Back in The Game!
Posted on 17. Nov, 2009 by Jordan in Nicole
Nicole Duke of The Gear Movement Pro Team - hitting the barriers
Here I am, and I find myself back in the game. The racing game that is. After taking some time off to have my second child Canin , I am energized, recovered and ready to hang with my girls on the cross course.
My career started back in 1995 as a Professional Downhill and Dual Slalom racer. I raced for teams such as Giant, Mongoose, Intense, and others. In 2000 I decided to retire as I was broken and tired from all the expected downhill racer crashes. For years I didn’t ride—burnt out!! I started a new career as a hairstylist and eventually met my husband Ben. Then came Ryder our first child—the wild thing. I found myself missing the chase, the race, and time with the girls. In 2007 I decided to give cyclocross a try.
My first race was on the only bike I had, a hard tail mountain bike. I really had no idea what to expect and to my surprise I finished 3rd in the Womens’ Open field. All right, game on. I headed to Boulder Cycle Sport to talk with my friend Brandon Dwight. I knew he had been doing this for years and could show me the way. He hooked me up with a bike, jersey and I found myself now racing for their local team.
A sand pit - Nicole Duke on her way to a sweet 5th place finish in the Woman' Pro Race
The season went well and I was making friends fast and racing well. My only problem was I never watched the lap counter. Yes, I was passed several times at the line and left wondering. My lesson for the season, yes I know its obvious, but I wasn’t used to racing on a lap count. Racing DH, it was always the fastest one to the bottom.
Excited now and ready to get serious for the next season I started talking to a few local teams about sponsorship. I had decided to go with Mafia racing, ready to represent. I mean they were sponsored by PBR, they had to be fun. Two weeks later, we learned baby Canin was on her way. Racing had to wait.
Canin was born on October 30th 2008 and I wasn’t sure I would be able to race again. Two kids, a part time job, and not a lot of free time wasn’t conducive to training or racing. I approached the next summer with no expectations of racing and wanted to ride just enough to keep up with my friends. My friends are mostly professional athletes, I had to try pretty hard!
Now, I find myself racing the 2009 Cross season for our new company The Gear Movement and I’m giving it another go. No expectations, I entered the first race and much to my surprise finished 5th. Every race I have gotten stronger and cross-race wiser. I’m now consistently finishing 3rd and sometimes find myself hanging with the likes of World Champion Allison Dunlap and National Champion Allison Powers. Every weekend the family (thanks to the hubbie) looks forward to cowbells, bouncy castles, kids races and sticky mud. A retired racers’ family dream. I’ve found a way to integrate family with racing. My son now “cyclocrosses” his bike over every curb, I am so proud!
Nationals are in my sights. Sounds like fun and I could use a little girlfriend time away from laundry, diapers and screaming kids. Cyclocross, I’ve discovered is actually 45mins of painful freedom!
Mud Time!
Schwinn Homegrown Straight 8 DH Bike For Sale!
Posted on 12. Nov, 2009 by Diesel in For Sale, The Gear Movers
1999 Schwinn Straight 8 DH Bike. Photo by J. Schware
Well ladies and gents, step on up and view this beauty! This is a one of a kind Schwinn Homegrown Straight 8 Joe Lawwill designed DH Bike. This beauty was owned and used as a spare bike by the venerable Schwinn Factory Racing team back from 1999-2000. Check out some of these pics – I mean the bike is in mint condition!
Check out the old school Rock Shox Deluxe pull shock style rear suspension – remember when these things used to just blow up? I’m telling you, this is the bike that first got me into loving DH racing and all things Mtn Biking!
Shimano Airlines System. Photo by Jordan
Theres also the old school Rock Shox World Cup 151 Boxxer Triple Crown front fork, with the matching color scheme! This was the first year Hayes Disc Brakes were available for Mtn Bikes – the beginning of trickle down technology from the moto world. Note the rear floating caliper!
Schwinn Straight 8 Cockpit! Photo by Jordan
Where can you go wrong with the full Shimano drivetrain? From the beefy XTR crank set to the 48t “For Downhill Use Only” chainring to the Shimano Airlines system. Note the special gauges below the top tube to monitor the levels of compression in the air hoses. This rig almost looks like a moto with its beefy Sun Ringle Double Wide front and rear rims with brand new 26×3.0 Nokian Gazzoloddi tires.
Even if you never got much into DH back in the day when there was some money in Mountain Biking, give this bike a once over – honesty this is a one of a kind legend!
Do you have a story about this team or this era of Mtn Biking? Let us know, Check out the video below – we dig this stuff!!
