The Gear Movement

I Have a New Love in My Life and It’s Called SUP

Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by Nicole in Nicole, The Gear Movers

Author Nicole Duke riding at Boulder Creek Kayak Park

I have a new love in my life and it’s called SUP. Yes, i’m a SUPer, no not the evening meal but a Stand Up Paddleboarder. The sport of Stand Up originated in the ocean but now has transformed and is showing up in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers.

My fascination started when my friends Kat and Ryan Guay with Mountain Paddle Surf started repping C4 Paddlebaords. Being frustrated with no surf in Colorado I bought one immediately. This was my way to “get my fix”, being born and raised in the Florida waters I was in dire need.

The Boulder Reservoir was a great place to start but soon was not enough for my adventurous spirit. It had to be harder, faster and more dangerous to keep my attention. This is where the river comes into play. My first time down a river was the 2010 SUP Whitewater Nationals, put on by the Godfather of river SUPing himself, Charlie Macaurther. I got a tutorial from long time river rat Ryan Guay, shimmied my way into a borrowed wetsuit , my husbands retro PFD, helmet, and a pair of 12 dollar dive shoes I had just found the day before at a local thrift store. There were three events, a 7 mile downriver, a sprint, and a standing wave surf contest. I fared well enough to earn 2nd in the Womens Division and was hooked on the river.

Next, was the Teva Games. The C4 Waterman crew was coming out from Hawaii for Tevas’ introduction to the sport. The hype and excitement surrounding our new sport at The Games was encouraging. The race would be a 4 mile downriver run on the beyond freezing Gore Creek. I took 3 practice runs with the Hawaiians, exchanged line choices and laughed about the craziness of it all. It required exceptional balance, focus, guts, and anaerobic threshold. It was exhilarating!! The morning of the race the Teva Games issued a high water warning and offered to give anyone their money back if they wanted to back out. Not one SUPer bailed! People lined the banks and bridges to witness this new and crazy sport. Lungs burning, shoulders aching i paddled my way to a second place in 21 minutes. Next i found myself on the podium with my new found girlfriends and a check for 500 dollars in hand. I will be back for first next year!

Nicole Duke and the C4 Waterman from Hawaii at the Teva Games

As long as I am on a roll I might as well join the river rats for the oldest whitewater festival in the nation. Fibark, for First In Boat down the ARKansas river, or in my case first on board down the river. The race is a 26 mile downriver through class 3+ rapids. The first recorded time was posted in 1949 and took 7 hours and 18 minutes. No one really seemed to want to run the 26 miles on a board, it was a little daunting. Three SUPers signed up, me being the first and only woman on a paddleboard. We were told to “just start wherever AFTER all the kayakers”. Being the new sport on the block isn’t always easy and is often misunderstood.

This time I would wear a camelback, pack my PFD with food and wear extra sunblock. I was in for a long haul and had no idea what a class 3+ rapid looked like. For me this wasn’t a race it was an adventure. I started with a slow and consistent paddle stroke, the kayakers seemed to be traveling at about 3 times the speed. Not bad, the rapids were manageable, the scenery was gorgeous, and I had some of the racers in my sights. Well, 30 min in , I was all alone and wondering how long this would really take. One and half hours in and I floated by the 10 mile take out, wishing that was my exit. The crowd cheered me on, told me I only had 16 more miles and that I was doing great. What did they know, my hands already had blisters, I was freezing, and the wind kept blowing me sideways and backwards. Ok, I can do this, it’s still beautiful! The biggest rapids were to come of course when I was the most tired. There were three that I vividly remember. One, where a HUGE rock sat right in the middle of the river and threatened to flatten both me and my board, I dug the paddle in last minute and narrowly missed being squashed. The second rapid was up on the horizon line with nothing to see beyond it. I picked a side, left I guess, tipped over the edge and saw 5 or 6 waves taller than my head. I let out a battle cry and charged the first three waves standing and then buckled to my knees out of respect for the dominating middle wave. I was spit off my board but had made it through unscathed and able to ask the safety boat ” How much longer, exactly!” They responded, “Just a little bit”. I said, “No, EXACTLY how much longer, I’m dying over here!” “Four more miles,” they said! At this point four miles felt like forever, my muscles were seizing, my legs were tired of balancing, and my hands and wrists wanted to quit. The third and last rapid I remember was at the finish line. I had done it, 3 hrs 15 minutes and I was the first woman SUPer to race and finish the Fibark Downriver. Only 2 of 3 SUPers finished that day. I was and am still proud.

Teva Games Podium. From Left Jenny Macauther (1st), Nicole Duke (2nd), and Jen Koki (3rd)

If you are interested in this wonderful new sport I am instructing on Monday, and Tuesday evenings 6-8 at the Boulder Res. Lessons are $50 and includes PFD and board. Coming soon, SUP Core Fitness classes and Race series classes. Check out my contact info below:

Spread the SUPlove!

Nicole Duke, nicole @ thegearmovement.com — Mountain Paddle Surf.com Instructor

Tour of California Wrap-Up

Posted on 17. Jun, 2010 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers

Arriving in San Francisco for Stage 3 of ToC, beautiful and typical weather of this area

An 8 day bike race wrapped up and done, but geeze, it feels like a grand tour. This 2010 edition of California’s premier sporting event was by far the most exciting and intriguing race I have done in years. I have worked this race every year but one and couldn’t have asked for anything more. I have never worked for a ProTour Team before, and this was an experience. From the late nights, to the extra little bit of work we did all day to set ourselves apart from the other teams at the bike race, it was definitely a good experience. From the outside the Garmin-Transitions ProTour Team looks like a looming fortress of pretentious staff and riders. It is not, this team is a huge family that after spending a week and a half with them I noticed how close they really are!

