While I was off to Decorah for the TT, Ron spent his Sunday repairing bridges. The word from the trail is wet, wet, wet! The ground is just too saturated to drain properly I guess. With more rain in the forecast for later this week lets hope we don’t see any precipitation next week at all. We need a solid week of drying before the 3and6. Cross your fingers!
This is the little mower that could.
Found by a curb on garbage day 6 years ago this spring, this little mower is one of the unsung heroes of Seven Oaks. We’ve never done an ounce of maintenance on this gem and it’s never failed to start. Insert gas, prime and start. Every time every year. It’s made most of the trail we all ride on, so be sure to thank it next time you see it rusting by the side of the trail. And yes, it started today on the 9th pull.
Sorry to all about the cancleation of Saterdays festivites. Mother nature decided it wasen’t in the cards I guess. Most of the dates are full till sometime in July so were concedring rescheudling the races for a Friday night. Let me know what you all think.
On a happier note the trails are in realively good shape this year. With the trail drying and temps climbing Uncle Kurt and I took a stroll around the course today. We found the usual clutter on the trail. Lots of sticks, leaves, a low hanging branch or two, and a few trees down. The trees have been cleared and the sticks kicked to the side now we just need to move a little dirt around in a few spots and the trail will be ready to go for the season.
Here’s a photo recap of the day:
Sweet single track almost ready to ride.
After a little foraging we found a few rocks to fill in a wet spot.
A little snack from atop the BIG Bridge.
Cyclocross hill is still there.
The Corner of Doom is still there too. Kurt can’t figure it out. I have trouble with it too. If anyone has an idea or suggestions on how to fix this corner please speak up.
Before
After
At Seven Oaks we like our streams to go under our bridges, not around.
A new log bridge from late last fall.
Kurt’s kind of a poser.
Thanks to Uncle Kurt for giving up rideing today to help clean up the trail with me. Thats one of the hardest parts of trail mantanince, giving up a great trainig day to work. Oh well, it’s gotta be done. I’d say that if the rain hold off this Monday an Tuesday the trail should be ready to ride by Wednesday. Keep in mind the 3and6 is coming up the two weeks.
Thanks for your interest.
I hate canceling races! But I hate riding in mud more and I’m sure you all feel the same way. So, were going to postpone this weekends race till a date later this spring or early summer. I didn’t want to give up till i saw the trail with my own eyes and after the trip to Seven Oaks I have no choice. The gravel road we were going to use for part of the course was on the edge of not being passable in a 4×4, so bikes would be out of the question. All open dates are being examined and a reschedule will be made soon. Thanks to all the showed interest in the race and i hope to see you all on May 10th for the 3and6.
Don’t let todays rain scare you. I think we’ll still be OK for Saturdays race. The storms see to be taking a southeasterly route. If the rain hold off for most off Friday and we get a little wind you may find the course in perfect racing condition. I’ll be at the course most of the day tomorrow cleaning up a bit and prepping for Saturdays. I’ll make sure to keep you all posted on course conditions. Stay tuned!
One more race coulden’t hurt. How about a downhill? Saturday June 21 at noon we will be holding a downhill. And you guessed it, this downhill will be all single track! Utilizing the longest section of negative incline we have, times should be in the minuet and a half range. It’s not Colorado but not to shabby for Iowa. I couldn’t tell you what the total millage will be but who cares, it’ll be fun. The course will be tight, twisty and all down hill. Riders will start at 30 second intervals so passing shouldn’t be an issue. Depending on turnout I imagine we can get in about 4 to 5 runs. There will be two classes: full suspension and hard tail. I figure that will give every one a fair chance. Race cost is $10. We will be paying our rent to Seven Oaks then paying back the rest. That means 50% of the gate will be payed back. Sound like fun? Here’s the only bad news. The backside of the ski hill where the race is being held has no ski lift. That means your on your own to get back to the start line for the next heat. Don’t worry the path to the top will be ridable but is human power only. Sorry! I’m interested to hear everyones comments on this format. See you all soon.
We’ve decided to get the ladies involved! Our Single Track Crit on Apr. 19 will now feature a women’s class. This race will be run in conjunction with the beginners race at 11am. Registration will open at ten and will take place at the top of the ski hill. This is a great chance for first time women races to get a taste of mountain bike racing in a low stress environment. The course will consist of some of the fastest and most flowing single track Seven Oaks has to offer. No major hills and short lap times will guarantee a good time. Race distance will be 35 minuets plus 2 laps. Entry fee of $10 with cash pay back to top finishers. I’ll say it again this is a great race for first timers so please help spread the word and pass this info along to any one you think may be interested.
