Valmont Bike Park Grand Opening this weekend! Be there or be missing it on Saturday!

Ben here -

Recently, my vehicle needed an emissions test done. I drive up Airport road off of North Valmont and what do I see to my right? Huckability! Serious stuff that would make the number one Red Bull athlete pucker up – The new Valmont Bike Park. Absolutely huge features, pump tracks, etc. I thought, no way is that for me. I’m a fragile dad with a diminishing ego… I don’t need to prove anything. Then I learn, this park is not just for the elite, its considered one of the most progressive bike parks in the world. There is something for everyone. Singletrack, smaller pump tracks that help beginners learn in a safe environment.

Some serious doubles, note - not for the faint of heart, but this is for the heart of Boulder!

More sick lines to be had, we are itching to get on the park!

With two kids whose egos are growing with every pedal stroke, this was music to my ears. Something I can do with them and we can all have fun.

A sick wall hit! Can you say POW!

Needless to say, I am pumped for Valmont Bike Park’s grand opening this weekend! They open June 11th – I encourage any local cyclist to at least go check it out. This is a free park that should charge Disneyland prices… you’re cheating yourself by not going. See you this weekend!

Flying off of this would be nice...

The Rocky Mountain Bike Festival signs are colorful for the summer!

80’s and sunny this weekend? Check. Spend the weekend outdoors in the gorgeous spring weather? Check. Attend the 4th annual Rocky Mountain Bike Festival at Invesco Field in Denver? Check!

In Leadville in 2010, the backdrop was amazing! On to Denver this year

This will be the second year we are attending the festival and we couldn’t be more excited. With last year’s event up in Leadville, the highest city in the US, the increase in oxygen and warm weather will be a welcome in Denver. The festival will run from 10am-6pm both Saturday and Sunday in the M parking lot at Invesco Field. The Denver Century Ride will start and finish in the same location on the 12th with a community fun ride on the 11th.

Ben Duke shows off his Gear Movement T-shirt under our booth!

With all this good cycling activity Ben and Jordan couldn’t miss this opportunity to show the fine talents of The Gear Movement crew. We have dug deep into the inventory at the shop to pull out some great giveaways and a couple of pieces of high-end gear to raffle off. We will have an HTC-Highroad ProTeam signed Giro d’Italia official jersey on hand for one lucky winner to take home!

The festival was busy in Leadville, its gonna be packed in Denver at Invesco!

Look for our tent and wrapped car, and stop by the booth for some fun smoozing and boozing with Ben and Jordan!

Jordan Schware and Tom Hopper ham it up next to The Gear Movement booth in Leadville last year

Rad 80's gear, this is a necessity... Photo courtesy of eBay seller Retrovision65

Third, what to do? Um…. Ski. Or snowboard, whatever floats your boat, who needs to get specific? Or wait!… lets get specific… MONOSKIING! Ya, that bridges the gap! That’s totally 80’s bro! I’d give a body part to have one of those. If we get one in to sell, we’ll be sure to make a fuss about it in another, never boring, Newsletter.

Looking to bridge the gap? Done! Phot courtesy of www.pdhyman.com

Ok, fourth consideration to consider considerably would be your ability to pull a Spread Eagle… (level = Easy)

Skill Level = Spread Eagle, check! Photo courtesy of amazing bad-ass spread eagle dude...

Ok, got that one? Think that’s easy? Try a Daffy… (level = Medium)

Need we say more? Uhh no... Photo courtesy of www.shredbook.com

Ok hot shot. You’re beyond level Medium… it’s time to try a Screamin’ Seamen!

Seriously, this video is a must see, the guy does a 360 and a Screamin’ Seamen. at the same time! Not even guys from the 80’s could pull that off! …. “Poor some sugar on me” – ya sing it!

Finally, you’ll need to listen to good music. The 80’s rocked! Today, artists are trying to recreate the sounds of 80’s rock legends like Queen. Although they’re no match, today’s tunes are actually quite catchy.

Fast Tube by Casper

…CRAP! I’m old. I can’t tell you any new artists to listen to, or what exactly to wear when you’re NOT skiing. So just listen to Def Leopord; wear bright clothes (that are too tight in some areas and too baggy in others w/ tendancies to lowride); buy a Mono-Board, and with it… try a SPREAD EAGLE!

