Club of Sevens

Group Ride Update!

2010-10-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

I am so inept at updating this blog, that John Bayley took matters into his own hands. Thanks to him for putting this together:

"Come join us for an autumnal treat this Sunday, October 24th, leaving the Ride Studio Cafe at 8am. The usual Sunday morning ride will have a different format this weekend, as we make our way through Great Brook State Park, take in a little bit of "Deliverance" Appalachia when we ride right through a farm in Westford and then ride a short section of dirt road in Groton - much smoother than any road in Belmont, if that's a selling point!

All this is just an apéritif for the raison d'être of this ride though - the real, live bicycle roller coaster that is Lost Lake Drive in Groton. Have you ever had to battle with your inner chicken about slamming on your brakes on an uphill? Well, if you haven't you will today!

After enjoying both that thrill and views of fall colour reflected in the ponds on both sides of the road, we will thread our way back to Lexington via Chelmsford and Carlisle, with only the occasional gratuitous hill thrown in for good measure."

I'll be there. I can't wait to battle my inner chicken.

See you soon.

Puddle Ride

2010-06-17T16:10:00.001-04:00

I live off of Mass Ave in Arlington, so the commute to the Studio is a straight shot. The road is a "false flat" as Neil would say, because it looks flat, but in reality is ever so slightly sloped up all the way to Lexington. On a day in which I expected to have dead legs, the false flat had no effect and my concerns of lethargy diminished. I got to the studio around 7:30 and waited for the group to arrive while Rob and Jillian opened up the store and fired up the coffee machines.

The rain was gone but the puddles were present so I wasn't sure who all would make the ride. We had a good group show up, John and Pamela on their Independent's, Neil and Joe, Jeremy and I. As has been the trend, there was a chill in the air so arm and leg warmers were all but required to fend off the goose bumps. When is the summer going to arrive? We did the same loop as always, and had a great ride. I got the feeling that John might be unstoppable on a bike, I don't really know what low end torque is but I'm sure he has more than me. Conveniently he is also a nice guy and it was fun to talk to him along the way, he has logged plenty of miles and has good stories to share because of it. I also got to speak to Pamela, between her and John they must have 15 bikes in their garage. Most impressive. Jeremy also had a strong ride, I think before too long he'll be hard to hold back.

After the ride we hung out and nursed coffees and discussed whether or not we should ride a little more. I was feeling anything but dead so I suggested the Giro loop that we had done a few weeks back, the one Graham led. It's not the longest loop but has some short, steep climbs which I thought would put an end to my second wind. I was so psyched that both Neil and Joe were up for it. Both guys are great to ride with for a variety of reasons other than just being hilarious. Neil can just crush the flats and his favorite, "false flats," while Joe can keep pace with anyone and is a good climber. They are just as likely to crush you, as you are them, which adds a little spice to the ride. More often than not, no one lays the hammer down, but it's nice to know that it could happen at any moment, and if it does, laughter and retaliation will ensue.

All three of us had energy and we did a decent job of crushing the hills. Past Wilson Farms, over route 2, up Belmont Hill, into Belmont center, up the water tower, down the water tower, up the water tower, down to Trader Joe's and finally up Charles street for a super short, super steep calf killer. A nice false flat to the studio and we were cooked. I think we'll make this an optional post coffee route each week for those with restless, hairless legs.

Coach Calhoun Charity Ride

2010-06-17T14:22:00.001-04:00

I woke up Sunday expecting to have no energy left in my legs. Saturday morning I participated in my hero's charity ride, www.calhounride.com, a 75 mile jaunt in the most underrated state in the nation, Connecticut. Most of the ride was near Simsbury which provided beautiful scenery, loads of hills, and plenty, plenty of rain. Prior to the ride I shook hands with another hero, Scottie Burrell, you might just remember him as the guy who had the best in bounds pass in Uconn's storied history. Need a refresher? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CxbjRXwhY

Great morning and a great event, I had an absolute blast.

I learned a few things on this ride:

1) In a down pour, my blue break pads paired with carbon rims make for little or no breaking. That's an odd feeling to encounter at 42 mph and an eye full of rain.

2) Campagnolo's racing bibs are my new favorite's I simply can't imagine a more comfortable bib, wet or dry.

3) Larabar's Cherry Pie bars are the next level better than delicious. Succulent? That's an easy word to type but an embarrassing one to say. Actually I'm blushing, maybe it's not so easy to type either. I'm going to demand that the Studio carries these bars so I can eat one every Sunday, while I feel important.

4) As a first time leg shaver, I learned that a skinny pair of shiny, hairless legs makes me feel that much closer to being a real live cyclist. After about 5 years of contemplating, I took the dive and can't believe I waited so long. Before doing so I asked Joe Wignall for some guidance and he said, "just don't do it the night before a big ride, you won't be able to sleep becuase it feels so weird." He was right, I tossed and turned all night. Of course I was going to see Jim Calhoun the very next day, so I could have just been excited. As an added bonus, for the first few nights of hairless-ness, I woke thinking someone else was in my bed.

If you can make it 22 seconds in, I'm up front on the left in Red. http://theuconnhuskies.blogspot.com/2010/06/jim-calhouns-2010-charity-bike-ride.html.

This was the longest ride of my season so I expected to be pretty spent Sunday morning. I woke up early, jumped on my still wet Elium SL and headed over to the Studio.

Fenway

2010-05-22T15:05:00.000-04:00

Good news bad news friends. A while back, before we were even riding, I was asked to help raise some money for a friend that is participating in the Run to Home Base 9K tomorrow morning. The race starts precisely at the same time as our group ride so I have to skip out on the ride. Two weeks in a row, I know. On the bright side, I'll spend a little bit of time walking on the warning track out in left field. I can't wait for that.

My team of trusty back up leaders, Neil, Joe, Matt, Rob, etc., like a perfect storm, are also all out.

So, the "leaders" of the ride are out, however, I'm sure others will show, many of them who know the route. If you do show, enjoy the ride, it's supposed to be beautiful.

See you soon.

