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Cyclocross Magazine: The Green Mountain Double Century

Words & Photos by Natalia Boltukhova | Pedal Power Photography

Issue #14 of Cyclocross Magazine included a multi-page spread featuring some Seven bikes outfitted as randonneurs, and highlighting the riding and endurance skills of Matt Roy, David Wilcox, and John Bayley as they conquered the Green Mountain Double Century. Natalia Boltukhova of Pedal Power Photography captured some incredible images of these guys at every step of this grueling race, and she also wrote many tongue-in-cheek captions that, along with her photos, provide a vivid picture of that epic day. In the competitors’ own words, it was: “Insane. Nuts. Brutal. Inhumane.”

A little bit about the bikes:

John Bayley rode his Seven titanium Axiom SL with couplers. This bike is set up as a true Randonneur bike.
Matt Roy rode a Seven titanium Axiom SL Randonneur bike.
David Wilcox rode his Steel Vanilla Randonneuring bike.

Matt Roy had this to say about his experience on the Axiom SL Randonneur bike that day:

“The Axiom SL Rando project bike was great… I beat the living hell out of it. I wore through a set of brake pads in the first 100 miles. I can’t believe it showed up on my porch on Thursday morning and I put it through ungodly conditions less than 48 hours later. It handled amazingly well, climbed great, descended great, felt great!”

Read on to get the full stats of the race, including calories consumed and burned, feet ascended, and number of brake pads replaced, and to see the gallery of Natalia’s beautiful photographs.

Official Data

205 Miles
80% dirt roads
25,000 fine Vermont feet of vertical climbing
[Winning] Team:Matt Roy, David Wilcox, John Bayley
Date: June 11, 2011
Start time: 4:01am
Projected finish time: 7:00pm-8:00pm
Actual finish time: 11:01pm
Weather Conditions: typical New England (rain showers, low 60s, overcast)
Total actual distance: 208.8 miles (according to Garmin 705)
Elevation gained: Approximately 25,000 feet
Total time: 18:52:27
Total ride time: 16:14:12
Average speed: 12.9mph
Calories consumed: approximately 6,150 (according to Matt Roy’s calculations—and he is some sort of medical scientist)
Calories burned: 15,810 (according to Garmin 705)
Flat tires: 1 (pinched on a rocky descent)
Brake pads replaced: 2 sets on Matt’s bike; David confessed he could have used a new set in the rear and has since replaced both sets in his bike; John attested to his brakes still having some life left over after the finish, but her remains unable to perform typing on his computer due to sore hands from braking on descents.
Hypothermia: barely avoided
Support crew: Maureen Bruno-Roy (Matt’s wife and one of New England’s top cyclocrossers in her own right, with super-human organizing skills, mind reading powers, brilliant off-road driving abilities, unsurpassed stamina and positivity-charging powers) and Natalia Boltukhova (photographer, and water bottle-and-what-have-you passer from the car)

Three riders on a Vermont Road — Green Mountain Double Century, Or: Pretty Boys Explore Jens Voigtitude and Epicness on Vermont’s Gravel Roads

John Bayless superman on his Seven — I knew Irishmen were a little weird. I knew their accent makes it sound like they put an exclamation mark followed by a question mark followed by an ellipsis at the end of everything they say. Here’s John Bayley’s top secret spin the night before the Green Mountain Double Century (GMDC)

Green Mountain Double Century start — The riders started out in rain showers and pitch black darkness—so dark, in fact, that it was only later, when looking through the photos, that I was able to see the cool pine needle pattern on the ground and the excited faces of the riders rolling out.

Cyclsts at sunrise — One of the very few paved sections of the GMDC, at the beginning of the ride as the sun started to rise. David Wilcox’s generator-hub-powered lights came in handy that day, as the sun never did fully emerge from behind the rain clouds. The fourth rider hung with the Great Trio’s deceivingly effortless pedal strokes, but was mercilessly dropped shortly after the shot.

cyclsist eating at Grafton Village Convenience — The women of the Grafton Village Convenience Store went to great lengths to provide our intrepid, muddy, wet, hungry adventurers with fresh egg ‘n’ cheese sandwiches and, “still warm out of the oven” perfect blueberry muffins. The boys filled the pauses between devouring the country deliciousness by entertaining the locals, who were taken by surprise with this little tornado of cycling adventure.

three rides smiling and holding hands — The three musketeers! Don’t try this at home.

brka pad wear — Matt showing off his brake pad that lived a very short but adventurous life.

