bikes I swoon for!

Ok so first off I want to say that I do love my bike ALOT!  Its comfy and its fast but unfortunately it lacks a little bit of sexy which I know should not matter but oh my gosh it does sooo much.  My issue with my bike is that well.  Its not very pretty.  ITs a softride but not the pretty softrides with the single beam.  Mine is a softride lite and here is a stock pic of it.  Plus mine is showing its age.  Its probably close to 8 years old and since the company is out of business when the beam fails (which it will) im outta luck.  And knowing me its going to break during a race.  On top of that its not very stiff in the bottom bracket and this is the worst climbing bike I have ever owned.  Good thing I live in flat Ohio!

So it just kinda looks like a franken bike to me.  Tubes everywhere and not very fluid.  I guess what im saying is the bike doesnt really "look fast"  

Ok enough of that onto the wish list.  Please note that all of these bikes are in the category of what I would consider to be realistic options for bikes.  They are all considered to be just a smidge above "entry-level pricing"  SO nothing on here is top of the line.  

SO first up we have the Quintana Roo Seduza! 

Ok things I love aobut this bike.  I love the color scheme and graphics.  QR changed up their decals a year or so ago and I love the new look.  QR has a solid geometry built around the needs of a triathlete and well yeah I just love everything about the bike.  Even the stock wheels which would make great aero training wheels.  Oh and did I mention its CARBON!!!!

Next up Cervelo P2c:

Ok what else can I say but this -- Chrissie Wellington has won Kona twice on this exact same rig!  thats a pretty big statement.  This bike just oozes all kinds of sexy.  It's one of the few bikes that can claim to be built from the wind tunnel and it shows.  Everything about the bike is designed around it being as fast as possible.  The current paint / colour scheme is not my favorite but the component selection and build of the bike leaves absolutely nothing to be desired.  Only drawback is the size that I should be on would not fit my current race wheels.  BOO!  That and the fact that like everyone in creation seems to ride cervelo makes it look a bit like your just a follower of a current trend.  

Next up Cannondale Slice Hi-Mod 5:

This is Cannondale's entry level spec Tri-bike.  What I like about it is that the only thing that is entry level about it is the parts kit and thats still a pretty good parts kit.  The frame is the same frame that (we all assume) Chrissie Wellington will be riding to her 3rd Kona Victory this year.  I have always been a fan of Cannondale and purposely picked shops to work out that sold cannondale in hopes that I could eventually buy one.  I have owned two cannondales in my life and both have met with very sad demises of which was not Cannondales fault.  In general I love Cannondale as a company and love the way they build stuff.  I would really be open to giving this bike a chance and you do not see many of them around thats for sure!

Lastly the Argon18 E-112:

Ok from a looks standpoint this is my favorite bike of the bunch.  I LOVE Argon18 and the bikes they make and think this is just all kinds of pretty.  This is the most expensive of the bunch that I have shared today and that does not include the sweet zipps that are in the pic.  This bike wins major style points and the relative obscurity of the brand helps make it stand out in the crowd and I know if I owned this bike I would turn a lot of heads.  Those heads would more than likely be passing me but hey they would still be thinking "why did I get a cervelo when I could have gotten that!"  

SO maybe in a few years I will make the upgrade or perhaps my bike will break and then I will be "forced" to buy a new ride.  

Tune in again soon for my next post "Outrageously Priced Bikes I LUST for!"

cheers!

Its spring which means race time!

SO here I am at the finish of the Miami U. Tri!



It was a good season opener in that I realize some things I need to work on.  My goal this year is speed, which means most of my workouts have been very different from the past.  Since I have such limited time for training and I get plenty of recovery time im just trying to attack every workout that I can and go as hard as I can.  SO heres my wee race report:

Got to Miami at 6am on the dot.  Breezed through registration and got my transition area set up.  It was pretty cold - about 32 at the time and I was wondering if this race was such a good idea.  I had been suffering from some Stomach issues for the past week and almost scrubbed the race but could not bear the thought of wasting the money on the entry fee so I went.  They had a bit of a snafu over the timing chips so I had to wait till I basically started the swim to get my chip.  not real happy about that one.  SO anyway I did some warm ups in the pool and that helped with some nerve issues then I just kinda chilled out for awhile.  I brought my mp3 player and had queued up some good tunes and just really relaxed and watched the shuffle around me.  Im really happy with my pre-race routine.  Felt great.  

Swim: The pool at miami is AWESOME but we do not get along.  I dont know why but I hate swimming in that pool.  Like years past I seated myself way in the back knowing that I would rather be passing than being passed.  Also the tail end of the swim is ALWAYS less congested so less bottlenecks to slow you down.  I felt like I was flying through the swim.  Very calm and very relaxed and just kept picking off people left and right.  For the most part everyone was hugging the lane on the right so I just stayed left and more or less had open water the whole time!  Got out of the pool and checked my watch 8:13 - slow by many standards but a PR for me by over a minute in that pool.  Guess my swimming has been helping!

T1 - ungh one of the things I hate about the miami race is how cold it ALWAYS is.  I had decided via my primary sponsors recomendation to wear my long sleeve top that I bought from finishing IMFL.  Its a great top very warm and very comfortable.  However I really struggled getting it on and gave up a TON of time in T1 b/c of it.  

Bike: I ran out of T1 and hopped on the bike and started to crank away.  B/c of where I was sitting in the swim I was again picking off people left and right.  Mostly mtn bikes and older road bikes so I knew this was mostly the first timer crowd.  I felt pretty good through most of the bike but did notice some cramping in my calves which I attribute to the cold weather.  I hate cold weather.  About two weeks ago I got a new pair of Tri-specific bike shoes.  They are Pearls and I really like them but I need to practice getting out of them more.  It took me way to long to get my feet out SO thats something I need to work on and get faster with.  

T2 came into t2 and hopped off the bike and well first time ever but I lost a shoe!  so I had to run back and grab that.  DOH!  into transition I racked my bike - off with my helmet then on with the runners....I said on with the runners....what the!!!! I put like TONS of body glide all around the opening of these fricking things.....why wont my foot go in.....man my feet are numb....oh come on why wont my foot go in my shoe.....finally.  In short not the best t2 for me.

Run: ungh got out on the run and was feeling the affects of the cold even more.  Calves were really cramping and my stomach issues from the week prior started to hit.  I just kept thinking "Man am I happy this is only 3 miles."  Ran easy for the first mile and then on mile 2 I started to try to pick up the pace.  Just focused on whoever was in front of me and tried to pick them off.  I think I probably negative split each mile in the run but it was still really slow.  

Finish!!!!  w00t w00t I finished in a time of 1:21:?? This was a bit outside of my sub 1:10 goal but im thinking that is perhaps unrealistic.  Next years goal is 1:15.  SO anyway I was 192 out of 652 people who signed up.  Not to shabby for the season opener.

SO what else is new.  Well im racing again in about 1.5 weeks and again Im really excited about that.  Its a local race for me (like 5 minutes away!) and it will be warm!!!  so excited.  SO look back for a race update then.  

Oh and coming soon will be my post about bikes I swoon for! 

Cheers!