Diamas SL Demo

2010-05-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

At 6'1" I have found myself just outside of the typical test bike/prototype range at Seven Cycles. If you are Joe Wignall or Neil Doshi or Graham Dimmock or Bryan Hollingsworth or Matt Sutton or pretty much anyone else who works at Seven you'll find a variety of these bikes to test in your size. Of course maybe that's the point of a test bike, to have one in a size that most people can use? I suppose it doesn't matter anyway as I already own the world's finest bike and rarely have interest in riding anything else. One of my responsibilities at Seven is to answer phone calls and emails, so it's important for me to be knowledgeable on as many aspects of the company as I can. One question that comes up a lot is "what are your carbon bikes like?"

Until Sunday I had only ridden a few prototypes that were too small and for too short of a time to really form an opinion. You can imagine my excitement when I learned that the Ride Studio Cafe was going to take a Diamas SL that was very close to my size and were going to let me demo it for the Sunday ride. As it turns out anyone can demo a bike for the ride, but at the time I thought I was special.

It's so fast that pictures always come out blurry.

Equipped with 10 speed Campy Record parts, Zero G brakes, and a older pair of Mavic Ksyrium's I had nothing to complain about, a rarity. If push came to shove I'd complain about the silver braking wall, but I'll just internalize that for now. I adjusted the saddle height, 'chrew on my pedals and was ready to brave the cold and the wind awaiting us outside.

I have been riding my Elium SL for about five years and am thus very familiar with how it feels. Light and lively, a touch muted, and it soaks up the bumps. I have found full metal frames to "feel" faster than my bike even though the speedometer reads the same. Sort of like how my college car, an '85 Nissan Maxima that weighed more than all of my cars prior or since weigh together, felt on the highway. If you weren't paying attention you'd be rolling along at about 95 mph but thinking you were treading water. I'll make no excuses, I am a someone who prefers power steering a the float of a big body Caddie over a two door coupe. I'm fragile and like to be cradled. To each his/her own. With this in mind, my Elium SL is a perfect fit. At least I didn't have any pre-ride biases going into the test ride of the carbon fiber Diamas SL.

We were off.

Two pedal strokes in and already the Diamas SL yielded a totally new feel, just totally different. The suspension/chip seal absorbing feel of my Elium was there, but the "fast" feel of a metal frame was present. I don't mean it felt like a metal frame, but it shared the "snappy" feeling of a frame that wanted to be pushed. Unfortunately the wind and the cold didn't make me want to push, I wanted to curl up on the couch under a blanket and dream of football season. See, very fragile. Over the course of the ride few things became clear to me:

1) First off, on a windy day a low profile (medium profile?) rim like a Ksyrium SL proved to be no benefit to me, I was getting tossed around like a rag doll.

Therefore, why would anyone want anything less than this?

2) Sele Italia makes a saddle shape that I get along with. I consider myself an SLR guy, but have been using their entry level Filante Flow on my commuter and other than being rock hard, it fits just as well. Both the Filante Flow and the Diamas SL's SLR Flow have the cut out, or whatever we're calling it these days, and I have decided that I do in fact have an opinion on the matter. I don't like'm as much. I'll stick with the non cut out thanks.

3) Carbon Fiber has it's place. I can see what all of the fuss is about. I was hoping to go into the ride and bolster an uneducated opinion that I was a metal and/or metal and carbon guy. I came out thinking, "yeah, I can see it." This isn't to say that I liked it better than my Elium SL, far from it. My bike is custom for me after all and fits like a glove. The ride is familiar, predictable and makes me want to crush hills. Up hills that is. The Diamas SL has a world of potential, but this one was a little too big, the handling was a little too cautious, and the silver braking surface kept me up all night.

4) Dan's the man. While I was getting thrown all over the loop and struggling to keep up, Dan set the pace and kept me in sight. I can't remember the last time I let the wind get to me in such a humiliating fashion. A few marg's the night before probably didn't help either but still. Thanks to Dan for keeping me around in the front half, the wind must have died down enough for me to stick with them the second half.

5) Brett from Philly. First timer to the ride, somehow he heard about the group ride and showed up on a sick Kuota. Philly must be full of nice people, I know because I have only met nice people. I haven't met Will Smith but he strikes me as a good guy as well and he likes to let the Alpine blast.

6) Bad news for my participation on this Sunday's ride. Thanks to a trip to the Rising Star of Connecticut to see Pearl Jam crank it up, I'll be in no shape to ride Sunday morning and likely won't even be in Massachusetts. Why would I go to Hartford to see them when they are playing in Boston just two night later? 'Cause I'll be there too. If you are like me and lost touch with Pearl Jam after the third album, I would suggest at the very least downloading "You Are" off of the Riot Act album and just tear into it. You can thank me later. I'm hoping to convince Neil to lead the ride this week, but no matter who leads just know that there is a ride.

That's all for now, see you soon.

The Wind Blew

2010-05-09T18:38:00.000-04:00

Like seeing the sun after an afternoon matinee, I had to squint to see the alarm clock. Last night I stayed a little longer than I should have at the Ocho de Mayo party so I woke in horror that I had over slept and missed the group ride. The clock showed 7:00, I was going to make it on time.

Over to the dresser only to deal with a more and more pressing issue in my life, a lack of options. My dresser is pitiful, and my closet is worse. Outside of a pick up basketball game (in which I'll come dressed to impress) I simply have nothing to wear. So with minimal interest I slid open the drawer. I own two pairs of bibshorts and three jerseys. One pair of bibs is acceptable and the other is wearing thin to the point that people have commented. The good pair was in the basement in the hamper, the thinning pair was right in the drawer. I was only thinking of myself when I slipped into them, plus I'm sure I can get one more season out of them before they are totally see through.

The top drawer didn't deliver much optimism either. Three jerseys looked back at me, like they always do; my tried and true Seven jersey from 2003 with the capital letter font, my sick but too small Pez Cycling News jersey, and a full zip Velo News jersey that is simply unattractive. As you might imagine I reach for the Seven jersey more often than not. Blue was calling my name though so this time I grabbed the Pez jersey and I was out the door.

Outside I was greeted by a fierce, bone chilling wind, but with all of my dilly dallying I had wasted precious time off the clock so I got in the car and headed to the Ride Studio. I checked the temperature on the way, 40 degreees. It could be brisk.

The wind was so strong that it blew my 4007 lb. car over a lane on one memorable gust. With a full water bottle, my bike and I weigh about 165 pounds. Would I be blown over? Time would tell.

