CRAMBA: Seven Lakes

[Josh McCreedy]

Let's choose an evening this week. Then, maybe we could post it in the ride announcements as well.

[Josh McCreedy]

Trails have seen some recent weed whip trimming and saw work and are in excellent shape.

[Critter7r]

Rode 7 Lakes last night after work... holy cow, the trail is WIDE OPEN!! Somebody(s) has done some serious trail clearing out there! I could have ridden with my arms stretched out and not hit anything along a lot of the trail.

Oh and my apolgies to the guy that I saw briefly at the Fish Lake Rd and Quick Rd intersection... I would have stopped and introduced myself and maybe chatted about your 12-hour race (at 7 Lakes?) but the wife had me on a strict 45-minute limit for my ride and i was about 42 minutes into it and a mile from home!

[Critter7r]

Rode again after work yesterday. Lots of loose branches and brush in the trail in the interior. ONe stick yanked the cable out of my rear der. Manged to get it back together in short order, luckily, since it was almost dark. Trail is still pretty wide open and in good shape. i'd like to sneak in in the spring and build a stick bridge across the creek on the south part of the trail where it's always a mud-fest. (I won't, but I wish I could )

[mmba6862]

Maybe our local host will retire by then?

[J/C]

I was home for Thanksgiving and rode over and rode the trails (pretty much all of them I think). Rode in off Eddy Lake, around the trails and then out on Tinsman. For this time of the year, the trail was in fine shape. There were a couple wet spots, the same ones that are typically wet in the spring. There were maybe a half dozen trees across the trail.
Riding this time of year, with the leaves down really reveals the wild terrain out here. When you're up on the ridges on the south side of the lakes, it's amazing how steep the dropoffs are on each side. I fee like there's so much potential for a great set of trails. The current ones are getting more eroded all the time. Let's hope someday soon the circumstances will come together and new sustainable and flowing trails can be built at 7 Lakes. Until then, it's not such a bad ride...
John

[Josh McCreedy]

Boat launch to boat launch, it is in great shape. A handsaw would work on the couple small trees down. The tread is hiker-packed with a grippy snow surface. I had great hookup with my Kenda Karma 1.9 at low pressure. The local dirt and park roads are fast and packed right now.

[Critter7r]

Was able to get out to the trail this evening. Don't bother trying to ride the tail of the trail that starts at the boat launch at the end of the road, I carried my (wife's) bike through quite a few mud holes. (Can't get the wife's bike muddy, and mine is still not rebuilt yet - trying to find drivetrain components). But the front trails were pretty firm, no mud holes on the trails I rode.

[Critter7r]

Anybody know how much rain we got in Holly? Better yet, been out to the trail this afternoon? The wife said it was pouring, but only for a short time. Would like to hit the trail this evening.

[Josh McCreedy]

I cleared some logs from Seven Lakes today and wouldn't recommend riding. There was a lot of standing and running water on the trail.

Judging from the Shiawassee, we got quite a bit of rain.

[Critter7r]

Most of the trail is in great shape. The finger-trail from/to the south boat launch area still has several wet spots, and somehow, a 50-foot section of trail that has 2 inches of water over a sloppy mud base. (there is a by-pass trail that has developed around this muddy area, but I didn't use it due to the recent "bandit trail" threads, and thinking, "it couldn't possibly still be wet, right?" But it is). The rest of the trails contained within the main loops are dry. Some older woman with her grandkids must've thought that bikes aren't allowed in the park, because when I passed them (slowly, uphill and after annoucing from 25 feet away that I was coming their way), she said, "what's a bike doing back here? Someone could get hurt". I chuckled again as I got to a parking lot and saw 2 other cars loaded up with mountian bikes.

[Critter7r]

Trails appear to have been recently cleared and trimmed. No trees down that I couldn't ride over or around. Trail was dry, even the creek crossing on the trail back by the boat launch was rideable.

[Chris]

What's this trail like? Easy to follow? Where is the best place to park?
Chris

[Critter7r]

PM sent. And I forgot to mention that there are maps at nearly every intersection, so yes, it's pretty easy to follow.

[Josh McCreedy]

I recommend the Eddy Lake entrance, which is trimmed and fast like the rest of at his trail. If you are going for the firsts time, print a map and plan to do some navigating. Once you find your way around, it is easy to link a lot of sweet, interesting trail.