Wine and Bikes: A Perfect Pairing Pt. 1
For our first feature, we dive into the story of Steven Honig — a man whose passion for riding, sustainability, and advocacy for a healthy lifestyle has inspired so many around him. Now, after decades on his first, and only, Merlin Extralight road bike, he’s made the leap to a new Merlin XLR.
But his story doesn’t end there. In part two, we dive into his winery that is built on similar values. Stay tuned as we tell the story of a life shaped by movement, dedication, and the pursuit of something greater — both on the road and in the vineyard.
Early Life
Like many other kids from Northern California, Steven Honig experienced life on two wheels starting at an early age. An old Schwinn banana seat bike lived in the driveway – one that Steven would crash his first time riding, veering straight into a garden hose laying in the street, awarding him stitches as a souvenir of his first attempt at pedal-powered living.
Between the ages of 8 until he left for college, Steven was a bit of a “motor enthusiast”, riding around the underdeveloped streets of Mill Valley and exploring the family farm in Napa. Post-High School Graduation, Steven moved to Boulder to attend the University.
After Steven went to Boulder to attend CU, where he bought his first commuter bike – a $99 cruiser – he later bought a Nishiki for his brother and a Specialized MTB for himself after moving back to California post-grad. During this period, he balanced his time in San Francisco exploring the Bay Area on his bike and adventuring abroad during the summers where he’d meet a girl on a nude beach (don’t worry, we didn’t ask for photos), fall in love, and eventually pack up and move to Sweden to begin a new chapter in his life.
Steven and his brother, Michael, pose at the Honig Vineyard and Winery.
Road to Sweden
Before leaving the states, Steven took a $60 mechanics course at a communal bike shop near Haight-Ashbury, where he learned everything he needed to know to maintain his bike abroad. Due to his new skillset, he found himself a job at a ski and bike shop, eventually finding himself immersed in the Swedish bike messenger world, acting as the mechanic for the whole bike messenger fleet. In conjunction with repairing bikes, he joined riding clubs on routes that challenged riders traversing technical terrain, over roots and granite rock, through the enchanting forests of Sweden. He eventually began mountain bike racing on the weekends – anything to maximize his foreign experience.
“There’s no greater environmentally safe use of man and machine.”
The Green Messengers
While living in Stockholm, Steven and his mountain bike joined the one-of-a-kind “Green Messenger” courier service – or Grona Budet as it is called in Sweden. The fleet would ride 100 - 150 km per day, sustainably delivering packages all around Stockholm, earning a reputation for their pink-painted Cannondales, matching uniforms, and overall “bad-assery” trudging through snow and ice in the dead of winter.
“The mountain bike actually allowed us to do a year-round bike messenger service, whereas before they only did it during the summer and delivered packages from department stores to places. They juxtaposed our modern bike messenger company with delivery boys from 1937 or something, that used to drop off people's shopping. So it was really kind of a cool thing,” Steven said. “In any case, it was really incredible to ride bikes in Stockholm, I mean, as a kid from California, it’s so different during the summer. It’s light all day. In the winter it's mostly dark; just really intense.”
He recalled a core memory from a -27F degree day. While on a delivery route, Steven got a bloody nose, which was fairly common due to the dry and frigid climate. As he looked down, he watched a small drop of blood fall from his nose and freeze before hitting his bike with a sharp ping! and bouncing right off his top tube.
Through the frozen blood, summer sweat, and speculative tears, Steven and the Grona Budet messengers became local celebrities, being broadcast to 8 million people on a popular TV show. Steven even earned some money on the side, modeling for various companies.
“Motorola used me as a big billboard at their Munich conference for when the cell phone was coming out.”
“When I was living in Sweden I was also importing small production mountain bikes and parts with my company California MTB Imports.””
Back to the US
In 1995, after years of adventure and newfound fame abroad, Steven returned to the U.S. to be with family — marking the moment he bought his first and only other Merlin Extralight frame for $1,600. “I wanted a bike that was going to last me a lifetime and titanium was the ultimate metal and substance for that because you can bend it a little and it can come back. It's really resilient.”
Looking forward to the next chapter of his life he dove into racing and event promotion, landing a role with Gale Force Sports Marketing. That led to work on the Mountain Bike World Cup, the Sea Otter Classic, and the NORBA National Championship Series. He even served as Greg LeMond’s handler at the Nevada City Bicycle Classic.
"That was the greatest assignment I've ever had in my life. He’s an amazing person."
After three years of hosting the World Cup at Skyline, the venue pulled the plug on the event, stating it had too much impact on the trails. Steven played an integral role in relocating it to Domaine Chandon for the 2000 World Cup.
"I was in this meeting, and I remember saying, ‘Hey, was anyone at the World Cup down at Skyline?’ This guy in the back raises a hand — turns out he's the CFO. He saw the disco flyover, the energy, the dancing, the good wholesome fun. People weren’t out of control. They opened up their beautiful vineyard to create a World Cup Course — it was just amazing."
Steven excelled in so many aspects of his cycling life — couriering, racing, modeling, marketing, even working as a sports agent. But when his son was born, priorities shifted.
"I didn't really want to travel 100 days on the circuit.”
So, Steven bid farewell to the fast life and returned to his roots, reconnecting with family to carry on the Honig Vineyard and Winery legacy.
A NEW BEGINNING
Despite the countless miles spent working, racing, or for pure enjoyment, Steven has only ever owned two road bikes – and intends to keep it that way. While he’d planned for his original ‘95 Merlin Extralight to be the only road bike he’d ever own, it fell victim to an accident that made Steven reconsider getting an updated XLR for his 60th birthday present to himself. Looking on the bright side of things, he notes:
"Out of misfortune comes fortune. And I'm not happy it happened, but I'm enthralled with the bike that you sent me. I'm not a flashy guy — that’s why I love Merlin. It doesn’t flash. It’s just so classic-looking with the welds. It’s so beautiful. It’s understated yet performance-oriented, and to me, it just screams classic craftsmanship."
Beyond the timeless aesthetics, the new Merlin XLR surprised him with its updated tech and modernized geometry.
"The new construction of the back triangle and dropouts is really strong, which is always great because you're always worried about those. And I gotta say — it’s so light. When I picked it up, I was like, whoa, this is surprising. I'm 60 now. I used to race at 178 pounds, and now I’m at 209 or something, so every little bit helps. And I love it."
These days, his rides are less about competition and more about clarity. After a long day, he enjoys riding the Tiburon Loop in Marin County, seeking serenity through the passing landscapes while his favorite tunes play in his ears. I think we can all agree there's a next-level freedom you feel while riding a bike – an uninterrupted joy that brings you back to your roots.
Find out more about Steven’s perfect pairing of bikes and wine next week as we dive into Steven’s family-owned winery in part two.
Steven’s Circumnavigation of San Francisco Bay Three Bridge Tour