Waiting at the Studio were Sutts, Neil, Dan, and a new guy in town from Philly named Brett. Sutts finished up his coffee and we were off. Same loop as the last two times with the new ending Dan introduced us to last week.

Smarter riders than me, each had arm warmers, leg warmers, gloves, hats, etc. Me? I had a wind breaker and shoe covers, amateur. Before leaving Lexington Center my gloveless hands were numb and my nose was running but that didn't stop the wind from blowing. I brought the camera to document the ride as usual, but my hands just wouldn't function and it was safer to keep both hands on the bars anyway.

I was riding a Seven Diamas SL as the Ride Studio had one in my size, equipped with an old pair of Mavic Ksyrium SL's. Over the past three years I have ridden nothing but deep dish rims (it's a tough life) so it was a serendipitous occasion to be riding a pair of low profile rims on the windiest day of the year. Or so I thought. It turns out I was getting blown all over the road. This was the kind of wind that I can't beat; it punished me all morning long. Dan was nice enough to set the pace and wait as I dragged behind. I was so slow I didn't get to chat as much as normal and have no stories to share because of it.

When the ride came to a close, I was utterly exhausted and couldn't get home for a warm nap fast enough.

Up next will be some thoughts ont he Diamas SL. Thanks again to the ride participants for coming each week. I promise to bring warm weather next week.

KB

2009-07-19T22:14:00.007-04:00

Relaxing ride today, we did the Sudbury loop, in the warm sun. Only a small group today, just Neil, Matt, and I.

Matt was on his Bridgestone, and as usual was held back by Neil and me. I have a suspicion that if he were by himself, he’d average well over 25 mph. Neil was on top of this as well, so like a genius he rode his single speed to keep the average speed in a reasonable range.

We saw loads of cyclists on the road which got us to thinking, just how many triathletes are there in Boston? Pretty much every bike we saw, easily over 20, were equipped with aero bars. I would never admit this out loud, but I’d love a tri bike. There is something about a one piece aero bar, a rear disc and a deep dish front that does it for me. I’ve always wanted one, even when I was a kid on my first twelve speed. That’s right, two more speeds than anyone else on the block. I acquired a disc wheel “cover” that somehow clipped on to the rear wheel and looked drum tight. I tore up and down Main Street, or so I thought. I think eventually the clips fell off as did the cover and that was it for my tri dreams. Anyway, there were a lot of tri bikes on the road today.

There were also a couple other bikes of note:

And a blast from the past!

We also rode right past a doe, a deer, a female deer:

Finally we came to Concord center for a much needed breakfast stop. Typically I find that if I just have a yogurt before a ride I can go for fifty miles without hunger. Today I swallowed the left over Colgate residue in my mouth and paid the price. To quench my hunger I ordered up the often talked about, rarely seen “breakfast sandwich.” The flavors this morning were Bacon, egg, and cheese or Sausage, egg, and cheese. I went with the bacon and a large lemonade. My breakfast looked a little like this:

And what did it look like under the wrapper?

This sandwich packed a wallop. I have had more than my fair share of heat lamp cooked breakfast sandwiches, but this particular sandwich didn’t exude the crusty bread, the mealy bacon, or the stinky egg. Instead, the cheese tasted fresh, the bacon was mostly lean, and the English muffin was soft and moist. Making matters even better, it sat well during the ride home. I can highly recommend the bacon, egg, and cheese.

After breakfast we headed home. Neil broke off in Lexington, and Matt and I powered home on Mass Ave. Another good ride.

Sick like the dog.

2009-07-11T22:14:00.002-04:00

How does someone catch a cold in the summer? I'm not sure, but I feel just as lousy now as I do when I catch a cold in the winter.

I am out for tomorrow but in next week.

2009-06-28T07:49:00.002-04:00

It's a gray morning in Arlington but I bet we can beat the rain. The ride is on!

If it's dry, we ride.

2009-06-27T21:06:00.003-04:00

See you all tomorrow morning at 8:30 in the Seven lot. The forecast doesn't look great but we'll see what the morning brings.

I'll post again in the morning if it's a rain out.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/map/interactive/02472?from=36hr_maps&zoom=8&interactiveMapLayer=radar

Sleep tight.

Ride Cancelled: Stuck in Connecticut

2009-06-21T07:29:00.003-04:00

A Saturday night wedding dinner in New Jersey went longer than expected, forcing us to spend the night with my folks in Connecticut instead of driving home direct to Boston. I know what you are thinking, "That's two rides in a row that KB is missing!" I'm aware.

So, I am out for the ride. The weather in CT is cold, grey, and wet so hopefully it's the same in Watertown. Well not hopefully, you know what I mean.

Sorry for the late update, I hit the hay at 2 and just now remembered to post the cancellation. Another reason I should step up to an Iphone. On the bright side, it is Father's Day so I'll probably go out to breakfast this morning with my pops.

See you next week.

Joe Wignall - The Host with the Most

2009-06-11T15:39:00.002-04:00

I'll be out of town, slumming it up in Myrtle Beach for the next couple of days.

No need to fear, Joe Wignall has graciously stepped in to be the contact for Sunday's ride. http://www.sevencycles.com/people/joe_wignall.php

Feel free to contact him with any questions. Oh, and go ahead and bring your "A" game, I bet the avergae MPH is a little higher this time around.

See you in two weeks.

2009-06-08T23:48:00.011-04:00

Sunday morning I was 1.2 miles away from home, heading over to join the club of Sevens (ten minutes early I’ll point out), when the tell tale signs of a flat tire slowly started revealing themselves. “Am I riding in sand? Why can’t I control my bike? What’s that clanging sound?” It’s been a long time since I have had a flat. Probably six years. Call me lucky, call me light on equipment, just don’t call me gifted with a CO2 cartridge. I got the tire off in record time, 5 minutes or so, found the hole, swapped tubes, put the tire back on, and prepped the CO2. I’m a big fan of CO2 for their size, but truth be told, I am .200, or one out of five when it comes time to actually use them. I should say I was one for five, now I am a Papi-esque .166. As I have become accustomed, the CO2 went off in my hand and the tire stayed flat. My frustration, coupled with my frozen hand is the only excuses I have as to the lack of photo documentation. I walked home, 1.2 miles with my tail between my legs.

