Seven Cycles – Page 80 – U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix

On the Road – Omnium Bike Shop

The way to the world is down along the river, through the tunnel and out to Logan Airport, where a jet will take you almost anywhere. It had been a little while since we’d visited the Twin Cities, but our friends at Omnium invited us to their annual Sonderkrossen party, an event to mark the switchover from track season to cyclocross, so we booked our passage and packed our bags. We even shipped a bike ahead, so we could see Minneapolis and St. Paul in the manner most befitting a cyclist. We had no idea what was in store.

Omnium sits between a breakfast cafe and a bakery, across from a deli. As places to meet go, it’s a cyclist’s dream. It’s also the kind of shop where everyone who walks through the door is a friend. “Bill!!” They yell from behind the service counter. “Hi, Nancy!” Our East Coast frostiness melted in the honest mid-western warmth. We bought a round of coffees, and helped set up for the party.

The party looked like this. There were a few Seven owners who were kind enough to share their Seven experiences with us, and the crowd was kind enough to listen while we talked about bike building as something of a religion and our factory as a sort of cathedral. This made more sense in context than it does here, or maybe it didn’t, but everyone smiled and clapped politely, and we got down off our soap box (actually a step ladder) quick, before anyone’s beer got warm.

Don’t tell anyone we took the party to the roof as the clock ticked well past closing time. We were definitely not supposed to be on the roof, so as far as you know that didn’t happen.

We got to bed late, and set our alarms for the pre-dawn Fleche ride, that leaves from yet another coffee shop, just across a bridge over the Missisippi, on the Minneapolis side. Aaron, Omnium’s GM, organizes the Fleche, a soft roll around the cities, a chatting ride, a beautiful way to greet a Saturday morning, even when you’re dog tired from not partying on the roof.

One of our fellow Fleche-ers was big Russ H, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He got this bike from Aaron at Omnium and came out for the Fleche in part so he could ride with us, which was, naturally, very touching. Russ turned out to be a fantastic riding companion, even if he did turn up on a more attractive bike than even we were able to muster for ourselves. That’s how you know he’s a winner.

The party, the ride, the company, it all made getting out on the road that much more fun. Meeting people, riding bikes, that’s what it’s all about. We are lucky to do what we do. It’s funny that we sometimes have to get on an airplane to be reminded.

Company Picnic Recap

Our company picnic and camp out took place last weekend and, as always, proved to be a fun opportunity to relax, and to appreciate the wonderful group we have here at Seven Cycles. Harrisville, NH, was the perfect destination with the leaves already a brilliant red and the air cool and crisp.

Some rode their bikes from Boston the morning of, including two who pedaled up on a beautiful road route complete with climbs, views, and a heavy duty collision with a chicken. Another two chose an off road path, and over the course of a hundred miles never touched pavement outside of an occasional street crossing.

Others met in Harrisville and rode a mixed terrain loop, where it was learned that in New Hampshire, a rail trail is very much a trail next to rails, yielding a Stand By Me vibe for a portion of the ride.

tandem on the wooden bridge — A Knight without Armor

A few took advantage of the local single track and couldn’t resist the fun of using the cable ferries to cross the Nubanusit Brook midway through the ride.

Neil floats on a raft — When you can’t ride through it…

No matter the route, the ride reports were the same, all smiles.

When the wheeled fun began to die down, people made their way to the host site. Homemade chili, Pete’s mastery of the grill, and award winning brownies from Mayfair Farm were on hand and available throughout the afternoon and well into the evening. There was music and laughter, and before long, two glowing fire pits. We had planned for cold, but the fires were powerful enough to keep us warm long into the night, so long as we kept our feet close to the heat.

Tents popped up, or in some cases, were assembled by a team of five utilizing duct tape, splints, and a five year old’s knife. Cobbler was introduced to much fanfare. Before long everyone was around the fire cracking jokes, sharing stories, and genuinely enjoying each other’s humor and company.

setting sun on campers — Some hang, others set up tents.

As the hours passed, people drifted off and headed for their tents, the wood-stove warmed barn, or the house. A few dedicated fire goers stayed up past midnight, with only the most uproarious laughter carrying through the tent walls of those who wished they had the will power to stay up long enough to have heard the punchline.

Crickets, frogs, and birds filled the morning airwaves, and as soon as people began to rustle, coffee was made. No alarms were set, but people woke up early anyhow. Awaiting them, a most picturesque, mist covered swamp.

Morning view — Morning on the “swamp,” as seen from a bivy sack.

It wasn’t intentional, or even needed, but sitting around a camp fire and camping out is a fun way to make a big group of co-workers feel like one big family. We’d be seeing everyone the very next day at the factory, but it was still hard to say goodbye after such a fun weekend.

The Hour Record

In honor of Jens Voigt’s successful attempt on the hour record, our own John Lewis rode sympathy laps around the Seven kitchen until he felt sick.

#TBT

Here is the bike Seven friend and sponsored-rider Mary McConneloug rode at the Beijing Olympics. It’s the same frame she rode at the Athens games four years earlier, making it the only mountain bike ever to feature in two Olympics. We are so proud of this bike, and Mary of course, because it proves that well-made things can last, even at the absolute top of the sport.

Back in Business

If you hadn’t heard, our friend John, who also happens to be a colleague, severed some tendons in his hand two months ago. A few weeks prior, John had taken delivery of a brand new Evergreen SL. Not just any Evergreen mind you, it’s custom painted, has a lust worthy build kit, and of course, was designed specifically for John. He was going to log so many miles. He was going to ride D2R2. He was going to know all of the dirt roads within a hundred mile radius of our factory. He was going to launch it off berms. He was going to zig and zag. He was going to be king.

One problem. When the good doctor sewed him back together, he sent him home with some disheartening news, “No bike riding.”

There are worse things that can happen, John would be the first to tell you that. Even still, taking away a prized new toy from a guy that loves to ride as much as John, changed his demeanor for a couple of days. We all felt for him. He looked pathetic. Typing with one good hand and one cast was a source of frustration. His beautiful bike was pilfered from the employee lot and put in the showroom to be displayed, adding insult to injury. All the while, each and every person at Seven continued to ride, as we always do, and left John behind. Poor John.

All the while John listened to his doctors and his physical therapists, and completed strength exercises day in and day out. It started with moving his fingers into a fist. He described how it felt, which made us woozy, but kept at it. Soon he had graduated to something called strengthening putty, though it was obviously just colored Silly Putty, that he would squeeze all day long, no matter how much we poked fun and how uncomfortable it must have been. Soon the cast was off, and he was typing again. He was making progress.

Yesterday, a day less than two months after surgery, John had a check up with his doctor. When he came back to the office he floated through the door on a cloud visible to us all and announced what the doctor had told him. “Go ride your bike.”

John makes riding more fun, and while he was missing out on summer rides, we were missing out on riding with our pal. This morning, we celebrated his return with an easy ride up and down the Minuteman Bikeway, and his smile was as big as it has ever been, as were ours.

Welcome back friend.