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...
Tour of Californa Stage 1
Posted on 17. May, 2010 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers
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...
Tour of California Stage 0
Posted on 16. May, 2010 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers
Garmin Transitions ProTour Mechanic Tom Hopper Getting the Bikes Dialed!
Ever wanted a behind the scenes look at what goes on at a top level pro cycling race in the United States? Look no further! A lot of websites ask for athlete and race related content, what about the fun times that is had by all the support staff in the pro peloton? There are mechanics, sougniers, directors, logistical staff, chefs, bus drivers and many more important people that help each pro team to get through each day and keep the race running behind the scenes!
SRAM's new Aprila Motos and their sweet custom chromed racks!!
I will be spending this week with the Garmin – Transitions Pro Cycling at the Amgen Tour of California. Talk about the real deal! This ProTour level team has it all. We are totally set up with almost 25 staff members for only 8 riders in the race. This large discrepancy means we have our basis covered and every t is crossed and i is dotted, we are dialed!
Rockstar Fly V Australia Director Ed Beamon, apparently too busy to chat with me...
It is now day two of prep before the race and my legs and feet are already done. Standing in parking lot for more than 12 hours a day while running around doing odd jobs from working on bikes, washing bikes, cleaning cars, setting up radios, applying vinyl stickers to rental vehicles and eating burritos! Thats right, we are sponsored by Chipotle, its pretty sweet!
The Fly V Australia mechanics truck and a bike getting unpacked...
Too many words to put into this quick blog right now, so lets let the behind the scenes pictures tell it all…
Fly V Australia mechanic Chris Davidson
Garmin Transitions Chef RV. This bus is for cooking food for the riders only!
Food all over the chef RV. The guys will be eating very well this week!
The mechanics side of the Garmin Transitions Team, nice setup boys!
I worked on these spare bikes today, ready to go for stage 1!
Tom Hopper checking out the new trainers for the TT bikes, kinda cool idea - LeMond Trainers...
USA National TT Champ Dave Zabriskie's new custom TT rig, this thing is dope!
SRAM Tour of the Gila Recap with SRAM NRS
Posted on 05. May, 2010 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers
A quick picture opportunity in some of the beautiful New Mexico Landscape with the SRAM NRS Team Car
Long, long, long week! I think that is the best way to describe this last week of bike racing down in Silver City, NM. The SRAM Tour of the Gila outdid itself once again and provided all who attended at the races, on the internet and in the newsprint with a spectacular show! The characters, the racers, the locals, the in-race antics, the insanely tough conditions and the all around fun atmosphere provided by SRAM gave us a Tour to remember. For those of you not familiar with the SRAM Tour of the Gila, if you are interested at all in bike racing I recommend you check it out – www.tourofthegila.com.
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
More great YouTube videos from Jordan at the SRAM Tour of the Gila – The Gear Movement’s YouTube Page
Jordan checked in after day two of working with the SRAM NRS road crew, but doing much more than that was pretty hard for him based on the enormous amount of work that needed to be done at the race. Here is an opportunity to check out some cool videos from a mechanics perspective as well as some great behind the scenes photos from the Gila.
SRAM NRS team bikes lined up and ready to go in the Stage 4 crit at the SRAM Tour of the Gila
Jordan atop the custom SRAM NRS Aprila GT 850 support moto, this thing has a nice kick to it!
That is some beautiful SRAM NRS red and black at the Stage 3 TT...
We hope you enjoy and please stay tuned as Jordan ventures out to the Tour of California with the Garmin Transitions Pro Cycling Team for more bike racing!
Roswell, what? Gotta love the New Mexico state bus, government cover up, what??
SRAM Tour of the Gila Stage 2
Posted on 30. Apr, 2010 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers
Mara Abbott atop the podium at the SRAM Tour of the Gila Stage 1
A few weeks ago Jordan got a chance to shoot on down to the SRAM Tour of the Gila with SRAM Neutral Service Crew to help work the race, hang in the amazing New Mexico sunshine and get away from the office for a few minutes. Jose Alcala – the head of the crew down here, placed Jordan in the women’s pro race caravan. Directely from the source below:
Stage 1, had the women’s race climbing up and finishing ontop of Mount Mogollon, a nasty switched back climb with super narrow roads and racers from other categories riding down! A video of the men’s finish can be be found on The Gear Movement’s Facebook Page.
