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Folktales

One stubborn visa is all that keeps Zand Martin from boarding a plane to Kazakhstan, the starting point of an amazing adventure. The wait will be over soon though, and in the anxious days leading up to the visa’s arrival, Zand has been hard at work. For starters, the trip’s website and Facebook page have been created, and are now live!

Zand might be an outdoorsman at heart, but he is a gifted writer and storyteller, too. When he visited us a few weeks ago, it was apparent that he was biting his tongue to prevent all of the stories from rushing out, perhaps to avoid keeping us there all day. I doubt we would have noticed the clock, however. His stories sound like folktales. One such story involved his inland kayak traverse of the United States a few years ago. He came to a point where he could paddle no further, so he bought a $30 bike on Craigslist, built a trailer, and pulled his kayak right through Yellowstone. I’m sure the buses of tourists took as many pictures of him and his rig as they did the buffaloes that day.

To help us grasp the scale of his latest trip, Zand unfolded all of his maps on out showroom floor. Laying them out, it was obvious he is a map guy (I wasn’t surprised to see this 7 post a few days later). Some of the maps were what you could find on line, others were old Russian military maps and harder to acquire. While he was talking us through the route, his enthusiasm, and smile, began to gleam. If there weren’t bikes to make, we’d be on that trip with him.

Speaking of bikes, Zand has also been using his time to familiarize himself with his Expat S. His bike is outfitted with drop bars, bar con shifters, mechanical disc brakes, and due to the weight of his gear and the unknown terrain ahead, a triple chain ring. On his rack, he’ll be carrying a tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, a change of clothes, skis, ski boots, an avalanche probe, and camera equipment. The goal is to carry no more than 35 pounds of gear and equipment. To see what all of this gear looks like, when spread out and organized over a time lapse video, click here.

And so, our excitement grows for “Circling the Golden Mountains.” As soon as the final visa arrives, Zand and his partner will be off, and we’ll be that much closer to our next folktale.

“Meet the Makers” at Landry’s Bicycles in Natick

Our friends at Landry’s Bicycles are hosting a special one-night-only event at their Natick location entitled “Meet the Makers,” this Thursday, March 20th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Two makers will be in attendance, our very own Rob Vandermark as well as Bob Parlee from Parlee Cycles.

Many topics will be covered, but Rob will spend some time sharing his thoughts on frame materials, and what makes titanium such a great choice for bicycles in particular. Both Rob and Bob will discuss the bike business, their companies, their products, and take questions from those in attendance.

The event is open to all, so there is no excuse to miss it! We look forward to seeing you there.

To the Altai Mountains

There was a time in my life when all I wanted to do was load up a massive set of panniers with a tent, sleeping bag, and camp stove then head out on a journey. In high school I participated in a few loaded touring trips, and fell in love with the freedom, and was too youthful to care about the uphills. In college, my miniscule, monthly work study check forced some down sizing in gear and equipment, so I exchanged the panniers for a backpack, and used school vacations as the perfect excuse to head out into the mountains. Into Thin Air, the book, came out my sophomore year of college, and the Imax film Everest came out the year after that. I was enthralled with the mountains, and the adventure.

Until I met Zand Martin, I had never heard of the Altai mountains. An internet search provided me with their location, “where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together,” but while clicking through the images tab, I wondered what shape my backpack was in. Zand Martin, the newest member of Team Seven Cycles, will be traveling to the Altai Mountain Range next week on a most incredible adventure that he and his partner are calling “Circling the Golden Mountains.”

Their goal is lofty, to circumnavigate the Altai using nothing but bikes and skis, all the while telling the story of the home of skiing, its people, and its landscape. Zand described it to us, “At the northern edge of the vast endoheic basins of Central Asia rises the last of the great mountain complexes radiating northeast from the Indian subcontinent: the Altai, or ‘Golden Mountains’ in Altaysk. The Altai straddles the transboundary region where Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and Russia come together, and constitute a diverse 1600 kilometer long partially-Ââ€ glaciated range that reaches 15,000 feet. Skiing was invented in the Altai around 8000 BC, thousands of years before Scandinavia; thousands of years before that, the first dogs were domesticated in the range. Today, semi-Ââ€nomadic Tuvan and Kazakh herders cut and bend their own skis and attach caribou fur to them, even going so far as to race downhill and powder ski.” While on the road they plan to conduct citizen-Ââ€science initiatives through ASC and support the work of WWF Mongolia, WWF Russia, and the IUCN-Ââ€WPCA Mountain Biome Network.

The route, a mere 4,000 kilometers, will be grueling. Zand says they’ll be traveling light, but with skis, cold weather gear, and all of the necessities for a self supported trip strapped to their bikes, I can’t imagine “light” would be your first thought.

We get to meet Zand in person tomorrow, and are pretty darn excited about it. This trip is the latest in a long list of awe inspiring journeys (like the one shown above in the picture taken by Zand Martin) which you can learn more about here: http://zandmartin.com/, but will be posting about his trip as it unfolds.

Kate U’s Evergreen S

We received some nice feedback from Kate, who just took delivery of her Evergreen S.

She says, “I wanted to let you know that my frame made it to Portland and finally to me! I got to ride the bike this morning and it feels amazing (and it was wet and super windy here this morning, so I don’t actually feel like I gave it a proper chance to feel as amazing as it might…I was way glad to have the disc brakes and the generally better handling, though).

I’m attaching a picture of the bike all built up. This is in our backyard in Palo Alto – I’ll send some more exciting pictures after spring break, we’re planning to take it up to Bend to ride in the mountains. I happen to be one of those nerdy people who names her bikes, too, so if it’s of any interest, the bike’s name is Orio (pronounced like the cookie), which is short for Orion.

Thanks so much for all your help!!! Please thank all the folks who worked on the bike for me, too. I got the frame card in the mail and it was so fun to see all the signatures.

Best,

Kate”

Thanks to Kate and the all star staff at River City who helped her out!

Rob Vandermark to present at the Seattle Bike Expo

The 26^th annual Seattle Bike Expo is rolling through the Pacific Northwest this weekend, and bringing with it over 175 other vendors, a huge array of bikes, bike related art, and a few guest speakers. One of those guest speakers is our very own Rob Vandermark! Rob will present an interactive session at 12:30 PM on Saturday March 1^st:

“Customizing Beyond Fit”

This interactive session will break down the aspects of custom bike building that go beyond the geometry of the bike, explaining how deep personalization of the riding experience can have value for any and every rider. Understanding the bike in this way will help riders evaluate their riding needs more clearly and clarify priorities as they dream of their next bike.

We keep Rob pretty busy here at home, so this is a rare chance to get see him out in the wild. If you are in the area, stop by and say hello, or better yet, participate in the discussion!

Cascade Bicycle Studio, one of our top authorized Seven retailers, will have a booth decked out with a variety of Sevens and other not to be missed bike paraphernalia, be sure to check out their display as well.