Thankfully.
Image: Matt O’Keefe
Tag: Seven Racers
Seven at Louisville Ironman
This is Seven rider David Bedard rocking his Axiom titanium tri bike at Louisville IRONMAN 2013.
David says:
After a proper fitting at Landry’s and many months of training I successfully raced the bike at the Louisville IRONMAN in late August (averaging roughly 19.5MPH). The temperature was 91 degrees on that Sunday and brutally hot on the run. During the last 10 miles of the run all I could think about was selling the bike and never thinking about another IRONMAN event. Oddly, on Tuesday when we were returning from Louisville I asked my wife which IRONMAN I should do next – she laughed.
I had more thumbs up over my SEVEN than the entire sea of carbon.
Mike and Mary’s (Continuing) Awesome Adventure
When last we checked in on our erstwhile heroes, they were at MTB nationals in Pennsylvania. Since then they’ve been to race the World Cup at Mont Ste. Anne in Quebec on their custom IMX 29 SLs and are now, briefly, at home for a week of rest before heading to South Africa for more World Cup at Pietermaritzburg. Part of really appreciating the effort these guys put in to compete at the elite level is understanding that most of their exploits are based from an RV. They rarely sleep in their own beds, and have elevated mobile mechanic/office/home living to an art form.
Mike and Mary have also been selected to the US National Team for XC World Championships again, so we can look forward to more amazing stories from Team Kenda/Seven/NoTubes. We are proud, as always, to be represented by such amazing athletes (and people).
Read their full report here.
Mike and Mary at MTB Nationals
Great pictures and stories from Mike and Mary’s recent exploits at MTB Nationals, where they made us all really proud, Mary with a podium finish and Mike with a top 10, as well as the full catch up on their RV-based, race-chasing exploits.
Just a sample:
I got a great start from my front row call up and settled into a 3rd place position that I was able to maintain for the entirety of the race. I really had to measure my output in the heat but actually felt kind of great a few times while taking a few calculated but extreme lines and really enjoying the challenge of this “real” mountain bike course – something that is less and less typical in this newer era of XC racing.
– Mary McConneloug
In Season
The bike industry does not circle the sun and measure its progress in years, but rather plants its fields, like a farmer, and thinks of time in seasons. And we are in the thick of that season now, building bikes with a drive and focus similar to our riders, out in the world, making use of the summer sunlight to get more time on the bike.
In season, we have to be very careful not to work too much (we always fail at this) and to make sure we are taking the time to ride our own bikes and to stay in touch with why we do what we do (we always succeed at this).
But now a month has passed since our last post…here are just a few of the things we’ve been working on.
A 622 SLX with SRAM’s new Red integrated hydraulic brakes for our good friend Matt Roy. This one left the shop floor and headed straight for the Green Mountain Double Century, where Matt rode it to victory, along with his Ride Studio Cafe Endurance Team, in a time just over 17 hours. For an encore, Matt took it on a post-grad (Ph.D.!!) trip from Portland, OR to Boulder, CO. Just a quick spin then…
And, this is John Bayley’s Axiom SL super randonneur, also with SRAM Red hydro and a very special paint job. John rode it to a third place finish at Dirty Kanza. This bike will also feature in an upcoming ad in Rouleur. Keep an eye out for it.
