Premium Iowa Singletrack

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.

Sunday Jan. 20 we’ll be taking a little stroll around the trails at Seven Oaks. This will be GPS mapping trip so we’re going to be hiking the trail from start to finish. That’s going to be over 7 mi on snow and ice covered single track so plan accordingly. The march will leave the main ski lodge at 9 am. As always, if you have any questions you can reach me by leaving a comment or by phone 515-238-3841. Dress warm, pack a lunch and we’ll see you Sunday!

2008 is here and it’s time to get geared up for the sixth annual 24hrs of Seven Oaks.  Our goal for this seasons race is to get more racers out with more cash into the winners hands. Our biggest race was in 05with 112 riders and that is only a fraction of what this race could be. We’re not in it for the money! We pay our bills then give the rest to the racers. What we need from you are ideas on how to make the race better. What do you the racers want to see? More categories? Preems for the 6, 12 and 18hr winners? Nude laps? You tell us!