Sunday March 30 we will be having a workday at Seven Oaks. We will be building new trail along the entrance road at the top of the ski hill. This new trail will be a bypass of the alfalfa field section we are removing. It should be and easy day of work with no major hiking or dirt work. We will be starting at 9 but your welcome to show up any time. No tool or experience are needed. If the trails are dry we will also be riding a lap to check out the rest of the trails. Hope to see you there!
This year at STP we’ve decided to try something new. In addition to our XC race on August 3 and the 24 on August 30-31 we will be hosting two different races this spring. First off I’d like to start by telling you these races will be very low key. We’re putting these races on because they sound like fun to us and we want to share our passion for mountain bikes. There may be swag and pay out will be based completely on rider turn out, but everyone will have a good time.
Race one will be a singletrack criterium held on April 19. It will be held completely at the top of the ski hill and will be 75% single track with no major hills. This will be a timed race much like cyclocross. Sport riders will race for 45min+2 laps and experts will compete for 1hr+2. With no hills and the course consisting of fast flowing singletrack I would expect lap times be in the 5-10 min range. Both races will start at high noon(12pm). Registration will open at 10:30 and a mandatory riders meeting will take place prior to the start of the race. Entry fee will be a measly $10. Cash will be payed out to top finishers in each class based completely on rider turn out.
Race two will be slightly longer. May 10th we will be hosting a 3/6hr race. This race will also be staged from the top of the ski hill. To mix things up the races will run full length laps but in reverse direction. Both races will be run at the same time and will start at 10am. The 3hr will conclude at 1pm with the 6hr finishing at 4pm. Race registration will open at 8am and a mandatory racers meeting will take place prior the the start of the race. Race categories are as follows: Six hour solo. Six hour 2 person team. 3hr solo. Simple and low key is the theme here. Entry fees will be $35 solo and $50 per team. Cash pay out to top finishers will be based completely on rider turn out.
RACE DISCLAIMER. I want to stress these races are geared towards having fun. If you are after a big pay out or huge tables of swag you won’t find it at either race. If that’s what you are after we encourage you to come back later this summer for the 24hr race. These races are designed to be spring tune up races to blow the dust off of your single track skills. Both races will be subject to cancellation if trail conditions are not dry. Fresh fruit, water and restrooms will be available to all races in that order. That said you may need to pack a lunch if you plan on racing in the 6hr. Each rider must wear a helmet at all times when on or near a bike. Questions and comments are always welcome. Please feel free to E-mail me at ksedore@toyotadm.com.
This past Sunday five hearty soles managed to hike the entire Seven Oaks trail. Troy, Paul, Taylor, Ron and myself headed out at 9am with the temp at -5. After a blistering pace of 3mph we managed to complete the trek in just over two and half hours. It was a good time and an even better workout. Taylor even managed to keep his heart rate in zone 2 for the entirety. After crunching the numbers here’s what we’ve learned:
Trail length is just over six and half miles long. That may seem a little shorter than most of you remember it being in the past, but we’ve lost a little trail this fall. First off we’ve cut out the trail around the paintball field. I know most of you are upset by this but it was getting a little too hard to keep open. Plus a little too flat if you ask me. Second we’ve decided to concede the battle with the motocross track. The trail that crosses the face was continually plowed under every season leaving us to rebuild the week before the 24. Not a fun thing to do, so for now it is out of the loop.
Next we found the course has 1733 feet of elevation gain per lap. After a little math I figured out that last year Mr. Pottorff (24hr solo winner) climbed just shy of 6 vertical miles during the 24. Not too bad. Average trail grade measures at 12%. Percentage wise the trail brakes down to 40% climbing, 40% descending and with 20% labeled as flat. Pretty impressive for Iowa.
These numbers are going to keep changing with new trail being added each year. However don’t look for any large sections of new trail this season. We’ve decided that after 4 years of large trail expansion were going to take a year to tune things up a bit. You all know the areas I’m talking about. Comments and suggestions are welcome, but help is greatly appreciated! We will be hosting quite a few work days throughout the spring and summer, so please check back here and lend a hand if you can.