I had some time to kill on my walk back, so I called Joe Wignall to see if he’d come rescue me. He was in Rhode Island. I called Neil next, after all, he had been to every ride previously and was likely on his way over anyway. Nope, he was home watching the French Open, trying to get enticed to play a little tennis. I plan to recruit Neil to be my next hired gun to dominate the Tennis North East league, http://www.tennisnortheast.com/. I’ll guarantee a second place or better performance if he ever actually acquires a racket. Next up, Rob Vandermark. By this time I was heading down the hill to the house so I no longer needed rescue, I just needed to find out if people were waiting or if I’d have to hunt them down. Turns out they were nice enough to wait.

On to the ride.

Again, a stunningly beautiful Sunday. Mid 70’s, no wind, just ideal. We had a tight nit group:
Jon Henig:

Rob Vandermark:

Graham Dimmock:

That's Jon, Rob, and Graham I said:

I know what you’re thinking; the streak of one new rider per ride has come to an end. Sad day indeed. I’ll do my best to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Graham was the leader of the group today, and he took us on a different route to Walden Pond, then on to Concord for a muffin, then home. Due to my tardiness it was an abbreviated ride of about 35 miles.

We rode up through Bentley College,

and over to Trapelo Road for some short steep hills.

Did anyone know that there was a pond off of Trapelo Road and Lexington Street called Hardy Pond? I had know idea. I forget how hilly Trapelo Road is, up and down, up and down. Short steep climbs too, just short enough that you can attack and before any real pain sets in, you’re cresting the top. Once the route crosses over I-95 it turns beautiful, we crossed over Cambridge Reservoir, and up into Lincoln.

Before long the asphalt turns red and the Decordova Museum (http://www.decordova.org/) passes by on the right. I wonder when they decided on red asphalt? Why red and not purple? Who gave the "ok" on this? I guess it is a nice change from the norm, but I can’t say I have seen it anywhere else, so why Lincoln? My three second search on Google revealed nothing. Nothing!

We passed Walden,

and high tailed it to Concord for some grub.

That looks like a man who wants some grub.

This time I went with a blueberry muffin and a large lemonade. Both hit the spot. No one ordered the breakfast sandwich however, so the mystery continues. My research has shown that one part muffin and two parts lemonade turn your stomach to cement in just one mile. But just three miles later, that cement turns into a PED like substance, see for yourself! (Quick side note, this is also the caption and win photo of the week. Wayne won the Chunky bar, but I ate it on the way home, so his will be delivered next week)

That pose there required every last bit of energy the muffin provided so I looked like this:

the rest of the way. It wasn't worth it.

I’m off next week, but will be back in two. In my absence feel free to contact Joe Wignall or Neil Doshi for ride details. See you soon.

Ride Report and Odd Ramblings

2009-06-03T23:10:00.007-04:00

Sunday was my favorite ride yet, a repeat of the Sudbury/Wayland loop. We didn’t have as many people as last week, but the pace was spot on, so all of us rode together with the only exception being the occasional king of the “mountain” ego race. This loop has only the smallest of hills but that’s enough to stroke this guy’s ego. The sun was out in full force, a growing and welcomed trend. Does anyone remember last year when the weekends brought rain and the sun shined brilliantly from 9-6 on the weekdays? I do. I prefer this year’s pattern.

We met at the Seven parking lot and waited for the group to gather. I snapped this picture of my bike while we waited:

Two things came to mind, three really, nope four:
1: Why has no one told me my bars are rotated way too high? It’s possible the angle of the picture makes it look worse, but this was unsettling nonetheless. I’ll be addressing the matter before this week’s ride. However, in the future please let me know when such atrocities present themselves.
2: I think it’s time to cut off the extra 1 cm of steerer tube I have above the stem. I just don’t see myself raising the stem 1 cm in the next ten years, so why have it there looking like a chin rest?
3: I haven’t done a review of our new titanium seat post yet! I will soon, with detailed pictures to boot.
4: Pet peeves are not a big thing in my life. I’m pretty laid back and I just don’t get annoyed by that many things. A good example of a pet peeve of mine is when someone leaves you a voicemail and says, “Hey Karl, I have a question I need to ask you, so give me a call back when you can.” What is the question? What’s the draw back to asking me the question over voice mail? Time to think about it if not researching an answer? ASK the question. Ask the question, just get it out in the open, you’ll feel better. So as you can see, while I don’t have many pet peeves, I do get pretty fired up over them. Another pet peeve is white athletic socks. Don’t get me started. Look at the Fab Five.

Could they look more mint? Nope. Black socks is always the right choice, at least if they are going to be seen. Where am I going with all of this? Well, a growing pet peeve of mine is the silver braking surface on bike rims. Look at the picture of my bike. Outside of the hideous saddle bag, and the aforementioned handlebar issue, it’s the silver braking surface that jumps out at me. Yuck. This isn’t a knock on my wheels, (I love the wheels) it’s just something that wheel manufacturer’s need to figure out.

If the braking surface was gray or black, I wouldn't be looking for carbon wheels.

I think when I was working at the North Haven Bike Shop while in high school, Mavic made a pair gray rims, they were way ahead of their time. What happened to them? Outside of carbon wheels, there is no other option. I suppose it must have something to do with the brake pads wearing through any anodized colors. I lose sleep over this. Maybe it’s time for some carbon wheels after all. Even for me it’s hard to believe that these are the things I worry about. On the bright side, at least I don’t have to worry about bike fit and performance, that part is dialed.

Back to the ride report.

The streak of having one new rider per ride was extended another week as Matt Sutton, no relation to Ian Sutton, joined for the first time. This brings me to some bad news, I did the worst job yet of taking pictures. At the end of the ride I downloaded the shots, all twelve of them, and I got one shot of Matt’s backside, he’s the one with the banana in his pocket, I’ll leave the jokes up to you:

And in this video, he’s leading the pack:

If you turn up the volume you might get a laugh out of it. Let the record show that Neil finally remembered that we are in fact supposed to turn right at this particular intersection.

Riding past Hanscom Air Force Base we were pedaling into a heavy head wind. I could ride up a day long hill with a smile, but five minutes in a head wind and I struggle and get grumpy. It was about this time when Rob Vandermark sailed past, which got me to thinking. I wonder if when an employee gets a Seven, and Rob is reviewing specs, if he makes changes to the design that he knows will make me, say, struggle in a headwind. I doubt he would do this to the general public, but I could see him doing it to me and maybe Joe or Neil. A little payback for all of our wise cracks during the work week courtesy of the master. These are the things I think about in a head wind.