A glorious road surface, typical of 80 percent of the route.

Matt Roy eats an egg sandwich — Egg sandwiches taste like heaven. Fact: Matt Roy is cute. Fact: it was only a matter of putting together a really long, mixed terrain journey so those two could get some quality time together.

Suffering side-by-side — The joy of suffering side by side.

Three riders ascending — Perhaps the most grueling uphill section.

Paintings for Sale — This place had both kinds of paintings: winter landscapes and roosters. But mostly roosters.

three riders fly downhill towards dusk — As the darkness ineluctably started to claim its throne, it all went downhill—literally, and for a while. Adroit and high-speed bunny hops over the occasional bumps, holes, rocks and logs were ahead, despite exhaustion and the poor visibility in the never-ending rain.

Near the End — They are nearly hypothermic, hungry, exhausted, almost no strength or spirit left for smiles. Here they have to make a call: cut it a bit short and just continue straight on paved road to the finish line, or stick to the route and quite possibly make a few wrong turns but finish as planned. Matt: “Argh, [p]uck it! What’s an extra 18 miles at this point? Let’s do it WHY NOT!?”

Mike Broderick and Mary McConneloug 2012 Race Schedule

Team Seven’s Mary McConneloug and Mike Broderick have taken Horace Greeley’s oft-cited advice to “Go West” and are now happily ensconced in their winter training location: Sebastopol, California.

Upon arrival in the Bay Area, Mike and Mary jumped into the Single Speed Cross Championships on their Sevens. Mike converted Mary’s Mudhoney and his Sola 29er to single speeds the day before the race, and they both proceeded to dominate the course: Mike took 2nd place and Mary took 3rd. While this race was seemingly wacky – costumes were encouraged – it was also technical and challenging.

Mary and Mike will wrap up 2011 by continuing their training in Northern California, with its bounty of incredible trails to explore and conquer. They kick off their 2012 race season with the Trans Andes Challenge in Pucon, Chile on 23 January, and will begin a European racing tour in the early spring, including three Olympic qualifying races in April and May. Their full race schedule is below, stay tuned to this 7 for updates and results.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London, England in August, and if Mary makes the team, this will be her third consecutive Olympic Games. We’ll keep you posted on all of Mike and Mary’s doings, and you can follow them on their very well-written Mary and Mike’s Riding Blog.

Date	Race	Series
1.23-1.28	Trans Andes Challenge, Pucon, Chile
3.17-3.18	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #1, Pietermaritzberg, South Africa	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
4.7	Pan American Championships, Mexico
4.14-4.15 Olympic Qualifying Race	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #2, Houffalize, Belgium	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
5.12-5.13 Olympic Qualifying Race	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #3, Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
5.19-5.20 Olympic Qualifying Race	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #4, La Bresse, France	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
6.23-6.24	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #5, Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
6.30-7.1	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #6, Windham, New York	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
7.28-7.29	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross Country #7, Val d'Isere, France	UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
8.11-8.12	2012 Summer Olympic Games, London, England
9.5-9.9	XC World Champoinships, Saalfelden, Austria
Cyclocross Races will be added, stay tuned!

Seven Retailers Named to Complex.com’s Top Ten

We were thrilled, but not surprised, to see three of our retailers named to the â€œTop Ten Best Bike Shops in America,â€ by Complex website.

Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle was lauded for its ability to custom build a bicycle for any customer. CBS aims to create a rider-centric atmosphere, as evidenced by their dedication to working with each cyclist on a one-on-one, appointment-only basis. This level of customer service creates a shop that the Seattle cycling community has come to trust as one of the most reliable and highest quality bike studios in the city.

Boulder Cycle Sport in Boulder, Colorado had a podium finish!Complex.com gave BCS high marks for its â€œdedication to finding the perfect â€˜body-to-bikeâ€™ connectionâ€ and excellent repair service that the shop offers. Their efforts are paying off, as they have sold more Sevenâ€™s this year than ever before.

