Pshorty's Group-GO NATHAN!!! (Page 15)

"Sloshball?"

How was everyone's weekend?

Anyone get outside? 

I'll just give a list of the stuff I would reccomend getting in order of importance:

Bike (obviously).  But 1.a is a helmet.  Not an aero one or anything, just a helmet.  As I was told:  "This helmet costs $50.  What do you think a neurosurgeon costs?"  Afterall, you have to have a helmet to race.

Seat bag with an extra tube or two, CO2 cartridges, an inflator, and tire levers.  Nothing sucks worse than sitting on the side of the road, trying to phone a friend to drive 20 miles to pick you up.  Actually, it might suck worse to flat in a Tri and just be sitting there SOL.  You ARE going to flat one day.  Be prepared.

Clipless pedals.  If you're interested in being more comfortable, riding faster, and saving some important muscles for the run, then get these as soon as you can.  Keep in mind, you gotta get the shoes with them.  You wouldn't dream of running in cycling shoes, so why bike in running shoes?  Hey, it saves some wear and tear on the sneakers and your calves will thank you after T2.

That's the list of all I think you NEED.  The two most effective "luxuries" would be:

Aerobars.  Yes, you will go faster.  Now, some people HATE the aero position.  They just can't get comfortable.  If that's the case, don't get them.  However, if you're just having problems handling or something, then ride, ride, ride, ride on them.  You'll get used to them and be glad you did.

Aerodrink.  Being able to just tilt your head down and suck some water through a straw is outstanding.  No reaching for water bottles, no worrying about dropping the bottles (like I did in my second tri).  The continuous sips of H2O also seemed to help me much more than reaching down and taking a swig every few minutes.

Random toys that are unecessary, but cool, and probably help some:

Tri specific cycling shoes

Forward seat post

Tri specific saddle

gracetheterp - 2008-02-25 9:32 AM

sesh - 2008-02-25 10:29 AM

I'll just give a list of the stuff I would reccomend getting in order of importance:

That was fantastic and extremely helpful...THANKS!! Beginner-friendly as this site may be, I still feel like a loser asking basic questions like that...

It's much better to ask what you think is a basic question and get the answer here or in your LBS than to find the answer out on the road.  I was the same way, though.  I didn't even know there was such a thing as clipless pedals when I bought my first bike.  I've gone from not knowing that to completely disassembling and reassembling a bike just to practice working on one.

The forward seatpost, as Paul said, is supposed to make the aero position a bit more comfortable.  It's also supposed help save some muscles for the run.  Basically, it gives your road bike a more tri-bike geometry.  I don't know how well they work.  I'm supposed to be getting one soon if the LBS gets them in.  If he doesn't, I guess I'll get one online.  Really the only reason I'm going through the LBS is to get fitted on it.  I'll let ya know how it works out when I test it out.

Basically, I'm going to get that seat post and another saddle.  This way I'll have a regular seat post and saddle, and a forward seat post and saddle.  I'll just mark each one and I'll be able to change them out in about a minute instead of taking the saddle off each time.

Kerry's post about the Tour of California reminded me of something.  This link is a youtube clip of some stuff from the Tour le Fleur.  It was a crit and road race that was held in Jackson, MS for a few years.  It was a fairly big event for a while, but it sorta trailed off.  I think they're reviving it this year, though.  Anyway, the video is from the '97 race.  The best part, and the reason I'm posting it, starts at 3:30 toward the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsfVdBfzLHE

Welcome back.  Train that cold away

How was the conference?

Visual aids to go along with some other stuff.  The pics are of clip on aerobars with the aero drink attached, a seat bag, and the stuff that goes in a seat bag.

(seat bag.JPG)

(seat bag stuff.JPG)

(aero drink and clip ons.JPG)