|   24hr race at 7 springs | fatmarc
Jul 26, 2003 4:19 PM | | has anyone done this race before? I think this year will be the 3rd year they have done it, I was looking for some information regarding the course, from a climbing and technical standpoint. Any help you can provide would be appreciated. I will be racing my SS karate monkey and was looking to get more info regarding the course... |
| re: 24hr race at 7 springs | MellowCat
Jul 26, 2003 9:48 PM | | Hey FM,
I rode this race last year on a 4 man clydesdale team.
The course is a blast. Basically it all starts at the top of the mountain near "lake tahoe". There are 2 loops that intersect near the lake right by the transition tent. The first loop is around 4 miles and uses some gravel road, single track and double track. This section has very little climbing, but does have some long rock gardens. The second loop drops down the mountain, basically running out and around the base of the "North face" ski hill. Total mileage for this section is 7 miles. The first 4 miles are almost all decending. On the way down you will hit switchbacks, rock gardens, rocky double track and some single track. Once you are through this section you will come out at the base of the North face ski runs and cross over them to the cat track which will be the basis for your climb back up to the top. The final climb will be a walker on a SS. I rode it on a geary, but honestly you would lose very little time walking the steepest section.
Be prepared for it to get cold at night. Last year the temp was almost 90 during the day, but got down to 55 at night. Good lights are a must as thick fog settles over the top of the mountain.
I'm not much of a racer, but I thought this was a fun event.
I was with a bunch of expert/pro level racers. They were running between 1:05 to 1:20min laps. My team was more like 1:25 - 1:50 per.
There is one section on the second loop that will be very tough to impossible on a rigid bike. The rocks are huge and pointy with almost no real line to follow. A fall in this section would most likely cause injury. I rode this section during my daylight lap, but ended up walking part of it at night, it just wasn't worth getting hurt. I rode a steel HT with a 80mm fork. Many people were on 4" travel FS bikes with discs. Ellsworth Truths seem to be the bike of choice.
Good luck if you deciede to compete!
MC |
| re: 24hr race at 7 springs | fatmarc
Jul 27, 2003 9:25 AM | | thank you very much. |
| Sorry I'm late... | eelpie
Jul 28, 2003 10:39 AM | | Rode it last year on a geared (FS) bike on a 4 person team. The course is indeed a blast, plenty of everything all mixed in. As mellowcat said, expect it to be cool at night, with fog likely.
If you are a pretty strong SSer, you should do okay on the KM, but don't expect it to be easy...yes, there are some pretty fast rocky downhill sections that were super-fun, but momemtum will get you over most of the stuff along with some decent line-picking and keeping yer ass behind the saddle. A wreck would, as MC said, likely be a race ender...two of the people I rode with had hospital visits, one did a face plant and came out okay but the other broke her leg.
There's a sprinkling of slow speed (flat terrain) rock gardens thrown in here and there too and narrow off cambers here and there. Most of the climbs are short, except for the last one. Not a lot of roots overall, if I remember correctly and not much fire roads. Smattering of log crossings here and there, but nothing epic.
If you are the lead rider, expect gearies to slow you down or stop you for the first half of the course. The last bit of the course is a fairly long gravel road uphill that will have you breathing hard or maybe walking on later laps, depending on your strength. I saw geared riders walking it as the course progressed.
Here's a link (don't remember if MC provided one in his reply):
http://www.7springs.com/
I prerode much of the course on an SS last year, but was in no physical shape to try SS for the actual race. If you have the luxury, go preride the course or at least as many of the trails there as you can...you'll likely cover most of it even if you're riding randomly.
Enjoy. |
| Sorry I'm late... | fatmarc
Jul 29, 2003 5:43 PM | | Thank you for your valuable information. How long is the final climb a mile 2 miles ? how steep is it? again thank you very much for your input... I will be certain to be careful. I stick with the moto that has worked for me for 10 years, when in doubt dismount, that coupled with a little cyclocross usually has worked out in ugly sections where I have needed to run...
thank you again,
fatmarc |
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