander freely about town. I haven’t seen a leash once. Welcome to Downieville, California, the coolest town I’ve ever been in.

I met a lot of people here, and this post is mostly going to be about them. Here you go.

I’ve found that the best place to go when arriving to a town the first time is the bar. There, you’ll find all the answers to the questions you have about the area and you will also find beer. Here, that bar is Saint Charles Place.  It was late afternoon when I walked in. A tall thin guy walked past me in the dim light as I approached the bar. He was about 6’3” with a long grey beard. He was wearing sunglasses. On the floor was a sleeping dog that was about the size of a dire wolf. The bartender, a woman named Robin, greeted me. There were only 4 people in the bar, and I knew each of them by name before I left, as well as the dog’s name, which was Brutus. Robin works here part-time, but her full time occupation is teaching math and science at the local school. Her personality is sharp and intelligent, with just a bit of wolf eyes so you knew you weren't going to get away with anything. Consummate school teacher. The school educates kids from Kindergarten through 12^th grade. About 50 in all.

Brutus. The entire town knows and loves this dog. But, there is one thing he does not like.

And that thing he does not like is the paparazzi. As soon as he saw me hold my phone up, he got irritated. I put it away and we've been friends ever since.

The gentleman in this photo is Dale. The owner of the bar, Steve, referred to him as "King". I only got to chat with him very briefly. I regret not trying harder. He seems to be a big part of this community. Maybe one of you can come visit here and tell me his story. On Dale's arm is Robin.

 

Here is the gentleman that walked past me when I first arrived, Larry, with his wife Cheryl. He has a Harley he bought back in '79. He said nobody has ever laid a wrench on it except him. The town grocery store had closed up before Larry had a chance to buy a cigar. He was happy to learn I always keep a couple stashed in my car.

Larry and Cheryl and a pretty funny sign on the left.

We never stop learning new things about ourselves as we go through life. For instance, some might discover that they don’t enjoy their Chardonnay oaked, while others might discover that they do not enjoy riding their bicycle on the edge of a shear cliff. We are quirky creatures. So, when I get to a new town, I find a good bike shop and get the down-low on all the local trails. Here, that shop was the Downieville Outfitters. The owner, Greg, hooked me up with some great rides (I wish I’d gotten a picture of Greg, but I didn’t). In any case, please visit Greg. He will hook you up. Yuba Expeditions is also in town, and equally capable.

I did a long ride two days ago on the most famous trails system here, which is called the Downieville Downhill. The very top of the ride is still snow covered but a large portion of it is open and in perfect condition. Yesterday, I did the North Yuba Trail. On this ride, I got a taste of how quickly the weather can change here (see: The Donner Party).  After a long switchback climb, I was nearing the top of my ride when I felt a rain drop. Two minutes later I was in a complete downpour. The trail quickly turned into a creek, so I turned back and rolled back into town about an hour later with the rain still pouring down. I got to my hotel and found the owner, Mike, and two other riders who had also gotten caught in the rain chatting in the hotel’s garage area. Mike stepped inside and came back with a glass of Irish whiskey and handed it to me. How I love this town. After that, I cleaned up and then joined Mike for a cigar and beer. Shortly after, the other two riders (Nick and Brian) joined us. We sat on the deck, watched the rain, drank our beer, and listened to Mike’s stories about the history of the area. As we sat there, the power blinked back on.

North Yuba Trail about 15 minutes before the downpour

A shot from the 2nd Divide Trail.

Also on the 2nd Divide Trail

This is the owner of the Riverside Inn, Mike. And, I shit you not, he is receiving a phone call from the electric company letting him know that the power is out. It's been out for 7 hours at this point.

Here is the only remotely decent pic I got of Nick (right) and Brian (left, and don't call him Ryan). We were commiserating on food options at this point. These were great guys. Brian is a auto mechanic, and Nick owns a business installing car racks for all varieties of outdoor enthusiasts. If you live in the bay area, he's your man. Nick Bullion. Nick@racksolid.com
www.racksolid.com

Nick, Brian, and I were starting to get hungry, so we set out on a search for food. No luck. The one place serving food today, St. Charles Place, had sold out of their one and only option, pulled pork BBQ sandwiches. There was nothing else to be had in town. So, I ordered a beer and a snickers bar. They do not pair well. Then a gang of Canadians I had met on the Downieville Trail the day before walked in. We spent the next hour laughing with them and then they invited us to their place for dinner. Score! Real food! There were five in their group, three of them were family physicians, their ages ranged from mid-forties to 66, and all of them were bad ass mountain bikers. They couldn’t have been friendlier. The eight of us ate at a great big table in their mountain house and traded stories until late. It was the best rainy day I can remember. 