We followed the Battle Road back to Lexington, then rode up past Wilson Farms.

Another quick aside. If you are like me and are searching for the world’s finest glass of chocolate milk, look no further than Wilson Farm’s. I think it’s actually produced by Shaw’s Farms but it’s sold at Wilson’s and it has ended my search. I now search for the second best chocolate milk.

Up we went, cresting at the Belmont Country Club. Then down, down, down into Waverly Square where we all went our separate ways. All in all, a great ride.

This Sunday we’ll meet again in the lot and plan to leave at 8:30 on the dot. We’d love to have you there.

Want to make the Club of Sevens even Better?

2009-05-27T21:09:00.003-04:00

Please take a moment to fill out this survey, the results will help us make a better ride.

http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/C87D0A7DD8EE1B0A/

Until I figure out how to make this a hyperlink, you might have to cut and paste it.

Thanks for your help.

Longest Ride Yet

2009-05-27T19:27:00.012-04:00

The Club of Sevens has raised the ante after our picturesque 50 mile loop. The day, the ride, the weather, the group, simply could not have been better. In attendance were the regulars, Neil Doshi (still leading with a 100% attendance rate), Rob Vandermark, Jenna Weikerth, and Graham Dimmock. Keeping my goal alive we had not just one new addition but THREE.

Newcomer #1
Wayne Maceyka:

That’s Wayne on the right, clearly Wayne is pretending to hold a bowl of chips and salsa while Neil demonstrates how to eat them. Wayne is a good friend of mine and of Seven Cycles and it was a pleasure to have him along. He also likes to blog: http://www.renewacycle.com/ check it out.

Newcomer #2
Jake Bridge:

Jake showed up on his most recent build, a beautiful Axiom Steel fixie. Jake is our IT whiz and commutes to the office from Lowell. Could he keep up on a fixie? Turns out he had to back it off a bit. The leather fender flaps are surely mint to those who appreciate fenders, I wouldn’t understand. As a side note, Jake, like me, is a lover of tamarind.

Newcomer #3
Denise Caruso:

I knew Denise was going to tear it up long before she showed up for the ride, after all she is a born and raised a Nutmegger just like me. Hailing from the ‘Shire, she is no stranger to beautiful cycling roads. She was test riding an Axiom as she is in the shopping phase for her first Seven, a fine position to be in as far as I am concerned.

Newcomers, welcome to the club.

Eight strong, we headed out of the parking lot on the way to Concord. I’d guess it was 73 degrees, just enough to get a nice farmers tan base to build on for the rest of the year.

Here is the Nagog loop:
Acton/Carlisle abbr.
Find more Bike Rides in Watertown, Massachusetts

If you would prefer to call this loop the "Second grader's rendition of a withered old man with a large nose tripping over his tangled legs loop" that's fine, but I'll continue to call it the Nagog loop.

Heading out:

Every ride I say the same thing, “I’m going to wait and take pictures once we get to Concord or further where it’s more scenic.” However, I have been forgetting. This trip I did a little better, but still not great. What I like most about the pictures though, even when I do a poor job, is that in every case, people are smiling. See for yourself:

But the best smile? Your number one participant, Mr. Neil Doshi himself:

Priceless. Surely that smile has won some awards. Why wouldn't we be smiling? The sun was out and we were logging miles. Heading out of Concord we rode past Nagog Hill Orchard:

Then around Nagog Pond:

If only we were drinking egg nog, or near a bog, or saw a frog, or even listening to the Troggs,

then we really could have had some fun but unpredictable rhymes.

We headed back on 225 to Bedford, passing parades and patriotic folks all along the way. Once we got back to Belmont, we parted ways. When the smoke cleared we had done around 52 miles and averaged about fifteen and a half miles an hour.

The Club of Sevens is starting to take form, come join us:

See you soon.

Memorial Day is Looking Good

2009-05-24T19:50:00.003-04:00

What time do we meet?

8:30 AM tomorrow morning at Seven Cycles' parking lot. The temps are supposed to be in the mid to high 70's, let's take advantage.

See you soon.

Caption that Photo!

2009-05-22T10:44:00.003-04:00

This week’s rendition of the photo caption contest starts now!

The prize this week for the funniest/only entry will be a Chunky Candy Bar. I will also be participating in hopes to win that candy bar!

Enjoy the weekend, see you on Monday morning, 8:30. Wayne Maceyka is on board.

Fresh New Route!

2009-05-21T18:54:00.003-04:00

Quick update on Monday's Memorial Day Ride, Jenna Weikerth:

Has plotted a new course. I don't know all of the details yet, but I believe we'll be out in Acton, Carlisle, Bedford, etc. Pretty area, for the most part. I can't wait.

More to come.

Winchester Loop

2009-05-21T17:33:00.006-04:00

Short and Sweet ride on Tuesday morning. Cold enough to wear "tights," long sleeves, gloves, a hat, and of course a mint pair of shoe covers. I say "tights" because I learned this morning that my tights aren't really tight. In fact, they were flapping in the wind which is surely the reason Joe Wignall and Neil Doshi sailed passed me on every down hill. Pitiful. Maybe someone is having a close out sale on tight tights, or will be soon. Anyone? Anyone?

We met up at the coffee shop and headed out just before 7:00 AM. The route was undetermined so we opted for the often traveled "Winchester Loop" which has a nice moderate climb and two lovely downhill's. Just lovely. Of my five goals, one was achieved this week in that we had a new rider, actually two join us for the ride, Joe Wignall:

This is typically how you see Joe on a ride, from the back.

and Graham Dimmock on my right here, but I wouldn't say this is typical:

Both proved to be more awake than I was. Completing the group was Jenna Weikerth, Rob Vandermark, and the aforementioned Neil Doshi. Neil still leads with participation having not missed a single ride.

Action Shots:

And a look at Joe's mint deep dish rims:

What's not so nice about this loop, is that it's 10 miles long. Yup, it was pretty quick. For extra credit Joe, Graham, Neil, and I went up Spring Street in Arlington, aka the Water Tower. Joe won the first King of the Mountain challenge although no one gave him a real test as we were too tired. As I mentioned we had just rode ten miles.