How did Bespoke Cycles in San Francisco improve the customer experience when they already had forty-eight years of combined fitting experience, customer first mentality, and an incredible selection of custom bikes, apparel, and gear? By moving into a beautiful new studio on Clay Street! We had a chance to check out the new digs a few weeks back and thoroughly impressed with the lay out and charm. We suspect Bespoke will be part of the top ten for many years to come.

Each of these Seven retailers shares a common trait: focus on the customer experience. A trait that, when embraced, has some profound effects. Making a top ten list is great press, but the real benefit is more happy customers, more evangelism, and of course, more sales. Weâ€™re privileged to work with retailers that set the bar so high.

Seven’s Mary McConneloug Takes the Podium at Providence

Mary races 'cross — Photo Courtesy of Natalia Boltukhova Pedal Power Photography 2011

It was sunny and hot at the Providence Festival of Cyclocross this weekend, which everyone found disorienting and dusty.We managed to see several of our favorite riders do well despite the trying conditions.

On Saturday, Mary McConneloug of Team Kenda/Seven/No Tubes finished second in the elite women’s field, and then outsprinted the Day 1 winner, Laura van Gilder, for top spot on Day 2.

These were extra impressive results for McConneloug who is only just back from racing the World Cup circuit in Europe for the summer. Making that transition from mountain to cross can be difficult, but it’s a testament to Mary’s sheer class that she can hit home soil, swap bikes and come up with a big win and a second place. Laura van Gilder, who topped Mary on Saturday, said of McConneloug after Sunday’s race, â€œthe ideal cross racer is a mix of mountain biker and roadie. Mary has those both, sheâ€™s incredible.â€

Bob’s Red Mill and Seven racer Mo Bruno Roy took 10th on Saturday and 7th on Sunday, a pair of results that bring her to 5th on points with two weeks break before Downeast Cross in Maine.

Andrea Smith of Ladies First Racing rode her Seven Mudhoney SLX to 7th on Saturday and an impressive 4th on Sunday. Smith won the Verge Series last season and stands 3rd on the New England points list for 2011, just behind van Gilder.Since winning at Monson in her opening race of the season, and finishing 11th in a super tough field at Cross Vegas, she’s been solid and consistent, big keys to winning any series.

With Mary, Andrea and Mo doing so well, that’s three Sevens in the top ten in Providence, BOTH DAYS!!!!!

Carl Ring was there to represent the Seven Development Squad on the men’s side:

“I lined up both days, I got stuck behind a bad start line crash on Saturday, fought my way up to the front half of the field, then lost all my spark. Back slid all the way back to the tail of the field. Sunday was better. I managed to advance pretty well in the first two laps, but I’m still lacking the fitness I need after knee surgery early this year. I hope to be back to full strength in 3-4 weeks. Still it was fun racing and a great venue…(it) was great to see Mary McConneloug line up. I noticed that Andrea Smith and a few of the other Ladies First riders are also on Seven’s now. Looking forward to seeing you at the Maine VergeSeries races.”

Seven at NEPCX Gloucester

Mo Bruno Roy before the mudfest that was Gloucester

Seven was out in force at the Grand Prix of Gloucester over the weekend, basking in the mud and gratuitous suffering. Bob’s Red Mill and Seven-sponsored rider Mo Bruno Roy finished top ten both days in the elite women’s race, and Andrea Smith from Team Ladies First rode her Seven to a podium spot – second overall – on Day 1, bagging a solid 5th place finish on Day 2.

Carl Ring from the Seven Development Squad was in action, and the guys from the Seven office: Keith Cardoza, Jake Bridge, and Joe Wignall all flew the colors in the mud at Stage Fort Park, too.

Keith Kardoza — Seven employee Keith Cardoza on his Mudhoney

New England has turned cool, wet and rainy: ideal cross weather. At Gloucester this weekend, Richard Fries’ bombastic ranting ringing from the PA was a perfect accompaniment to the race’s mayhem and conditions.

The New England cross season is in full swing, with races almost every week from now through December. It’s not too late to register for The Night Weasels Cometh in Shrewsbury, MA Wednesday night. You can warm up on Tuesday night at the pre-race party at Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, too. And who is excited for Providence next weekend?

Any of you Seven owners out there who raced at Gloucester, write to us in the comment section below and let us know how you did!