Bikes for Barrels – TGM’s Latest Venture?
Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by Jordan in The Gear Movers
To get a feel for the wine before you indulge, Ranno tilts and swirls
A new direction? Well, not exactly, but definitely a new way to seal the deal. Before we get into things, lets get one thing clear – wine does it for me. I’ve put in the base miles training my palate, and the rewards being reaped are magical. Good bottles stay in my memory for weeks until I get the ‘wine guy’ at Liquor Mart to order the store a case I soon there-after splurge on with the 20% case discount. I just can’t seem to have a meal after 12 noon without the stuff. Not quite addicted to the point of AA, but an admirer of the art form. I also happen to be applying for Italian citizenship, and guess what, that’s part of the application – molto bene!!
Nick tests the value of a possible trade for some bike gear...
A new client of TGM just happens to be the owner of a vineyard. I heard this tid-bit of information through my boss’s closed office door across our warehouse to my lonesome workspace with Pandora set blasting on 80’s pop. I perked up like a 6th grader at a pool party. But at this point it was still hear-say. “What are the chances of that working out” I thought to myself. Well, this morning my skepticism was thrown under the bus. A delivery at 10:30 a.m.? You got it. I could see the alcohol sticker on the blank brown box from afar – brought me right back to my days at Boulder Wine & Spirits where I began to memorize the monthly visits of the reps with “the good stuff” for us to taste and hopefully sell. That’s right, we received our feeler, our taster if you will. Our possible client, who unfortunately will have to remain nameless, came through. Four bottles free of charge – a gesture of good faith. Now its up to us to test the waters… Obviously, we can’t trade 72 cases of wine for a road bike, but who knows, maybe the wine can be his/her form of The Gear Movement coupons, redeemable at Diesel’s desk.
Pop that thang!
Now on to what came out of the box. A 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet, a 2007 Sonoma Valley Syrah, a 2007 Montepulciano – Sonoma (I like him already, he’s importing Italian varietals!!!), and a 2005 Sonoma Valley Cabernet. Boo-yah!!!! An ‘03 Napa Cabernet?! Are you serious? This sucker is going to be a face eraser! Big & balanced forward fruit with, huge nose, lingering berry notes in the back of your tasters as she goes down – surely to flank the palate from all sides. The 2007 Syrah should be a soft, elegant, and smooth fruit sensation ready to swing dance with any savory dish thrown its way. The Montepulciano? This Tuscan gem is hopefully the dry, balanced-tannin and sophisticated fruit I’m after in my $7/bottle budget that I am all-to-often unable to find. And the 2007 Sonoma Cabernet? A possible cellar candidate (yea, if I had one)? Well, I’ll let you know when I get there. We’ll see if I can wait until Friday. Salud ”
The wine is poured by Diesel himself!
Boulder – The Town of Contradictions
Posted on 14. Feb, 2010 by Diesel in The Gear Movers
The Prius and the Bike, Ask Nick Ranno which "Green" path he travels by most
Boulder – the town of contradictions. Don’t get me wrong, this place rocks – there is a reason I haven’t moved back to Georgia. This blog is not aimed at anyone, just everyone in Boulder that inspired these thoughts. So I have to come up with a blog for work? The latest body art is out due to today’s Facebook – iPhone – hey lets email Ranno’s mom this photo – type of connections I tend to find myself at the loosing end of more times than I can care to remember. So what to blog about? Good question when I am not a blogger to begin with, but let’s see… I do ride my bike to work everyday = a commuter? Whatever the name, I am constantly getting passed by cars and staring at their bumpers – rain or shine. Lately, the oddest image continues to make its way through the brown snow-covered bumpers of countless Toyota Prius’s and alternative fuel vehicles alike that determine I am at fault for their mid-text near misses. But first, lets get back to the beacon of these bumpers. “Save the rainforest,” “Go Green,” “My other car is a bicycle,” “My other car is an airplane,” “My other car is a helicopter” – really?
What does it take to build a Prius, I think we are looking at it!