Next week's ride, thanks to Memorial Day has been pushed to Monday. See you then!

Change of Date

2009-05-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a light rain and a minor plumbing issue, the ride was cancelled on Sunday. What makes it even worse, was that Stephen Jablonski showed up!

Had I known, I would have been there. Sorry Steve. I hope this won’t reduce your cookie deliveries to the Seven office.

So last week’s ride has been pushed off until tomorrow morning, 6:45 AM at Jam N’Java in Arlington Center. Trust me, 6:45 AM will not be the new trend in the Club of Sevens group rides.

Head Count as of 6:00 this evening:
Joe Wignall
Rob Vandermark
Jenna Weikerth
Mike Salvatore
Me

Hopefulls?
Neil Doshi
Ian Sutton
Ray Allen
Eddie Vedder

I reassembled the bad boy ID8 for comparison purposes to the ISP. With exception to the shiny silver braking surface of the rims, I’m not sure how this bike could look any sicker. See?

See you tomorrow, bright and shiny. If I’m not there by 6:45, just keep waiting.

Mother's Day Ride

2009-05-14T00:01:00.012-04:00

This week’s loop was the same, but our pace combined with a head wind in every direction, made for a more challenging ride. Making matters worse was Ian Sutton, one of our scrapping machinists, who showed up ready to increase our average speed. Not only did he make us ride faster, but he did so on a brakeless fixed gear bike with a differential somewhere in the teens.

Ian, Jon Henig, and Rob Vandermark were newcomers to the group and put on an impressive display.

Henneg:

I show up with deep dish rims and a pair of mint arm warmers.

Henneg? He shows up with a picture perfect pedal stroke. While he didn’t ride his fixie on this particular ride, it’s clear he has spent plenty of time on one.

Sutton:

Ian is nearly 6’5” and tips the scales at just over 78 pounds. What does this mean to me and you? It means he can ride a fixie faster than you can ride a geared bike. It means when Neil sells him a road bike, that we are done for. It means we’re going to have to come up with new routes that he is unfamiliar with to prevent others from being lapped. It means he can clean the lights in the production area without using a stool to stand on. It means he weighs about 1.012 pounds per inch. But most importantly it means you won’t feel too bad when he tears up the hills and out of sight because after all he weighs 78 pounds.

Vandie: Rob opted to rock the silver and black V∙II from our demo fleet. It occurred to me, like two trains coming together on the same track, why all of our demo bikes are roughly Rob’s size. Smart fellow. While I don’t know Rob’s background in riding bikes, I remember hearing from someone that he used to ride a lot, and was a gifted mountain bike racer. I don’t know how long ago that was, but you can tell when he pushes the pedals that he’s got some calves to back up the stories.

We left around 8:30 as planned and headed to Weston. Now, last time we rode I was the only one who knew the loop, so this time I was glad to have Neil along to help lead the way. This way I thought, when Ian took off I could hang back and let Neil show him the way. This was not the case. Not only could Neil not remember the route, he made the same wrong turns as the week before. But who could blame him, it was windy and we were starving. Before I had even started paying attention we were at the Campion Center mowing down a bag of Clif Blok Shots. For those of you who haven’t had a Blok Shot, I’ll give you a quick review:

Clif Lemon Lime Blok Shots:

I should start off by qualifying myself and my taste buds. I love energy/power food. I strongly believe that GU in the “Just Plain” flavor is the greatest flavor ever developed. A shot of Gu followed by a plasticy blast of water bottle water is simply scrumptious. I love it. I crave it. When PowerBar was a new product I was working in a shop in Wallingford, CT called Alpha Lo Bicycles. I was in 6th grade and had my dream job working at the coolest shop in town, maybe even the state. One of the owners, George Dickerson or maybe his wife Sahala decided to cut up a PowerBars into sample sizes for patrons to try. There was a whole plate of them. Malt, Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, they were all there. By noon I had eaten the whole plate. I tried to deny it but was bouncing off the walls with energy. I’ve been hooked on energy food ever since.

On to the review.

Clif Shot Bloks are rubbery cubes of delectable-ness. The consistency was best put by my buddy Fernando who, upon eating his very first one, said “It’s like eating an eraser.” He’s right. It’s like putting one of those erasers you were forced to use in elementary school when you pencil eraser was worn down to nothing but your pencil was too long to throw out, in your mouth. Take that eraser and make it taste like the very nectar of heaven, and you’ve got a Lemon Lime Blok Shot. Whether it’s a placebo or for reals I do think they provide a fifteen to twenty minute delay in hunger which may or may not be considered energy. Speaking from experience, I would only recommend eating two squares in a day. During a particularly long ride (http://www.berkshirecycling.org/rides/greylock.php) I found myself completely out of gas, alone, and left with nothing but a bag of Shot Bloks. Coincidentally I was pretty confident that in order for me to finish the ride I would need the energy of roughly one bag worth of Blok Shots. So, I ate them, two at a time until they were gone. I could barely breathe, the erasers filled my mouth and throat, I was gasping for air. I drained what little water I had left, but it wasn’t enough. The ensuing gut ache was something out of a Wes Craven movie. The gurgling sounds were deep and constant. How I lasted the remaining sixty miles is beyond me. Perhaps it was the energy from the bag of Blok Shots.

Black Cherry is another recommended flavor. They don’t replace GU, but they are a welcome change and a totally different consistency. Go out and get yourself a Blok Shot and see for yourself.

Back to the ride.

After a brief stop at the Campion Center we were off to Wayland and Sudbury and enjoying the scenery. Twenty minutes of Blok Shot induced energy later and we were starting to re-develop a hunger. Walden Pond came and went and we were cruising down Walden Street racing to the Main Street Market and Café.

I ordered up a Banana Chocolate Chip muffin and a large lemonade. I’d review the muffin, but truth be told, it was pretty average. The lemonade hit the spot. Two stories came out of the breakfast stop that are marginally entertaining.

#1: Breakfast Sandwiches. The sign at the store says “Breakfast Sandwiches,” but gives no hint as to what that means or how much they cost. This is a red flag for me as I typically look to get in and get out of any situation that involves me prancing about in spandex. Neil however, was up for the task. Their conversation went something like this.
ND: Do you have breakfast sandwiches?
Shop Keep: Yes.
ND: Hmm that sounds nice. Do you have a sense of what the flavors might be?
SK: Well, if you have to ask, we have bacon, egg, and cheese. Sausage, egg, and cheese. And ham, egg, and cheese.
ND: I’ll have a pistachio muffin and an iced coffee.

