Dave Chiu is one of those guys who is very hard to pin down. He is a hyper-talented photographer, as evidenced by this shot we used in our Love to Ride brochure, but to speak only about Dave’s photography is to ignore all the other things he does, including graphic design, web development, travel, high level racing and generally kicking ass a collaborator and friend.

In recent years he’s shot the Tour as well as a number of legendary domestic races like the Tour of Battenkill. You can check out some of the best of that work at his website. This picture of mad genius mechanic Matt Roy gives a tiny, intimate peek into the life of a pro wrench, prepping a race bike for his wife, Seven sponsored Mo Bruno Roy.

The Green Mountain Double Century is a singular sort of endurance event. The 2012 version was 215 miles, 80% on dirt roads, with 26,500ft of climbing. There is a time cut off of 40 hours. Theoretically, it is a race, but such is the challenge that many ride just to finish.

The inaugural event, in 2011, saw about a dozen riders start, and only four finish. Three of them were from the Ride Studio Cafe Endurance Team, John Bayley, David Wilcox and Matt Roy. They finished in just short of 19 hours. The 2012 version saw the RSC team, all on Ti Sevens, “win” the overall again, shaving three hours off their previous best time. These guys are all randonneuring legends who keep raising the bar for the endurance cycling community. We were incredibly honored to have them all on our bikes.

Natalia Boltukhova of Pedal Power Photography, who shot most of our Love to Ride brochure as well as the photo above, traveled with the winning team in both 2011 and 2012, putting together this photo set and this video, which captures the brutality  (and humor) of the event beautifully.

The excitement of a bike race is very rarely captured in the single click of a camera’s shutter. There are so many intimate details in the course of a day, a story that starts before the whistle blows and continues long after the finish.  The story is told by faces of pain, in loss or injury, or even in moments of extreme joy. There are nervous glances and rituals behind the scene, environments of beauty, tranquility and sheer chaos.

Kristof Ramon has an eye for such intimacies.  His photos of large bike races such as the Paris Roubaix  and most recently the Ironman 2012 World Championships evoke emotion while simultaneously giving us context for what is happening in the shot.  His ability to capture the very essence of what it means to be a cyclist and athlete makes him a story-teller as much as a taker of pictures.  His photos tell both action and the in-between; the glamour and the grit.

We were honored to be able to use one of Kristof’s photos for the Love to Ride project, a haunting portrait of Seven-sponsored racer Mo Bruno Roy at the 2011 World Cup Cyclocross in Namur, Belgium.

You will notice right away that Russian-born photographer Natalia Boltukhova can’t sit still. With a camera slung round her neck she is all action, all energy, and that energy lights up her photos, which, coincidentally, tend to be of other folks who can’t sit still.

Upon moving to the United States in 2006, she immersed herself in New England’s gritty/beautiful cyclocross scene. She not only races cross but also keeps her hands full during the season taking beautiful photos at races. And while Cyclocross is one of her busiest times of the year behind the lens, she shoots full time for her own Tiny Russian Studios and showcases her cycling work under the Pedal Power Photography moniker.

Natalia’s photos have been featured in several magazines, newspapers, and on book covers, and she has even released her own coffee table book on New England Cyclocross titled Beer. Cupcakes. Moustache. She is currently working on a documentary project titled Woman Warrior about female fighters (MMA boxing, wrestling, etc).

We really enjoyed working with Natalia on the Love to Ride project. You will be seeing more of her work in the future. Count on it.

You can never have too many.

When the snow flies and the temperature yo-yos, you have to change your game plan.  At Seven, we try to stay on the bike, outside, as much as we possibly can.  There’s no shame in retreating to the rollers or a trainer, but “stationary bike” is a contradiction in terms, right?

Trail riding is an even bigger challenge.  On top of the snow/ice/snow mix, the sun sets early, so you need a good light.  The upside to snow riding after dark is that the white ground cover amplifies your light.  And you need all that light, because traction becomes a random event.  Choosing the right line can mean the difference between staying on the bike and sliding down the trail on your butt.

Best also to bring a sense of humor.

To be really successful on the snow ride, you have to change your basic expectations.  That feeling of flow you get from riding dirt in summertime is not available.  You have to replace it with the simple joy of being there, of being out in the woods when no one else is there, when the trees rock gently in the wind and the squirrels stay home to feast on winter stores.

It’s so nice to slip and slide and grind your way into the winter woods at night, and then stop there, turn off your lights and let the darkness close in on you.  If it happens to be snowing lightly at the time, the sound of the flakes flitting against the already fallen snow is absolute magic.

Back on the bike, staying upright is the biggest challenge, that and keeping your feet dry.  The reward is in the adventure, in going someplace that’s hard to get to, and in staying on your bike and moving forward when most “sensible” folks are at home, on the couch.

We’re really lucky that people are riding our bikes all year-round in all sorts of weather on every continent – except Antarctica…as far as we know.  We don’t, strictly speaking, have to be out on the trail in the middle of winter, but in addition to loving the outdoors and the challenge of riding through the winter, we feel we owe it to our riders to experience what they experience.  It helps us build better bikes, and of course, it makes a hot cup of coffee taste that much better.

Mo Bruno Roy pushing through it at the UCI World Cup race #5 in Namur, Belgium.

Enter: Seven Cycles

A Seven Cycles Photo Essay by Jeremy Jo, Embrocation Cycling Journal

Embrocation Cycling Journal‘s Jeremy Jo recently published a behind-the-scenes photo editorial of Seven.  With a friendly demeanor and disarming grin Jeremy captured images of many aspects of our factory: he dug into every corner of Seven and took photos of things we didn’t even know we had.  It was great to talk with him about Seven and what we’re up to.  His photos and prose provide a wonderful illustration of what we do and how we do it.

“The idea of American manufacturing often conjures up images of assembly line production, where parts by the thousands pass from worker to worker as they are transformed into uninspired, mass-produced goods.  This type of manufacturing once defined American industry, and it’s hard to imagine that there are still companies out there who define themselves by giving individual attention to everything they make.  Enter: Seven Cycles.”

“Starting out as raw tubing, the pieces of each bicycle go through the bending, machining, welding and paint process entirely within the confines of Seven’s 9,000 square foot manufacturing floor.  Each frame is often in the hands of the same person through the entire process, bringing an unparalleled sense of ownership and pride to the final product.  This type of work flow is only fitting for a company whose motto is, ‘One bike. Yours.’”

The Berliner Bike

We’d like to thank Jeremy for visiting our shop and documenting what we do.  You’re welcome anytime!

Stage 14 of the Tour:  Laurens ten Dam.

Hanging tough.  Focused on the finish.

- Thank you Koen van Weel.

The finish of the first Tour de France in 1903, with winner Maurice Garin on the right.  Leon Georget is on the left.  Paris, July 1903.

via thanks!