Anyway, when I am fortunate enough to get a visual of my verbal-assault target of such a vehicle with such a bumper tag, and they are rocking a tie die and dreads and blaming my presence in the intersection, which at this point has been granted by a green light, for their failure to notice that the light they are sitting under is now red – well they are getting the best I have to offer in 4 letter cocktails at happy hour. First off hommie, I know your vitamin cottage hourly wage didn’t pay for that Prius, and second, I’m practicing what YOUR CAR preaches – simply because I enjoy a good bike ride and saving some money, not because I care to tell the world about my beliefs on my seat post. I’m just doing my thing, going from point A to B, minding my own business, but you, well, by now you know what I think of you. Next time you pass the buck to a bike, take a look at your set up first.
I don't think many words are needed to describe this party with a Tesla, Prius, and Touareg
Editors Note: Nick Ranno is one of our longest standing employees at The Gear Movement. He has been working on a full body tattoo from our friends over at Bolder Ink, hence his references at the begining of this blog. Nick rides his one of the bikes in his wealthy stable to work everyday no matter what. We have seen him ride to and from work in blizzard conditions, are you as amazing as he is? Check out the World Commute website by CatEye to log your commuting miles!
New Additions to our Shop
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by Jordan in For Sale, The Gear Movers
Jack Bissell shows off his new Crosskate Neck Breaking All Mountain Skates, yikes!
Not only have we been having tons of fun at the shop posting our clients cool Gear but we have added some new employees and some new features in our rad warehouse. Isnt it every grown persons dream where they can work in a cool environment that pushes them to have fun on the job? Well we try to do that here although we do have a custom pool table that has remained unused in the last few months, what a shame. We actually need to have the table re-leveled, does anyone know of someone in Boulder, CO who could do that for us?
New additions to the shop include our employee Mr. Jack Bissell. He hails to us from the great Full Cycle bike shop in town and has so far stated “That he fits into our little operation here just perfectly.” When asked what his favorite part of working at TGM, while posting cool things like the Crosskate Inline All Mountain Neck Breaking Skate (we are still trying to understand these things, check the video below) he states: “The great level of respect everyone has for each other here and the chance to check out cool ‘Foot Hummers’ at TGM.”
Fast Tube by Casper
Well these skates are truly cool, check out the auction and win them for yourself in our eBay store: Crosskate Inline Backcountry All Mountain Ski Skates
Our groovy unused custom pool table and new frame and wheel racks - full!
Along with the addition of Jack, we have added new storage in our “Pool Table” room for the overwhelming inventory of frames and wheels we have been recieving from our consignors recently. As we travel into the new year we are starting to sell through our once large Ski, Skate and Snowboard inventory and start to focus more on the bicycle aspect of the business. A note to summer – “You can’t come soon enough!”
A new addition - more wheels and wheel racks!
Peace out from The Gear Movement, we are going to go try these neck breaking crosskates, but only after we update our health insurance plans!
The First Day of Flying
Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers
It’s the first of the new year, and the first day of flying.
Elizabeth Speedgliding Southside
Awhile back I decided that it would be a good idea to start speedflying. Of the many ways I’ve been exposed to flight and free-fall – B.A.S.E., skydiving, hang-gliding, paragliding, speedflying, wingsuiting, you name it – I’ve thought that paragliding seemed, well, the most achievable and intriguing for me. And, for the lack of a better word, fun. So, after many months of saving, my idea of paragliding evolved into the decision to buy my own Ozone XT 16 meter Speedglider.
Northside Launch, Elizabeth is about to take off!
(By the way, a speedglider is different than a paraglider. The wing is designed differently, and it has a much smaller glide ratio. As opposed to a paraglider, I will sink out faster, and as the name would imply, be flying at a higher speed, but the idea is somewhat the same.)
Point of the Mountain Southside, Glider Time!
For the New Year’s weekend, I headed to Utah’ s Point of the Mountain, with expectations of more forgiving terrain than here in Boulder and high hopes of steady wind. Not so early on the first of the year, I confronted the South Side gradually working my way up and down the hill.. The soft, gentle wind wasn’t exactly ideal, so I spent the morning skipping down the hillside with 20 or 30 foot gaps in steps. This turns out to be not as much fun as you’d think, and ultimately left me frustrated. As the day progressed, the wind died down, and it ended up being less about flying and more about getting vehicles out of the snow drifts, as one care after another piled into snow drifts.