This is one of the very few pix I have of the Canadians. The power had been out most of the day and my phone was nearly dead. 

Brian, Nick, and Mystery Canadian at the mountain house

Ok, so I could talk about these folks all day. But, there are other folks I need to talk about, so I'm going to move on. Would you like to meet Crystal Rick?

Crystal Rick

I was riding a trail they call the "1st Divide" when I passed Crystal Rick. He was into his work and didn't hear me coming, so I made some noise as I approached. He heard me and jumped off the trail to let me pass. I said "hello" and he said "I'm hunting crystals!".  I rode for about 100 feet and then realized that seemed eager to fill me in on what he was doing. I hit the brakes, dropped the bike, and walked back to see what Crystal Rick had to share. This was his "claim", an area he owned and could search for crystals. He talked about the color and clarity, how they grew, and how the best time to hunt was after the rain. He sometimes worked the this area, and another he owned, with a metal detector looking for gold, which he occasionally found. He gave me a few dirty stones and told me to wash them off when I got home. Here's one of them:

Crystal Rick said he was about to smoke up and asked me if I wanted to join him. I noted that I was on a mountain bike with quite a few miles of single track riding to go and that I had little experience with the marijuana. He laughed. We shook hands, and away I went.

David and Tyler:

David and Tyler and a bare assed woman on the right.

David and Tyler hunt for gold. They have a gold mine up here that they are working hard on. Tyler loves hockey and convinced me for once and forever that hockey is the most challenging sport on the planet. He also looks a little like Dave Grohl. David (not the dave grohl look alike, tyler) runs things. He reminds me of some of the GMs (General Managers) of baseball teams I've met in my days with my cousin Andy McCauley. Here's David with his friend:

OK, so Deana didn't like this pic as much as some other pics I took. But it's my blog and I liked it.

I'm getting towards the end here, so stick with me. I have to mention Steve, owner of Saint Charles Place. If there is a guy that is going to feed you in this town, particularly if you're here in mid-week non-prime season, it's probably going to be Steve. He owns St. Charles and runs it well. He offers only one dish per day. 6 days a week, it's a pork BBQ sandwich. One day, Wednesday (today!!), it's a cheeseburger. Are you getting a feeling for this town? The pulled pork is excellent, the cheez burger was oh so good. Here is an awful pic of Steve. The man never stopped moving. Best I could do was this:

Steve.

I'm really trying to wrap this up. But don't you want to hear about the guy who was dropped off at my hotel by a sheriff? Well, of course you do. Meet Dave:

Dave was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT, as they call it in these parts). He started in Mexico and 700 miles later ended here, talking to me, after being rescued by helicopter off a mountain top. He'd hit an area that had a pretty solid trail, but it was through about 7 feet of snow. Then it started snowing (again, See: The Donner Party). The snow hid the trail from him, which was on a cliff side. So, he set up his tent out in the open so he could be clearly seen by any helicopter that might come by, and spent two full days hoping for rescue. He was saved via helicopter, which dropped him off with a local sheriff who then brought him to my camera lens. I asked him what he was going to do next. He said, "I'm going home". 

Dave was really happy to be in this vehicle.

There are only two to go, and they will be quick. Meet Morgan and Megan. Recent mothers who had exactly 3 minutes. Their husbands, or maybe boyfriends, I don't know (i only had 3 minutes friends), where waiting with their babies in the car. They entered the bar like a hurricane, ordered what looked like an irish car bomb, never stopped talking for a second, and left at the 3 minute mark.

Morgan and Megan. No clue which is which. They enjoyed this 3 minutes thoroughly 

So Morgan and Megan only count as one. Now you meet Shawn. Shawn is a fisherman and motorcycle enthusiast that spends his off seasons riding about Mexico and any other twisted road he can find. To finance this, he works on tuna fishing boats. He's done this since the late 70s. 

And 100% finally, I promise. Please put this place on your list. It's great for biking, kayaking, fishing, and relaxing. And if you do make it here, stay at the Riverside Inn. Maybe bring some food. Thanks for reading.