pk
September 26th, 2002, 11:33 AM
From: http://www.yubaexpeditions.com/pages/entry/entry.frame.html
³The time has come, the walrus said,
to speak of many things.
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax,
and cabbages and kings.
Of why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wingsS²
There has been much inquiry and hand wringing in regard to this yearıs SSWC. Many, many emails and phone calls have been received by many people. And they have all been equally ignored. Why?
Because these are one speeds, folks. How much preparation and fretting do you really need to put yourself through. Just show up, prepare to drink and ride hard, and give it no further thought. This was never meant to be a complex or serious kind of thing.
However, we do have some details for you:
When and where?
October 12th. Downieville. Race will start at 10:00 a.m sharp. Staging will need to commence at start line about a halof hour earlier. Registration will open the day before, at the Yuba Expeditions shop in Downieville. Itıs the only bike shop in town, on the only business street In town, so itıs hard to miss. First come, first served. In the very unlikely event that the event looks like filling up, remaining spots will be determined by applicants familiarity with Lewis Carrolıs poem ³The Walrus And The Carpenter². You have been warned. We will also pull aside about a hundred entries for foreigners, returning champions, ringers, and dignitaries. You know who you
are.
There will be casual drunkenness on Friday night, and a party with a band on Saturday night. Winners, men and women, will be branded this year, as opposed to the tattoos of years past. Donıt want a brand? Donıt win. All racers drink for free, and there should hopefully be a feed of sorts after the race on Saturday. Loads of prizes. Everyone should go home with something.
Whatıll it cost?
20 bucks. We have to pay for band, brand, permits, insurance, and food. Thanks tro our sponsors for all the goodies we will shower you all with, a choice of either a t-shirt or swank limited edition poster, food and much beer, but we need the cash to pay for a lot of it. Donıt worry, none of us will be going home with any money in our pockets. However, we are still very seriously considering charging all Canadian entrants double.
Whatıs the course?
To be brutally frank, who cares? Just show up and ******* ride!But, since some of you (Canadians, in particular) have been incessantly whiny about details, here goes: At the moment, it looks like the course will be a 35 or so mile single loop with about 6500 feet of climbing in it. A thirteen mile opening climb (mostly mellow fireroad) will be followed by more climbing of the short gutbuster variety, punctuated with rolling short downhills on dubletrack. Then it will get rocky, and steep. Then you will go downhill on very steep, sketchy boulder fields. Then, itıll mellow out, but stay rocky, more up and down stuff, before dropping into a nice, fast, loose doubletrack valley. Then itıll go up again for another 1000 or so feet, half of which is kind of push climb-ey. Then thereıs a whole shitload of fast and often sketchy singletrack downhill to the finish, with a few short, sharp mindfuck climbs thrown in for good measure. High point of the course is about 7100 feet above sea level. If you want to be a geek about your gearing and equipment, we would recommend going with an easy-ish gear (although we still strongly recommend just riding whatever gear you are used to), wearing shoes that are good to run in, and bringing some very fat tires. Right now, itıs super loose everywhere. If it rains, things might firm up and become absolute heaven. But we wouldnıt bet on it.
All this is subject to change without notice, depending on what the forest service lets us run with. Whatever we do have, mind you, will be pretty similar in profile from what we have just outlined. Thatıs just the shape of the countryside around here. We currently have four different courses under consideration for permits. Again, none of this really matters. Just show up, quit asking dumb questions, and race.
What ifS?
A couple important ones. Course might change somewhat depending on whether the forest service approves our loop, but regardless, it will be AT LEAST as long and as steep as what we have outlined. It will also be a big single lap with a couple aid/party stations, unless it snows and we get forced down to the lower ground. Speaking of snow, it might. This could really spice things up. But it might also force us to use a 36 mile, two lap race with 6600 feet of climbing. Almost all singletrack.
Either way, be prepared for any sort of weather. If the snow comes early and ultra-hard, which is conceivable but not likely, we might have to cancel. There will be a posting if this occurs. In the meantime, pack for hot OR cold conditions.
What else?
Downieville is a small town of 300. There is one bar, and a strong population of rednecks, some of whom really hate mountain bikes. Manners go a very long way here. People who act like dicks sometimes get their asses kicked.
There are several campsites within ten miles of town. Indian Valley, Rocky Rest, Ramshorn, and ???? are downstream of town, while Union Flat and Loganville are between Downieville and Sierra City. All are on the banks of the North Yuba river, all are Forest Service sites, all cost about $14 per night per site and are filled on a first come, first serve basis. This time of year shouldnıt be too crowded with anyone but gearless bike riding fools. There are also several places to stay in Downieville; Downieville River Inn, Downieville Inn, Carriage House, Riverside Inn, and numerous vacation rental houses. There are also accomodations twelve miles away in in Sierra City. Prices start at about $70 per night for most of the hotels, and about $100 per for the houses, most of which can sleep eight or more people. Check with the Downieville Chamber of Commerce for more info.