This made me smile. Let the record show that the employees at the Main Street Market and Café are nothing but the nicest people and happy to help. It’s just odd how mysterious the breakfast sandwiches are. Plus Neil has a funny way of asking questions which added or the fun. Perhaps you had to be there? I also learned that we pay our machinists big bucks, check out how Ian rolls:

"Keepin' the big ones on the outside," as they say:

#2 Flat tires. So there we are, the five of us eating our breakfast in the alley between the market and the shoe store, basking in the sun. As you probably already know Concord is a hub of cycling activity so it’s not uncommon to see several bikers pass by, if not join you in the alley for a snack. This day was no different. While we slurped down our beverages a married couple pulled in for a snack and to fix a flat. I asked if they had all the tools they would need for the fix, but it was clear that not only didn’t they have the tools, but they wouldn’t know what to do with them if they did. Not to worry, we had a boat load of tools, tubes, and pumps to remedy the situation, plus it was mother’s day so we were happy to donate a tube to the mom in need. They were grateful for the tube and pump but appeared poised to fix the flat on their own. I backed off and refocused on my banana muffin. A few minutes later we heard the tell tale sigh of a husband who just popped his wife’s second tube on Mother’s Day. Not a problem, Ian donated another tube to the cause. While we giggled and ate, Vandie, as usual, saw the bigger picture and realized that if we (he) didn’t fix the flat, it was possible that we could be there all day letting the over matched husband work on the flat. So there we were, the kids of the company laughing away, eating, joking, and glad to be among friends, while El Presidente himself fixed the couples flat tire.

They said they might stop by for a tour of the company some day to thank us, but judging from their frustration of the flat tire, they might think twice before ever riding a bike again.

After breakfast we jumped back on the bikes and tried to catch Ian once more. We tore past the Hanscom Air Force Base passing several other riders before jumping on the battle road up over to Lexington. From Lexington we formed a pace line and cruised all the way to Arlington Center at about 23 mph. That’s about 8 mph faster than I am comfortable riding for an extended period of time.

Here's me at 23:

Ian, Neil, and Henneg all looked like they were just getting started, much to my dismay.

We broke up at Pleasant Street and went are separate ways home.

Thanks again to Jon Henneg and Ian Sutton for their maiden voyage in the club. Thanks to Neil for his continued support. And a very special shout out to Rob Vandermark for coming along. He might not have been thinking about it while trying to keep up with Ian in the constant head wind, but he and his company are responsible for introducing me and everyone else to the fun people I get to work and ride with every day. The Seven Cycles family, past and present, are some of my favorite people in the world. Come along and find out for yourself.

I have decided to set a few goals for the Club of Sevens to keep things interesting:

#1 One new rider every week. Next week I am hoping to get Wayne Maceyka to join us. I haven’t seen him in a year but thanks to email and texting I feel like we are as close as ever. For those who don’t know him, you are missing out, he’s as genuine as it gets. PLUS he can recite “Real Men of Genius” commercials.

#2 We will get a minimum of ten rider to participate in the annual Kancamagus group ride. Details and dates to come.

#3 To solicit feedback from riders in the form of “guest entries” on the blog. This way you can see through my lies and determine just how fun the rides really are.

#4 Better photography and videos. This is a work in progress, but something I am interested in improving.

#5 Caption this photo contests, episode one

That’s all for now, see you Sunday.

Ride Report and ISP Review

2009-04-29T22:49:00.011-04:00

The season opener was a big success. The day itself was unbelievable, probably the nicest day of 2009, and we took full advantage.

There are several stories to share from the ride, I’ll share those that interest me most:

#1 Bryan Hollingsworth can put the hammer down. I hadn’t ridden with Bryan before so I was caught off guard when he showed up on a 1998 Seven Odonata Steel painted in remedios red. I used to detest remedios red, but after seeing Bryan's bike, I'm coming around.

While riding next to Bryan and admiring his build, as well as his parts pick, I have taken remedios red off my hated color palate, I am now officially indifferent. Bryan outfitted his bike with a variety of Mike Salvatore hand–me-down parts including some perfectly matching Mavic Ksyrium Elites, a Wound Up carbon fork, and matching red valve caps. Most impressive was that Bryan rode the entire time with what appeared to be a thirty pound messenger bag. Was he carrying his lap top? A bagged lunch? It was unclear and I didn’t ask. It didn’t matter, Bryan and his man purse were at the top of every hill first.

#2 Jenna Weikerth did an incredible job representing the female contingent on our ride. She showed up on her tried and true Axiom sporting a new pair of Hed Ardennes wheels, also hand-me-downs from the aforementioned Mike Salvatore. Perhaps with enough representation of his old parts we can actually get Mike to participate in a ride!

While this picture might make you think we were riding in Louisiana, it actually was taken on our ride while we pedaled through the Sudbury marshland. Jenna is the sales rep for many shops, but on Sunday she showed her love for her Laguna Hills retailer Edge Cyclesports. Pretty good looking kit. This was her first ride on the new Hed hoops and the wider rim profile was a hit. I'll get her to give us a full review soon.

#3 Neil is new to the area so it was fun to show him some of the country roads that are reachable from his house. We road from Watertown to Sudbury, to Walden Pond, and finally on to Concord before returning home. My only complaint of our loop was the general lack of climbing. On future loops we’ll be looking for some hillier routes to show Neil how we do things in New England.

The scenery was gorgeous, I really love the views around the marshes and the Sudbury River. Other than the unacceptable road conditions near Walden Pond, that once cracked a carbon rim of mine, I always appreciate a trip past Thoreau’s stomping grounds.

Here is our loop:

<a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ma/watertown/400124088271641223">04/27/2009 Route</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ma/watertown">Find more Bike Rides in Watertown, Massachusetts</a>

We stopped at The Main Street Market and Café in Concord for some breakfast before the final leg home. All said and done the ride came to about forty flat but scenic miles. I can’t wait for the next ride.

#4 Jenna and Neil can really take a turn in tandem:

Like soap on ice.

