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!
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.
The new location
Posted on 10. Jun, 2009 by Jordan in Ben, Jordan, The Gear Movers
The new space at - roll up warehouse door - pre tuneup
We don’t want to jinx anything before it has happened but we wanted to let all of our fans and current clientele know that we might be moving out of the cramped basement soon!
Duke and myself just did our first tour of commercial and industrial retail locations around Boulder. For any of you who have never done this, even if you don’t have a business that needs a new location, I would recommend setting out on one of these trips with a realtor. Try not to tell them off the bat that you are not really looking for a space!
Hanging bike racks from the rafters - Ben, and Mike Dunn
We met with Kimberly Baldwin on Lee Hill Dr. looking at a place in the Holiday part of town. There are some pretty cool buildings over there, but the floor plans are quite limited. We next traveled down to a spot over on Old Pearl Pkwy between 47th and 49th. This location was super cool with huge ceilings, a bathroom and tons of space, but the location is just a little off. Any of you who have ridden the bike path around this area can attest to that…
Painting with Ryder Duke - he was awesome!
Next was off to a location on Walnut at 4745. The building is a three-unit space with the back unit being the old shipping dept of some former business. This place seemed to be a perfect fit for our biz! The property comes chalk full of bonuses – the old Boulder rail sign on the railroad behind the back of the property, a loading dock, basketball hoop, ample area for a grill, table and chairs, and premium location just off the bike path!
Our final stop on the day was a building adjacent to Graham Watson’s studio on Central Pkwy just off of 55th. Great location but the building just wasn’t right for our purposes, too many sectioned off offices and too little warehousing space. Hopefully we will be able to have some negotiations with the owners at 4745 Walnut and sooner than later we can sign a lease and move into the spot, wish us luck!
Nearing the end - painting the floor, phew bad, bad fumes!
Starting a new Business in an “upside down” economy.
Posted on 17. May, 2009 by Jordan in Ben, Jordan, The Gear Movers
The beginning of it all. The motherload from a great shop in CO
So when Ben and myself started to devise a plan to do an upstart new business in the early months of ’09, we obviously decided to put our knowledge of current affairs, the economy and our business degree to great use, hint the sarcasm.
Believe it or not, this is almost the perfect economic climate to create a new venture devoted to helping people “Move Their Gear.” We created a company where individuals, pro teams, pro athletes, independent reps, industry insiders, and independent retailers can sell their unused, used and even abused gear to the masses through eBay. With a slow economy and the lack of time everyone now has on their hands having to fill in spare small jobs on their calendars to make ends meet – enter The Gear Movement.
Pack it all in! A 22ft box truck full to the brim, ohhh yeahh!!
What we didn’t anticipate was the steady and increasing amount of growth we have seen in just a few months of business. Although the business is still run out of my increasingly cramped house in NoBoCo we are feeling the effects of the growth pretty steadily. Numbers are jumping and new clients are coming though the doors, a few days ago this meant a new phone plan (new iphones) for Duke and myself. Apparently Duke had been using the “free with plan” phone for about 3 years, finally we hooked him up!
The one and only - Mr. Ben Duke, uhh hows the mocha?
Another cool thing about owning our own business is that Duke and myself have been able to make our own hours and be responsible only to our selves, well actually Ben has a few other mouths to feed, but for the most part…
Heres to more bike rides and working towards what we call, “something cool!”
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