Thatıs about it. Donıt bother to call or email us, because we wonıt respond. Just show up, ready to race. See you then.
³The time has come, the walrus said,
to speak of many things.
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax,
and cabbages and kings.
Of why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wingsS²
There has been much inquiry and hand wringing in regard to this yearıs SSWC. Many, many emails and phone calls have been received by many people. And they have all been equally ignored. Why?
Because these are one speeds, folks. How much preparation and fretting do you really need to put yourself through. Just show up, prepare to drink and ride hard, and give it no further thought. This was never meant to be a complex or serious kind of thing.
However, we do have some details for you:
When and where?
October 12th. Downieville. Race will start at 10:00 a.m sharp. Staging will need to commence at start line about a halof hour earlier. Registration will open the day before, at the Yuba Expeditions shop in Downieville. Itıs the only bike shop in town, on the only business street In town, so itıs hard to miss. First come, first served. In the very unlikely event that the event looks like filling up, remaining spots will be determined by applicants familiarity with Lewis Carrolıs poem ³The Walrus And The Carpenter². You have been warned. We will also pull aside about a hundred entries for foreigners, returning champions, ringers, and dignitaries. You know who you
are.
There will be casual drunkenness on Friday night, and a party with a band on Saturday night. Winners, men and women, will be branded this year, as opposed to the tattoos of years past. Donıt want a brand? Donıt win. All racers drink for free, and there should hopefully be a feed of sorts after the race on Saturday. Loads of prizes. Everyone should go home with something.
Whatıll it cost?
20 bucks. We have to pay for band, brand, permits, insurance, and food. Thanks tro our sponsors for all the goodies we will shower you all with, a choice of either a t-shirt or swank limited edition poster, food and much beer, but we need the cash to pay for a lot of it. Donıt worry, none of us will be going home with any money in our pockets. However, we are still very seriously considering charging all Canadian entrants double.
Whatıs the course?
To be brutally frank, who cares? Just show up and ******* ride!But, since some of you (Canadians, in particular) have been incessantly whiny about details, here goes: At the moment, it looks like the course will be a 35 or so mile single loop with about 6500 feet of climbing in it. A thirteen mile opening climb (mostly mellow fireroad) will be followed by more climbing of the short gutbuster variety, punctuated with rolling short downhills on dubletrack. Then it will get rocky, and steep. Then you will go downhill on very steep, sketchy boulder fields. Then, itıll mellow out, but stay rocky, more up and down stuff, before dropping into a nice, fast, loose doubletrack valley. Then itıll go up again for another 1000 or so feet, half of which is kind of push climb-ey. Then thereıs a whole shitload of fast and often sketchy singletrack downhill to the finish, with a few short, sharp mindfuck climbs thrown in for good measure. High point of the course is about 7100 feet above sea level. If you want to be a geek about your gearing and equipment, we would recommend going with an easy-ish gear (although we still strongly recommend just riding whatever gear you are used to), wearing shoes that are good to run in, and bringing some very fat tires. Right now, itıs super loose everywhere. If it rains, things might firm up and become absolute heaven. But we wouldnıt bet on it.
All this is subject to change without notice, depending on what the forest service lets us run with. Whatever we do have, mind you, will be pretty similar in profile from what we have just outlined. Thatıs just the shape of the countryside around here. We currently have four different courses under consideration for permits. Again, none of this really matters. Just show up, quit asking dumb questions, and race.
What ifS?
A couple important ones. Course might change somewhat depending on whether the forest service approves our loop, but regardless, it will be AT LEAST as long and as steep as what we have outlined. It will also be a big single lap with a couple aid/party stations, unless it snows and we get forced down to the lower ground. Speaking of snow, it might. This could really spice things up. But it might also force us to use a 36 mile, two lap race with 6600 feet of climbing. Almost all singletrack.
Either way, be prepared for any sort of weather. If the snow comes early and ultra-hard, which is conceivable but not likely, we might have to cancel. There will be a posting if this occurs. In the meantime, pack for hot OR cold conditions.
What else?
Downieville is a small town of 300. There is one bar, and a strong population of rednecks, some of whom really hate mountain bikes. Manners go a very long way here. People who act like dicks sometimes get their asses kicked.
There are several campsites within ten miles of town. Indian Valley, Rocky Rest, Ramshorn, and ???? are downstream of town, while Union Flat and Loganville are between Downieville and Sierra City. All are on the banks of the North Yuba river, all are Forest Service sites, all cost about $14 per night per site and are filled on a first come, first serve basis. This time of year shouldnıt be too crowded with anyone but gearless bike riding fools. There are also several places to stay in Downieville; Downieville River Inn, Downieville Inn, Carriage House, Riverside Inn, and numerous vacation rental houses. There are also accomodations twelve miles away in in Sierra City. Prices start at about $70 per night for most of the hotels, and about $100 per for the houses, most of which can sleep eight or more people. Check with the Downieville Chamber of Commerce for more info.
Thatıs about it. Donıt bother to call or email us, because we wonıt respond. Just show up, ready to race. See you then.