Working with SRAM crew was tons of fun over the last two days so here a few pics below to prove it!
The beautiful SRAM NRS Volvo's ready for a days work!
Great scenery outside Silver City, NM for the SRAM Tour of the Gila
Number 1 mechanic Todd Downs with the SRAM NRS crew!
Stage 2 brought a late start to the women’s pro race and saw 70mph wind gusts throughout the day. Unfortunately I was not able to grab any pics of this full on insanity, but girls in the race were walking up through the feedzone with their bikes in the hands flying over their heads! Here are some great videos below…
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
Fast Tube by Casper
Stage 2 saw some carnarge with some crashes and bad bad winds. Kelly took a spill just before the finish, which looked pretty bad, but the soldier that she is, she rode her bike back to the finish and finished the race! One of the more impressive things I have ever seen on a bike, go Kelly!
Reigning US Champ Meredith Miller before Stage 1 of the SRAM Tour of the Gila
Tonight we are building some of the new SRAM NRS Specialized Tarmac bikes for the TT tomorrow and going to an amazing restaurant here in Silver City, NM for dinner.
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!
My First Blog Ever…
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben in Ben, Nicole
Now Presenting, the one, the only, Mr. Duke!
So, I’ve never blogged nor do I Facebook often, but my business partner Jordan insisted I join the 21st century…
What does one blog about? I’ll just keep it short and sweet.
2009 has been a fast paced, crazy year. My wife Nicole and I received a new addition to the Duke family, Canin. She is the cutest girl in Boulder. She just turned 1 in October. Our son, Ryder, just turned 4. So you can only imagine how busy that part of my life has been.
Our newest addition to the Duke Family, Canin, just look at those cheeks!
My other part of life? New business… The Gear Movement. An exciting and stressful time it has been. Jordan and I started our eBay business selling new and used sporting goods back in March.. We have grown beyond our greatest expectations, which is simply awesome! Needless to say, we’ve been busy – and we want to thank all of you who support us – you all rock!
What does Spiderman, aka Ryder Duke do during his downtime?
So what now? 2010! Should be another fun packed, work filled, kid screaming year – and I hope to find some time to ride my bike along the way.
Happy Holidays!
Colorado State CX Championships
Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by Nicole in Nicole
Nicole Duke flying though a corner at CO CX State Champs. Photo by M. Woolcott
Down and dirty, just the way I like it!! Cyclocross State Champ race that is. The day was cold and windy, the course technical, sloppy and sometimes frozen. Thank God because my legs haven’t been feeling so fast lately so I needed to fall back on my skills, you know those ones that used to pay the bills. I’m a cheeseball…
Nicole Duke rode smooth and finished in third for the day
This is how it went down. Lisa Strong, Karen Hogan and I jumped the start and hung together for a while. Strong being the great rider she is slowly started to inch away from Karen and me, bye bye. Karen and I battled for a good lap, me passing in the technical, her powering past on the flats. Finally she pulled away and I let her go. The rest of the race i just tried to hold my podium spot. A few battles ensued with some of the 45+ men, shoulder to shoulder around the corners and various other frustrating encounters. Us Pro/Open Women don’t have our own race, so we also race the 45+ men. Some of them are very gracious but some will do anything not to get “chicked”. Now the last lap and for the life of me I can not get in my frozen, muddy pedals!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! Kristal Boni is gaining on me. Then she passes, I hang on and shoot past her at the entrance of a technical ditch section. Over the barrier, back on the bike and silence. What happened to her I do not know but I am thankful. Still I cannot get in the pedals and it’s slow going. Last gnarly downhill(which I love) and the finish!! Glad to be done and happy with 3rd. Felt like a great prep for Nationals in Bend, OR which I am hoping will be muddy.
Loving husband Ben Duke cleans Nicole's bike in 5 deg weather. Photo by J. Schware
What a great season I’ve had with all the girls! Made some great new friends and fell in love with Cross even more!! Nationals for me this year will be about the experience and time away from Boulder with my good friend Becca Blay. My body is done, time to rest and drink some yummy Belgian beer! Cheers and wish me good luck in Bend!
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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