This year’s grand prize celebrates the legacy of the Downieville Classic, and the trail network at the heart of the singular race.
One bike brand. One town. One race. And a long legacy of giving back to the trails. Santa Cruz Bicycles has been by our side for 25 years of the Downieville Classic, 20 years since we formed Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship as a nonprofit to help maintain trails in Downieville and numerous 5 Bucks a Foot campaigns. Together, we’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the iconic Downieville Trail Network, as well as trails throughout the Lost Sierra.
This year, we’ve upped the ante once again with a 5 Bucks a Foot bike built around a carbon Santa Cruz Hightower 29er frame in Gloss Ocean Blue, and featuring Carbon Reserve HD 30 Wheels, a Shimano XTR drivetrain, top-end Fox Factory 36 fork, Fox Factory Float X shock, White Industries custom gold hubs laser-etched with the 25th anniversary Downieville Classic logo, and matching gold bottom bracket, cranks and headset and Paul Component Boxcar stem and dropper trigger. WTB Vigilante 2.5 and Judge 2.4 tires and the New WTB Volt, custom Downieville Classic saddle round out this very special build.
Santa Cruz Bicycles’ deep ties to Downieville are ingrained in the DNA of many of its bike models, and the Hightower is no different. With 29-inch wheels, 145 millimeters of rear travel, 150 millimeters of front travel and well-balanced geometry, the do-it-all Hightower is equally at home gobbling up chunky tech on Butcher Ranch as it is flowing fast and smooth on Third Divide. The frame, made of Santa Cruz’s top-tier C-level carbon fiber, has all the latest bells and whistles, including Glovebox in-frame storage, a sag window and internal cable tunnels. Add to it top-of-the-line parts from our best partners, and you’ve got a prize package worth upwards of $10,000.
A Fundraiser to Support the Downieville Trail Network and Connected Communities
Since we launched 5 Bucks a Foot in 2014, dollars raised through the campaign have directly benefited trails in Downieville trails, allowing SBTS crews to complete several milestone projects, such as the 5-mile Gold Valley Rim trail, which re-routed the PCT at the Sierra Crest and is now a key section of the Downieville XC course; the Cal-Ida trail, a 20-mile connection between the Hall’s Ranch and Chimney Rock trails, the reopening of the North Yuba Trail from Goodyears Bar to Rocky Rest Campground, as well as singletrack additions to the tops of the Rattlesnake, Lavezzola, Big Boulder and Pauley Creek trails.
For nearly a decade, 5 Bucks a Foot has supported Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s efforts to make #dirtmagic in the Lost Sierra region of northern California, raising nearly $1 million for trails, and helping to fund numerous new trails and the ongoing maintenance of trails in the Lost Sierra. Each entry supports our mission to bring long term economic stability to the Lost Sierra, through recreation, job creation and conservation.
This year, 5 Bucks a Foot will build on that legacy, contributing to the:
- Continual maintenance of 113 miles of trails in Downieville, including logging out downed trees, felling hazardous trees, brushing, piling and chipping, tread conservation, erosion control and armoring water crossings. This annual work brings us back to our roots—SBTS formed as a nonprofit 20 years ago in order to partner with the Tahoe National Forest to help maintain the trails in Downieville, which catalyzed the town’s transformation from a former mining town into an economy built around recreation. Since 2003, we’ve maintained 227 miles of trail in Downieville. 5 Bucks a Foot helps us keep going!
- Realignment of the Big Boulder Trail. SBTS is currently working on a 1-mile re-route of Big Boulder, above Second and Third Divide, which will be supported by dollars raised from this campaign.
- Construction of 10 miles of the 17-mile Mexican Mile trail, which will once again link Downieville by trail to the historic town of Forest City, a connection that hasn’t existed since the days of the Gold Rush. This project is being completed in partnership with the Tahoe National Forest, which received a California State Parks grant to fund the work. SBTS is committed to a match that 5 Bucks a Foot dollars will help us meet.
- Maintenance of the 15-mile North Yuba Trail, which connects Rocky Rest Campground to Goodyears Bar. We currently do not have funding for this project, and 5 Bucks a Foot will help us kick start the work.
- Connected Communities Project, a visionary effort we’re leading in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and community partners to use trails to drive economic revitalization in the Lost Sierra. One of the project’s intents is to connect 15 mountain towns with a multi-use signature route made up of existing and new trails that would bring trail users directly into rural communities to help support local businesses—similarly to how trails have boosted business in Downieville.
For nearly a decade, 5 Bucks a Foot has supported Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s efforts to make #dirtmagic in the Lost Sierra region of northern California, raising nearly $1 million for trails, and helping to fund numerous new trails and the ongoing maintenance of trails in the Lost Sierra. Each entry supports our mission to bring long term economic stability to the Lost Sierra, through recreation, job creation and conservation.
