SRAM Tour of the Gila Stages 1,2

Posted on 29. Apr, 2011 by Jordan in Jordan, Pro Wrenching, The Gear Movers

The SRAM Neutral Service Volvos ready to rock and roll, sexy!

The SRAM Neutral Service Volvos ready to rock and roll, sexy!

Hello Silver City, NM! If you have been to Silver City, you have been here for a reason. This town is great but it is way off the grid. Travel down I-25 from the Boulder/Denver area for about 10 hrs and you find Highway 152 just a bit north of the Mexican border. Take that road for an hour or two over the Contintenal Divide and you are in Silver City. A town known for its Silver mine you can see from space or Google maps, this place is remote. Once a year at the end of April the entire community rallies around the SRAM Tour of the Gila and makes a great atmosphere for us cyclists/team staff.

SRAM Staff Michael Zellman, Desira Miller, Jordan Schware! ready to rock for stage 1

SRAM Staff Michael Zellman, Desira Miller, Jordan Schware! ready to rock for stage 1

I decided the annual trip to see some of my great friends was worth the trip down south for some fun in the sun and a hard working cycling vacation. Working with the SRAM Neutral Service crew is an absolute blast. The team is strong and they are always ready to help a cyclist out and then have a beer afterwards.

Some great friends, Gord Fraser of RealCyclist.com and Ben Day of Kenda!

Some great friends, Gord Fraser of RealCyclist.com and Ben Day of Kenda!

The Madness! Kelly Benefits Reid Mumford

The Madness! Kelly Benefits Reid Mumford

My role for the race decided by headman Jose Alcala is that of mechanic/jumper in the SRAM car 2 with the Men’s Pro Race. Sitting in the backseat I am accompanied by Desira Miller, my trusty and rad driver and Miss Piera, Jose’s daughter.

Stage 1 saw some nervous and tactical bike racing for the men. A good amount of strong winds and some rolling roads for a large amount of the 151km kept us on our toes. Pair that with more flat tires than I have ever seen in race and the SRAM crew was scrambling all over the road. At the end of the Stage 1 Mogollon Road Race, came a monster climb. The bike race was shattered to pieces and the win went to Francisco Mancebo, putting more than 20 sec on his closest competition and raising his arms in triumph.

The Mogollon climb at the end of Stage 1

The Mogollon climb at the end of Stage 1

Day 2 saw a much more relaxed bike race beginning and ending in the old deserted Ft. Bayard Military Base. From the gun the men set out to keep the pace high and safe. With tons of climbs and gnarly descents we were lucky to only have a few flat tires and no crashes on the day. Our very own Frank Pipp from Team Bissell flew away with the win screaming into Ft. Bayard pumping his fists. Reports from the officials show him leading the Sprinters competition.

Jordan and Jose's daughter, Miss Piera!

Jordan and Jose's daughter, Miss Piera!

The view from my office inside the Volvo all day!

The view from my office inside the Volvo all day!

Super busy in the back of the car = self portrait time!

Super busy in the back of the car = self portrait time!

Thats a wrap from days 1 and 2. Tomorrow we have the Stage 3 Tyrone Time Trial. I will check in again afterwards!

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

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

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!

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...

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??

Roswell, what? Gotta love the New Mexico state bus, government cover up, what??