Jordan with the Specialized Angel at the start of Stage 3

Garmin-Transitions Team Super Fan, this kid was soo adorable!

The 20 some staff and 8 riders gelled really well together during the race. We had 2 personal chefs, 3 mechanics, 3 sougniers, 2 directors, 1 team photographer, and multiple media and sponsorship liaisons. Can you imagine the logistics of getting each one of these people to and from each race every day? I don’t know how it all gets done.

Our Chefs Chris and Barbara Grealish with thier new parking lot toy!

Probably some of the best times at the bike race where had by the 3 mechanics, hanging out in the parking lot after a bunch of bike working, eating the leftovers of a gourmet dinner served by our two chefs! I gotta say, Chris and Barbara Grealish, thanks so much for the food! On stage 7, the Time Trial in Downtown Los Angeles, I got to follow Tom Danielson during his ride. What an experience, he was flying through the course and although he didn’t post a great time on the day, he had an impressive ride through some of the gnarly windy sections and the one steep little climb.

HTC Columbia mechanic Chris Franges and his awesome bikes get ready for the TT at the hotel in Big Bear

Following Tommy D in the TT on Stage 7 in Los Angeles

Hanging out with TT1 mechanic Alex Banyay and Fly V's mechanic Tennyson Hulcy after Stage 7 of the ToC

The SRAM crew poses for a photo op in-front of the Staples Center at the Stage 7 TT in Los Angeles

I gotta say the number 1 experience for me came on the last day of the bike race when I got to drive the 2nd caravan car in the peloton on the unassumingly tough Stage 8. A lot of teams came into the last day unprepared for what was about to hit them. What looked like a simple course turned out to be a leg/lung burner. A super technical, twisty climb of more than 5k, followed by one of the gnarliest descents I have ever witnessed. I had the 4 tires on the super reliable Subaru Outback squealing on the 8k descent, ohhh my gosh it was the most fun I’ve ever had! I definitely envy a Team Director who gets to sit in the front seat and drive on a regular basis, my spot in the backseat is like a desk-job…boring!

Redwood forests from Stage 3, beautiful!

Mechanics Tom Hopper and Jordan chilly and wet to the bone after Stage 2 to Santa Rosa. It was a downpour all day...

We took two stage wins, and the overall team classification win for the entire race, what an impressive performance boys! It looks like I will be working part time with the Garmin-Transitions Pro team for the rest of the year. On tap next will be the USPRO Championships in Greenville, SC in early September. After that I will most likely do my first ProTour races in Canada – Montreal, and Quebec City, if I don’t do those, look for me on TV at the Vuelta a España, holy cow! Adios amigos!!

Post race dinner, me and Dave Zabriskie getting comfy...

Haiti

Posted on 15. Jun, 2010 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers

Earthquake Damage to the Port-au-Prince Presedential Palace

I had the amazing opportunity to go to Haiti the first week in June, even though a week is certainly not enough to get to know this country. Also, what I was planning on doing in Haiti had been arranged long before the earthquake. Besides, outside of Port-au-Prince, the earthquake really had little effect, even though it might be hard to distinguish from the looks of the rest of the country. Haiti is, without a doubt, a very poor country with limited resources to begin with, so it is now wonder that the earthquake had such a devastating blow, crumbling the concrete buildings that once made up the city. In the single day I spent in the capitol city, I did witness the tent cities that now stand between the rubble and collapsed buildings. But the people of Haiti continue with tenacity in their daily lives, through the congestion and the remains.

The entire Presedential palace was destroyed

Most of my time was spent on the northern coast, in the small village of Saint-Louis du Nord. Dust encrusted, sweat drenched, bruised from the jostling bus ride, eight hours and 120 miles later, I finally arrive and get to meet the community where I will stay. In the mornings, working alongside the Haitians, I helped build (or at least tried to contribute to) a new school building. With over ten people working on the tiny site, it was hard to share the single shovel and the single trowel, but non-the-less brick by brick, the building gained momentum upwards.

Here is a Google map of Haiti and Elizabeth's location in Saint-Louis du Nord

In the afternoons, even though I’m pretty sure I was more of a distraction than help, I worked at the old school. Bursting with over 150 students in four tiny classrooms, it was easy to see the need for a new building.

A map carved into a chair on the destroyed island of Haiti

School children running during our visit to the local school in Saint-Louis du Nord

School children looking out of a window of the school in Saint-Louis du Nord

Young girls looking for snacks in Haiti

A little girl smiling during school in Saint-Louis du Nord

A kindergarten class in Saint-Louis du Nord where we were helping to rebuild the school

The faces of Haiti, young school girls in Saint-Louis du Nord

A beautiful shot of a young girl holding my hand

Blowing bubbles with the kids in Haiti

Kids watching the bubbles pop in Haiti

A young girl blowing bubbles is entertained in Haiti

And on my day off, as if being in Haiti wasn’t enough; I was able to go sailing to the neighboring island of Tortuga, from all the pirate stories! Our boat was a luxury liner – the mast looking like it might just be a tree trunk. From a devastated shore, covered in trash, the small sailboat delivered us, surrounded by pristine, bright blue water to a quiet, car-less island.