My first bike was an old, red and rust colored BMX bike that my father bought at a yard sale. Knowing I wouldn’t be impressed, he attempted to zazz it up with a set of race-checkered pads for the top tube, handlebar, and stem. I was not impressed. That ugly old bike took me on countless laps around the cul-de-sac, and later taught me the limits of riding trails with a coaster brake.
A friend’s older brother was into mountain bike racing so we all got mountain bikes and started looking for trails. Eventually we tried a mid-week race and by the time we had our driver’s licenses we were racing almost every Sunday. It was the heyday of mountain bike racing and the coolest thing I could imagine was spending a weekend at a Root 66 race; ogling bikes, watching the pros, and then racing the same course. Right before college I got a road bike for training and started tagging on to local group rides. What followed was 10 years of racing (3 as a pro roadie), several hundred races, a couple dozen wins, and uncountable amazing memories.
I love all types of riding, but at the moment I am most excited about riding roller coaster single track in New England. Riding fast in the woods with friends just does it for me. Some things never change.
I thought I knew a lot about bikes until I started at Seven, but I am in awe of the collective wealth of knowledge here. Any question you could ask has been asked before, answered, and documented. I am surrounded by brilliant minds all dedicated to designing and building perfect bikes.
I am the newest member of the Performance Design Group at Seven. We speak with customers about their riding, bike, and body and translate that information into a frame design.
People ask me if I get to weld at Seven. No, not yet.
Three Sevens I plan on owning, with ever-changing level of priority:
Sola SL 650b with Sram XO, Fox 100 15mm, and Stan’s Crest wheelset
Axiom SL with Campy Record and Ksyrium SLs
Mudhoney SL with Sram Force and something tubular