‘Till next time – CHEERS!

Ben, Jordan and the entire crew at The Gear Movement. Rock on!

Well that is the mutual feeling of millions of people around the world who have enjoyed the holidays and are ready to move on, but not us here at The Gear Movement. Like most online businesses and retailers, this was our time to shine and now its gone! The holiday season is a chance for us to work our tails off and try to make our company look that much better than the next. When else do we get this chance? In the summer when everyone is out riding their bikes and enjoying the weather, no! It’s the cold wintry season around the holidays where we make our bread and butter.

What is our bread and butter in the winter holiday season? Its not tough to guess here…its skis! We have been unloading some amazing and interesting inventories of used and demo skis this winter. And with a price point between $150-$500, they are a perfect margin for our company and usually net a great price for our consignors. If you haven’t already seen our ski category, click this link to our eBay store. We also sell a nice bit of bike inventory leading up to the holidays. Some hot items were frames, wheelsets and drivetrain parts, everything that your loved one could pinch a couple of pennies for and give you a sweet present!

Here’s a small video to provide you with some laughs of our holiday season!

Fast Tube by Casper

Our Resident Pro tackles the 24hrs of Moab, not his forte but he killed it!

After a long and tiring season of racing all over the country on the pro road circuit I was enjoying a relaxing off season of not riding my bike, spending time with my girlfriend and working at The Gear Movement. The last thing I wanted to do was ride my bike at any speed over a snails pace. So on Tuesday a few weeks ago when I got a text message about riding 24 Hours of Moab I thought “You’re asking the wrong guy.” The text was followed by a voice mail and an email. And even though the last time I rode a mountain bike was 1997 (I was 18 then and am 31 now) I said “OK, I’ll do it.” As soon as I committed to riding with these guys I wondered what the hell I was thinking, I didn’t even have a mountain bike!

I was to be part of the four man Excel Sports team. They told me I was filling in for a guy who bailed on them but I found out later that there had never even been a fourth guy!

None other than our resident pro Matt Cooke "riding the rim"

My new teammates had found a very small and kind of beat old bike for me to ride, but it was in the end way way too small for me to actually ride. I was almost hitting my chin with my knees every time I pedaled.

I managed to barrow an a bike from the awesome people at Ellsworth. And they really did save the weekend.

We switched off who was racing and when it was my turn I went as hard as I could, absolutely flat out. I probably would have gotten a good time too had I not had to walk just about every technical section. I was very afraid of crashing and caution is not a good thing in bike racing.

My night laps were even slower. It had been 13 years since I rode a mountain bike and I had never done it at night. Turns out I hate mountain biking in the dark, go figure. I came up with a mantra I would keep telling myself for all the night laps, “Hell is dark and you have to ride a mountain bike the whole time.” Not the most positive statement but I was in a pretty dark spot mentally.

The team got through it and we placed 6th in the Expert field. It’s funny, during the race I thought to myself I never want to do one of these again but as soon as we hit the drive home I was already thinking about what mountain bike I wanted to buy. Matt Cooke aka “Cookie” from Moab, out!

"I am really not looking forward to when the sun goes down."

David Hackworthy warming up in the Clement Tent on Day 2 in Madison

Anyone want some Cyclocross? For the first time in my career I have decided to throw my skills in the ring for a winter long experiment with Cyclocross Racing. For those of your here who do not know what Cyclocross is, check out this video…

Fast Tube by Casper

Being a purely road mechanic for the last 7 or so years of my life, the switch to Cyclocross is interesting and actually kind of easy. Where as I normally work with 6-8 riders per race, this season I am working with only 1 rider this winter. After getting an email from an old contact from my road racing days I decided to jump back into the mix. Donn Kellogg contacted me to see if I was interested in helping him as a mechanic for the winter season with his re-emerging brand; Clement Tires. Donn recently brought the Challange Tire brand over to the USA in the last few years and when an opportunity to re-introduce the Clement brand back into the world, he jumped at it! Here we talk to Donn about Clement and whats new…

Fast Tube by Casper

The collaboration is between Donn and Clement tires, Ridley Bikes, HED wheels, KORE components, Shimano Drivetrains and Boulder CycleSport for local help. You put all of these great sponsors together to support one athlete, a David Hackworthy the 2009 U23 National Cyclocross Champ and you have a great recipe for fun and success.