Arms back, run hard, don’t hesitate, and commit. Those are the rules as I discover flight.
Gliding the Southside of Point of The Mountain
Despite the poor conditions on the first day, I’m back again for more. I plan my course, looking from the top wind sock to the bottom, aiming into the wind. My glider inflates above me, and I run as hard as I can towards the edge of the hill. Instead of tumbling down through weeds and snow, I’m lifted away from the earth and nearly weightless in the air. Sitting back, flying steady and relaxed, before I hit the ground running, bringing my brakes into my side, slowing me to a complete stop.
Acro-Gliding the Southside line up
On just my fourth flight, the winds switch direction and after a quick lunch, I find myself hiking up a seemingly vertical mountain to a 750-1000 foot launch. At exit, I’m quickly popped off the ground and sent soaring, higher than any of us expected! My lessons hadn’t taken me as far as soaring yet, but this gives me a lot of time to get comfortable and fly it out, overlooking Salt Lake City, making several passes at the mountain before I finally lost altitude. Awesome!
The Line up, all of us on the Southside, pretty sweet!!
In three days, I completed 14 flights, which left me ready for more and excited to take on more challenging sites. Needless to say, it’s a great way to start a new year with a new adventure!
Jesse and Matt about to push me off without the Glider, not quite ready!
French Skinsuit Dance Show!
Posted on 08. Jan, 2010 by Jordan in Ben, For Sale, The Gear Movers
Fast Tube by Casper
Sometimes our emplyees and owners alike need to go the extra mile to sell our products. Such is the commitment here at TGM that we offer to our clients. We will slave away to sell your gear at the top dollar price if that is what it takes to make you happy!
The above video was shot by Jordan, with Ben as our model and just about the whole TGM crew in attendance, laughing hilariously! Sometimes you just got to have fun. Crazy thing about it was that we got these skinsuits sold no problem, and for maximum dollar. I don’t like to use this space to pump our ego our our services, this is more a space for us to tell our fans and potential new clients that we use a fun atmosphere to seriously get the job done!
Ben Duke, modeling the latest in ski slope fashion!
One of the perks of working here at TGM, is that you get to pose in our ridiculous photo booth wearing some of the crazy clothing we get! Here is to you, our brave employees!!
The Latest in Jelly Belly fashion wear from TGM! Modeled by Nick "Diesel" Ranno
Matt Cooke – Our Resident Pro Cyclist
Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by Jordan in The Gear Movers
Matt Cooke racing his TT rig to perfection with the Ride Clean Team in 2009
After spending the last two years on big and successful professional cycling teams, racing as an amateur with a smaller budgeted team was not what I wanted to do for the 2009 season. The experience proved to be a really good one for me and turned out to be fun at the same time. The Ride Clean Team for 2009 was composed of mostly young guys from Arizona and I was the one stand out from Colorado. Even though we had a small budget we were still supported at every race, I was really impressed with those guys. At Redlands we stayed in a mansion that makes me think twice about having cycling as a career. The 12 year old kid at the house could play the cello, speak Chinese and annihilate me at Nintendo Wii. Redlands was such a hard race, that damn Sunset Loop on the last day never gets any easier. I really don’t want to think about it, I am only now just getting over that pain.
Matt Cooke on the podium, second from left - looking fit!
The next race was Tour of the Gila where the big news was that Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner were racing. The first day was a mountain top finish and I ended up getting 4th and beating Lance! I was very happy to be riding so well. All week long everything felt so easy and I was looking forward to the last day’s stage, which featured a lot of climbing and another mountain top finish. Sadly I never made it that far. After only a few miles the peloton was sheltering itself by riding in the shoulder of the road because of strong winds. Everyone was racing fast, wheel to wheel trying to stay safe and save energy for later in the race. Without any warning the rider on my right hit a large rock in the road with his front wheel. I can still remember seeing his wheel make impact with that damn rock. He went over his bars and into me. I hit the ground with my head and shoulder. I was taken to the hospital with the other rider who had face planted into the concrete. My collarbone was broken and my whole race was over even before it began.
I ended up getting surgery to fix the collarbone. The doctor did an amazing job by the way, and I was riding again after a month, pretty amazing I think.
