Patria Vandermark is a study in contrasts. She doesn’t much care for cold weather, but she loves camping in the snow. Her latest passion is for ultra-endurance fat biking, but her Instagram handle is skinnytires. And although she grew up mostly indifferent to cycling, she quit her engineering career to “build her life” around the sport, as both a ride organizer and a sales rep for Seven Cycles.
Patria is coming to Ann Arbor for fitmi’s 10th anniversary celebration on Sunday, June 15, which will begin with the 30-mile Gravel Mi ride and end with food, drinks, and après-bike festivity at Lowertown. She’s also bringing several rider-ready bikes to test-ride (sign-up required) — including the new, limited Gravel 747 specifically designed for the dirt and gravel roads of southern Michigan.
Patria has amassed a ton of knowledge during her 14 years at Seven, which has custom-built more than 35,000 bike frames in its history. Once you spend just a few minutes chatting with her about down tubes and mullet setups and countless other minutiae that factor into the optimal cycling experience, you’ll know why she and Maxine have been friends for so long.
We also talk about how cycle production might evolve in the near term, what U.S. races can learn from the European experience, and why every race is worth it if you get enough wine and pasta afterward.
Other links:
Follow Seven Cycles and New England Expedition Riders on Instagram
Check out the Gravel Mi ride route
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