#5 Integrated Seat Post (ISP): This was my first ride on the ISP Elium of any distance. So consider this my official review of the bike.

The ISP looks exactly what I think a bike should look like. Like the Dude’s rug tied his room together, the seat tube lug ties the frame together like no seat post ever could. Ti posts belong on ti bikes, carbon on carbon, and ISP on carbon & ti, there’s no way around it. By eliminating the seat post, you also eliminate the seat collar, and about three additional colors on the bike. Let me start by saying that for the most part I am pretty low key and roll with the punches, but when it comes to bikes (and sneakers), I am picky beyond reason. So while you might select any old seat post, and call it good, I cannot. Here me out. The seat collar is typically a slightly different silver color than anything else on the frame. The bolt and washer add another two colors. The seat post can be any number of colors and the decal even more. That’s way too many colors. The final product can look good, but it’s potential is substantially lower than what an ISP can offer. The ISP perfectly compliments the look of the frame and your oh-so-precious color scheme. It simply can’t look better, with the very minor exception that I plan on proposing to Mr. Vandermark himself, a laser cut Seven emblem on the front of the seat top lug. Mint. I’ll let you know how that goes, and report back on whether or not there are lasers at Seven.

Once I got over the looks of the bike, I hopped on. Along the way I couldn’t help but look down at the seat tube lug. This is what my view looked like for most of the ride:

The ride wasn’t significantly different than a bike equipped with a seat post, but there were a few subtle differences, all of which I thought were niceties. Most noticeable to me and most appreciated, was the more pronounced feedback from the road. The extended seat tube adds a hint of harshness over chatter bumps, and makes fresh asphalt feel better than ever before. I found all of this information from the road a welcome addition to the ride. Again, the feedback isn’t unnoticeable on my ID8, it’s just a little more pronounced on the ISP. This additional response made me stand over more bumps than I would on my ID8 but was still more compliant than my previous all metal bikes. Saddle height adjustment, while limited to about 3cm, was a snap, and the new but ingenious saddle clamp assembly was simple. Adjusting the saddle angle is a separate process than clamping down on the rails which makes minor adjustments a breeze. You can do one without affecting the other…genius.

My only reservation is that I like to put my bike in the car when I travel to keep the bugs off. The ISP doesn’t allow me to stand the bike up in the back of a wagon using my customized 2” x 4” with a Yakima fork mount. With my ID8 I can pop the seat post out, and slide it right in, I can’t do that with an ISP. This will also make packing and shipping a bit of a problem. I'd rather not travel with an ISP than travel with a traditional seat post, you heard it here first.

As always, more to come.

Attendees

2009-04-23T19:28:00.006-04:00

Good news, Neil (http://www.sevencycles.com/people/neil_doshi.php) signed up for the ride just this afternoon. Can you feel his excitement?

Drink it in.

A few others of note will also be in attendance:

Lauren Trout, http://www.sevencycles.com/people/lauren_trout.php, on freshly built Campy Centaur bike. The wheels look particularly sweet.

Jake Bridge, our IT guy and likely on his Seven, but maybe on his folding Brompton as he’ll be coming all the way from Lowell. He might opt to take a train for the first part of the ride, hard to blaim it.

Bryan Hollingsworth, a carbon expert, but I doubt he’ll be on his Spinergy Rev X equipped Seven Teres. Little does Bryan know that I plan to pick his brain about a Triad to find out if I should step up to one as a no nonsense club bike. When it comes to asking carbon questions, I prefer to speak to the guys who have carbon fiber dust under their nails, behind their eyelids, and in their lungs. Bryan fits the bill nicely.

See you all soon.

Anticipation

2009-04-22T20:14:00.009-04:00

Based on the current weather report, Sunday is a solid day for the Season Opener. We can barely wait, you should see the frenzy around the factory.
"Do we meet or leave at 8:30?"
"Can I bring my buddy?"
"How many riders will there be?"
"Are you providing coffee?"

We will have good numbers, I can feel it.

Ramping up my excitement even more than the 80 degree temperatures is my latest must have equipment of the season. How do you make a pair of ten year old Sidi’s look mint?

Easy. You cover them in a pair of the coolest shoe covers available:

Don't let the hemi like pistons that I call my legs worry you, the camera added up to twenty pounds. You'll see in person. The real point of the picture is to model my yet to be taken outside Mellow Johnny's (www.mellowjohnnys.com) shoe covers. I’ve just been prancing about the house in them. If 60mm’s of deep dish rims don't speed me up, certainly these covers will do the trick, regardless of yaw and wind angle.

What could be a better kick off to the new season than a fresh pair of shoe covers? Three letters:

I.S.P.

That's right. For the Season Opener, I'll be demo-ing Seven Cycle's own Integrated Seat Post (ISP) prototype bike. The bike was designed for a saddle height of 79.4cm, proving yet again that there is nothing but rewards for being 6'1" and "mostly legs and knees." I can't wait to ride it, I'll be sure to write up a thorough, overly wordy review for those who are interested.

More to come, the anticipation is growing.

The Season Opener

2009-04-21T22:07:00.001-04:00

Step outside, you can feel it. The bone chilling cold the winter witch hexed over Boston has been lifted. Behind, she has left a hint of warmth that has opened the door to something magical.

The Season Opener.

Sunday at 8:30 AM represents the start of another season of organized group rides for the Seven Cycles factory, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Who are we? At our core, we are a group of Seven Cycles’ employees that meet each Sunday, for a group ride. In our hearts is a never ending love for biking and everything included; good company, laughter, country roads, climbs and descents, descents and climbs.

What are we? The Club of Seven.

Want to know more about some of us? Check out some of our bios:

Me: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/karl_borne.php

Jenna: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/jenna_weikerth.php

Joe: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/joe_wignall.php

Neil: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/neil_doshi.php

Graham: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/graham_dimmock.php

Mattison: http://www.sevencycles.com/people/mattison_crowe.php

This year, we’re branching out and hoping to meet some new riders. If you are interested in riding with a fun group of big talkers, with little to back it up, you should consider coming for a ride with us. We meet in the Seven Cycles parking lot, located at 125 Walnut Street, Watertown, Massachusetts. There is plenty of off street parking.

Along the way we’re likely to pick up friends and will hopefully entice some special guest riders too. If you’d like to meet us for a ride, we’d love to have you along. See you all soon.