Fast Tube by Casper
Flying Lessons
Posted on 11. Nov, 2009 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers
Beech 19 Airplane. Photo by E. Shepard
As I spent my Saturday continuing my casual lessons in speed flying in the warm November sunshine, anticipating my own small 16-meter canopy of nylon fabric, I couldn’t help but realize how many cool things I’d gotten to be a part of this week, besides learning to fly.
On Thursday night, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition. While I’m kind of new to the world of business and business networking, my introduction to it couldn’t have been a better one or more enjoyable. I had an incredible opportunity to introduce myself to many of the strong and influential women that we have right here, locally, in the out-door businesses of Colorado. It was great to see such a diverse group of people, talents and interests all sharing their knowledge, experiences and leadership styles. For me, as the manager of The Gear Movement, it gave me a fresh perspective of my own role in the company. And certainly if anyone knows me, I am what some might consider as “shy.” So this was my chance to step up and take on a new personal challenge, at which I do think I succeeded confidently.
The Wingsuit Boys - Ready for Action. Photo by E. Shepard
Another hobby of mine, besides adventuring and continuing an ever-evolving role of manager, is photography! My clunky, low end, yet beloved constant companion of a camera got a make over when it was topped with an expensive flash transmitter for a real photo-shoot. The photo shoot was for a team of BASE jumpers promoting their expedition to Baffin Island in the spring of next year, sporting their wingsuits on the wings of grounded airplane. Even though I spent most of my time helping with the lighting, holding 10 pound lights over my head for hours at a time (thank goodness for those bouldering muscles I’ve been working on), and the transmitter was actually the backup, it was my first time at a professional photo-shoot. After it was a wrap, the photographer actually gave me the chance to have my own fun with the gear, giving me pointers along the way, which was not only an awesome experience, but also shed valuable insight into the world of professional photography. That’s pretty killer if you think about it!
So while I wait for that wing of my own, and the next adventure as I work my way into a new sport, I’m enjoying taking in the newest opportunities and realizing how much is going on around me that I can be a part of. There’s something to look forward to in all realms of existence….
Boulder Cup Cyclocross Weekend
Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching
Jesse Anthony From Team Jamis. Photo by Dave Wright
Just got done working for the Giant Factory Racing team with my buddy Steve Kiusalas this last weekend in Boulder, CO. We had a few athletes to wrench for in the pits at the Boulder Cup weekend races – Carl Decker, Adam Craig, and Kelli Emmett. The info came in kind of last minute to Giant’s right hand man Steve. I think he got word on Thursday that he would need to do some work for the team on the weekend and he asked me for some help! On Friday we had the team over to what we call the “Pimp Pad” – our N. Boulder house complete with 5 bedrooms, huge yard, 2 car garage, hot tub, and 12 point elk head positioned above the front door! The “Pimp Pad” was perfect for getting all of the bikes out of boxes, tuned and ready for a weekend of mud. With the recent change in weather from 30 degrees and 2 feet of snow to 60 degrees and sunny, it was bound to be an epic weekend of epic mud!
We drove The Gear Movement official car over to the race around 11pm at the Xilinx Business Park near Longmont on Saturday for the days activities. Parked next to the Mafia Racing/PBR crew we had tons of entertainment and great beer!! Kelli smashed it in the Women’s Pro Race taking a 4th place in a star studded field on a super muddy course. The bad ass that she is, she only came into the pit twice to switch onto her spare bike, while her competitors were swapping bikes every two laps.
Steve Kiusalas and Jordan in the Pits. Photo by Rich Straub
The men’s race turned out to be quite a spectacle with Tim Johnson (a good friend of our’s) taking the win about 1:30 ahead of the rest of the field. Adam Craig managed to limp the last half of the last lap with a leaky rear tire to hold onto 4th place! Two fourths in one day of racing is not bad considering the competitive field.
Later that night Jordan and Steve carted the filthy bikes back to the “Pimp Pad” and cleaned them over and over with PBR’s in hand!
Sunday’s race saw dry and dusty conditions out at the Boulder Res for the final day of the Boulder Cup. Kelli Emmett came through again with an impressive 5th place and no mechanicals or crashes on the day!! Adam didn’t do as well as the day before in the Men’s Pro Race finishing somewhere around 12th or 13th but Carl Decker came home to take 7th in a super fast paced sandy race. The best viewing spots were the massively long sand pit and the cool barrier section on the front side of the course. Sunday night saw some more bike cleaning and packing for Steve and Jordan as well as the team and a nice dinner downtown. Monday morning came all to earlier and it was back to the daily grind at The Gear Movement!!
Steve Kiusalas and Jordan in the Pits. Photo by Rich Straub
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