Jordan and friend Tom Hopper - mechanic extroadinare for the Hudz-Subaru CX Team

The Cyclocross season floats from the end of September to mid December in the US culminating with National Championships in Bend, Oregon later this winter. The first excursion revolved around CrossVegas! A cyclocross race in Las Vegas at the same time as the Interbike show to kick off the season, could you have a better excuse for a party?

The Mavic boys show Jordan some love in the pit, Mark and Petar, thanks precious!

Normally I would be partying for an event like this but this year it was purely work. DOnn had me flying into Las Vegas on Wednesday the 22nd around noon, catching a cab straight to the airport and working on the two race bikes for 6hrs in our Hilton hotel room. The reason for the immediate work was to be ready for the CrossVegas race at 9pm Wednesday night about 5 miles off of the Vegas Strip! I didn’t even have time to gamble I was so busy, this was a good thing!

Jordan washing David Hackworthy's race bike in the Hilton Hotel shower, nicest bike wash this thing will ever get...

The bike race was uneventful with no mechanicals and David placing a modest mid pack result after suffering some back soreness. The kicker for me was 3 and half hours of sleep after the race then hopping in the team car and driving the team equipment to Madison, WI by Friday for the next round of racing. This drive was a beast and I ended up doing the longest haul of my life – 20hrs of driving and 1200 miles in one day by myself, uhh there are 24hrs in a day right? Geeze…

The Pit in Madison, WI at the USGP Pro Mens Race, yeah bike race!!

Having safely arrived in Madison, we raced under clear skis and great conditions with no mechanicals for David for the entire weekend. I will post some more interesting blogs about the actual bike racing later on this winter, for now the logistically tough long drives are done and I will be flying into the next USGP Cyclocross race in Louisville, KY on the weekend of the 24th and 25th.

When in need of a large truck for transport...the roof of a Subi will work, holy cow!

These "pro pool" ladies thought they could kick Jordan's butt, unfortunately him and his buddy Chris Kreidl showed them otherwise...

Until then ya’ll is back to to business at The Gear Movement…

The Shadow of our Amazing RV as we travel west!

The latest adventure took me through thousands of miles of the western United States, experiencing the continually changing landscape by RV, raft and boat, and even simply walking down its coastal highways. It all started with an RV, set rolling on wheels that haven’t moved in five years, and four friends ready for a new rafting adventure (as we’ve done in years past). A vintage RV, straight from 1978, complete with the general yellow tinge and faded fabrics, wood paneling, and brown shag carpet. Four of us left Colorado, driving this top-heavy, gas eating machine through Wyoming, Nevada deserts, and on to Oregon, taking the RV to its new home. After only one night relaxing in Oregon, we traded our spacious ride for a tight squeeze in a Jeep that backfires and only has two seats for four people, plus gear. But we make it work, and continue on our trip to the Klamath River in Northern California, encountering fewer and fewer other humans, moving further into the wilderness.

Driving down the lonely road heading west in Nevada

Avenue of the Giants - the Majestic Redwoods

Oregon Flowers and Shadows in the Summertime

Nic, Appel and Matt in the Jurassic Forest in Oregon

Fire, smoke and sunshine, in the Oregon forest in the summertime

Our modes of transport when not on the river in Oregon, good times!

The Redwoods in July

The river – the second goal of the trip. We inflate our craigslist purchased raft and set off on our way. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes before we find ourselves bailing out the boat, hit by a huge swell of water and gushing rapids spitting us out of the river. But this is the worst of it, or maybe it’s just we’re more prepared for what’s ahead. For three days we paddle and drifted through beautiful redwood forests, stopping every night under cloudless night skies to camp. We explored the river with the bears caught lazily swimming, the eagles flying over head, and ventured into the dense, enormous trees at the river banks. The last day on the raft, the mouth of the river becomes wider and wider, and we pull the raft to shore in sight of the white breakers of the Pacific Ocean.

The Klamath Crew July in the summertime

Awesome river foliage in the summertime in Oregon

Yum Yum, fishy eggs in the river

A jet boat on the river in July

Matt jumping in, this is one of our favorites!