I think this picture explains it all, not a fun time for my poor collarbone!
I bounced back and had a good end of the season with a 12th overall at Tour of Utah and 3rd at the Green Mountain Stage Race, a race I had won in 2006. But 3rd was great and I’m happy with it.
After many phone calls and sending out even more resumes I am happy to say I am on a pro team again for 2010. It is called Team Mountain Khakis. They have been mostly a criterium focused team but they are making a strong push for stage racing success next year. I hope I can live up to what they want out of me and what I want out of myself. For now stay in touch for some more updates from me throughout the New Year, and check out the site of my new team – www.teammountainkhakis.com
Happy New Year!
The Employees of The Gear Movement
Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by Jordan in The Gear Movers
Part of the TGM crew showing their fun side!! Photo by Ben Duke
Did a small photo shoot with some of the employees at our shop yesterday! Part of owning a small business and trying to keep things interesting around here is doing fun stuff! Don’t get us wrong, we don’t take the entire shop to the amusement park on a regular basis but sitting behind a computer and posting Gear on eBay can get a little old sometimes.
Matt showing his best "Blue Steel" impression! Photo by Ben Duke
With an impending snow storm coming in today that dropped a good 5 -6 inches of the powdery white stuff we thought it would be a great time to get out and do a little photo shoot. Pictures are courtesy here by Ben Duke – our fearless leader who takes some amazing shots. Ben has a great understanding of light and how to get the right angles; Jordan typically takes Ben’s great shots and distorts them or ruins the lighting!
Elizabeth - obvously from the "wesstsidde" Photo by Ben Duke
After Ben took these rad photos it was back to work and business as usual, but ay know – we have fun here! That is the most important part of our business. We are here to post your Gear on eBay, so let us know if we can help you move your old inventory – we have fun doing it, and you will definitely have fun getting the checks in the mail! Cheers to all from the crew at TGM!
The paparrazzo is looking for Mr. Ranno! Photo by Ben Duke/Papparrizzi
Elizabeth and Matt showing their "Gangstah" side!
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….
Tour of Missouri Recap From Stage 1
Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by admin in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers
Super cool Custom SRAM Red 54t Chainring for Nat Champ John Murphy
Today’s a wrap at the Tour of Missouri. We placed 9th in the field sprint (John Murphy – OUCH Maxxis). The win went to Mark Cavendish from the ever powerful Columbia HTC team. A Little side note fans, the Columbia HTC team is one of The Gear Movement’s biggest clients, yes we work with the best! First place price today was a Buell 1125R moto! How will they split that between 8 riders and 12 staff? Any ideas? I’ll tell Cavendish your ideas tomorrow at dinner!
Dan The Bicycle Man - Check out the sweet off center front wheel!
Jordan spent the day in the feedzone and hanging on the massive team bus watching the race on TV! Only one caravan was allowed in the race today and the duty of mechanic goes to the rad Eric Greene (OUCH Maxxis’ head wrench). After the race the fun consisted of getting the team bikes washed super fast! I can now say I am one of the fastest bike washers when I am in my element, no jokes here please! This evening consisted of dinner with the OUCH boys in the great dinning hall. Tomorrows Stage 2 begins in Ste. Genevieve about an hour and a half transfer from the hotel here in St. Louis. Our start time is 11am which means us staff need to get up around and out at the trailer by about 5 or 6am to make sure we get everything dialed in. Stage 2 finishes in Cape Girardeau!
Super Mechanic John Sessa from the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team
Nice thing about this race is that it is super well organized! The organizers did a great job placing the finishes within 1-3 miles of the hotels we stay in that night, making for short nights and long morning transfers. No sarcasm here but this is a mechanics dream!!
Another Super Mechanic - Vince Gee of the BMC Pro Cycling Team
Looks as though my responsibility for this race will be transfer boy! We have a new staff member named Adrian who is as Irish as they come. He is so Irish that I can barely understand what he says when he talks!! Its gonna be an interesting week of fighting for parking spots, water hookups, rooms, and electrical hookups in the parking lots at hotels all over the state of Missouri. Anyways I’m off to bed, its early to rise tomorrow for a fun day of the Tour of Missouri.
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