A new way to see the extreme Downieville downhill mountain biking

Anyone who has ever tried mountain biking Downieville’s legendary downhill trails knows you need great skills, brawny legs and an excellent medical plan. I attempted the 17-mile, high-speed plunge last year for a Los Angeles Times Travel article and was lucky I survived with only a few bruises and cuts.

But Bobby McMullen, a mountain biker from Redding, California, must have nerves of steel. He is once again taking on the Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race this weekend. Oh, yeah, and he’s legally blind. McMullen’s daredevil exploits have been documented in a film called “The Way Bobby Sees It,” by Poison Oak Productions.

Clips of McMullen’s spills and successes in Downieville have also been a huge hit on YouTube. You can see McMullen take on the downhill course again this weekend in Downieville or you can watch the documentary at the fourth annual Action on Film international film festival July 29 at the Laemmle Theatres in Pasadena.

– Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: Bobby McMullen follows a guide on a Downieville trail by Forrest Arakawa]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 11:19 am by Hugo Martin and is filed under California, Lake Tahoe & Eastern Sierra, Outdoors & Adventure, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.