Seven Cycles

We were honored to be asked to present at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s recent Moving Together Conference, on a panel with New Balance and the Springfield manufacturer of new subway trains for metro-Boston. The panel was titled: Made in Massachusetts, focusing, you guessed it, on transportation sector companies that actually make things here in our home state.

First, it is important for us to recognize what an honor this is. New Balance is a top five global sports brand. That the Mass DOT sees an equivalency to what we do is humbling, and we were touched by an element of respect that comes from doing what we do for nearly two decades.

This was a great opportunity for us to interact with various cycling advocacy groups and transportation planners. While we were there, ostensibly, to talk about how it’s possible to manufacture quality, competitive products here in Massachusetts, a lot of the discussion was focused on the evolution of cycling infrastructure, the gains we’ve made and the progress still in front of us.

Seven only plays a small part in all of that effort, so it was inspiring to hear about all the good work being done by MassBike, the Livable Streets Alliance, People for Bikes and so many other groups trying to make cycling safer, easier and more popular. What struck us, as it always does, was the inter-connectedness of all these groups, and the level of cooperation it takes to bring even simple projects to fruition. There are vital people in every community doing this important work, and it was nice to spend some time with them, and have an opportunity to tell them about what we do here at Seven.