Fog and wind roll in as well pull our raft to shore, but the journey is not over yet. In three days we covered about 90 miles on the river, but by road, it’s more like 120 miles between our only vehicle, the Jeep, and us. So, two of us set off on foot, each with a small bag slung over the shoulder, just in case we don’t make it back in one night. Thumbs out. Within minutes our first ride, a bright blue jet boat, drops us off at Highway 101, where we walk for a mile before our second ride. A savior, a traveler reluctant to return to LA, takes the rest of the way back to our car, chatting about the Illuminating, the Green Party, and random historical facts the entire way.

A Black Bear in the Klamath River in July

A Banana slug by the river

After camping on the beach, we make our way down the coast, along the 101 and back towards civilization, to San Francisco where we catch a flight. Almost exactly a week later, we are ending where we started, in Colorado.

The number one driver of the RV, its me!

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.

The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga

The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga

Sailing to the Island of Tortuga

Majestic sailboats off the island of Tortuga

Beautiful blue water off the coast of Tortuga

The Garmin Transitions Team Bikes before the start of Stage 2

Stage 1: Nevada City to Sacramento. We had about a 1hr transfer this morning from our hotel in Sacramento to the race start in beautiful, quant Nevada City, what a cool little mountain town! This morning all the three mechanics had to do was get the race bikes, spare bikes and spare wheels pumped and loaded up on our many vehicles, wash the two race cars and get rolling. Our standard procession to the bike race  is with the bus in front, leading the way with all of our riders, mechanics driving the race cars and everyone else sitting and ready to roll!

Mechanics Jordan Schware and Tom Hopper before the start, looking good!

With a prompt race start at 11:45am, we were off! We have two caravan cars here for the Garmin-Transitions team, me in car two, big time mechanic Tom Hopper in car 1. I did a lot of sleeping in the team car today, no real work, it was a little bit different for Tom. The front car saw some action with a few flat tires and a rear derailleur to the spokes in Tommy Danielson’s bike on a climb. After a quick bike change to his spare, Tommy D was up and rolling along!

The craziness before the start...

Mark Cavendish from the Columbia – HTC Team took the win in a final sprint in downtown Sacramento. The Columbia boys have started off the week in style! All the Garmin boys finished with the group and were unscathed in some of the crashes at the finale.

Kevin the Bus Driver and Nick the Swany before the start

After rolling back from the bike race, us mechanics got the bikes and cars washed, cassettes and cranks changed for the hills of tomorrow and the trailer packed and ready to go for its first transfer. Tomorrow Jake is going to be in the 2nd team car, with me doing the transfer of our mobile service course to the next hotel. Cheers and goodnight ya’ll!

We were shooting some B roll for a Cliff Bar commercial today on both team cars...

Fast Tube by Casper

Starting a small company and figuring out creative and intuitive ways to grow your business through social media avenues is always an interesting challenge. The fun thing about it is that it grows on a daily basis and constantly changes. One day you focus on some fun Twitter games and posts, the next day you are plugging away with something on your blog or sending some cool emails to friends and family. The advertising avenues on Facebook have opened a few doors for us. To those that don’t already know, much like Google Adwords, Facbook Ads are the perfect way to focus in our your targeted demographic. With millions of users worldwide and the ability to choose which demographic to focus on, locally, nationally or worldwide, you can promote the heck out of your company in a heartbeat!

Another great way we use the internet to our benefit is by collaborating with online communities who provide different types of services to their members. One such online community like this is www.raceplan.com.

The RacePlan community was started in 2005 as a community for cyclists to stay connected, organize rides, race, share photos, stories and videos. This site has grown and grown over the last few years with more than a 100 members. The site not only provides users with the ability to stay in touch with each other but they also get great discounts on Gear and other benefits through the community’s partnerships. RacePlan has partnered with The Gear Movement to offer its members great deals on listing fees and the ability to unload their old Gear and Inventory’s.

Communities like this one show us the importance of having an online presence in this day and age. The days of local small clubs run out of bike shops are not gone but the internet and the online marketplace has definitely developed the need for something else; an online based community all over the world!

In closing, thanks a ton to our friend Kam over at RacePlan for helping us get this partnership off the ground and for the cool video plug above. If you are interested in joining the RacePlan community please check out their website and contact Kam: www.raceplan.com

Check out these ridiculously large icons Jordan found below and follow us!