Team,
The time has come for me to buy a new bike. I originally bought my current bike back in 2009. I had no idea what I was doing. I did not know the people I know now nor did I have the experience to ask the right questions. However, the guys at Providence Bicycle set me up with a few entry level TT bikes in my price range and based on the test rides, I choose my 2008 Felt S32. Since then, per Strava, I’ve ridden almost 10,000 miles on this bike, and that only includes the miles where I used my GPS (I’m sure I’m well over that). I had no idea the path I was going down when I first walked into Providence Bicycle and asked to see some entry level TT bikes. I’m glad I did.
I always had the same philosophy when it came to spending money on this sport. I needed to prove to myself that earned it, and if so, I would invest in it. I ran for over a year, consistently improving, until I bought my bike. The next year I invested in aero helmet. A couple of years later I bought my carbon aero wheels. A couple years after that, I bought a power meter and so on. Now, 8 years down this path, it’s time for a new bike. As the guys at the bike shop have been telling me, “You are wearing the crap out of this thing!”
There has been a lot change over the years. I’ve been a believer in technology and science and, even though I love my Felt and still feel is was an excellent choice, this time I wanted to make a more educated decision. If I’m going to put out some good money for a new bike, I want to make sure it’s the right bike for me. So, my first step was to make an appointment at TT Bikefit in Warren, RI to get a “Pre Buy Bike Fit.” The owner of the shop is Todd Kenyon, who is both an engineer and a triathlete. When it comes to bikes and fits, I don’t believe there is anyone I’ve ever met who knows more. Todd put me on the frame sizer machine (picture attached) which moves the seat and the handle bars both up and down as well as forward and back. This allows the rider to get into a position where they can be as aero as possible while maintaining comfort and power. We looked at leg extension, seat height, seat position (forward back), crank length and my ability to in more aggressive position (a nice flat back). A couple of millimeters here and there can make all the difference.
The whole experience took just under an hour. I asked a lot of questions and Todd was very helpful. I asked about crank size and whether, based on my strengths and weakness, I should go with a compact crank of 50/36, or stick with something bigger (my Felt is a 53/39)? I also asked whether it was worth it to spend an extra $400 to $500 on higher quality components. We talked about sweat damage and the advantages and disadvantages to internal vs external cables. It was a great discussion. Lastly, we talked about my price range. I told him I would probably look at bikes under $3K or so.
Todd took at the measurements and my input and put them into the computer. A few days later he sent me email (attached) that details my measurements and gives me a list of bikes that would best fit me and are in my price range. There are about 10 bikes in all. Most are 2016 models, some are older (maybe I can find a deal!). This was a really great experience. I feel much better informed and I’m getting close to making a decision. The cost of the Pre Buy Bike Fit is $175 and if you end up buying the bike directly from Todd, $125 of that is refunded back to you.
Feel free to look the framesizer info to see all the things Todd measured. If you are ready to make the leap for a nice new TT bike. This is really a great place to start your search.
I hope you find this helpful. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ron P.
Do you have a Strava account? It’s free! And it can link to your existing activity tracking app to download your workouts automatically. I use Garmin products and I have my Strava account linked to my Garmin Connect account and thus there’s no need for me to do anything but look at the results.
Below is copied directly from the Strava website:
Strava is a community of athletes from all over the world. We are a tribe. Alone or together, we strive. Strava lets you experience what we call social fitness – connecting and competing with each other via mobile and online apps. No matter the weather, day after day, we prove ourselves. Strava lets you track your rides and runs via your iPhone, Android or dedicated GPS device and helps you analyze and quantify your performance. Strava provides motivation and camaraderie, and helps us prove that we’re out there doing what we love to do.
Along with tracking all your activity’s for your review, Strava has segments that have been created by the members. A Strava segment is a route, sometimes very short (a quarter mile or less) or sometimes many miles long. And Strava will tell you how fast you went during that segment, it will also point out if it’s P.R. and it will rank you compared to anyone else who has done the same segment and also has an account.
Here is a link to my bike ride at the Oh My Goddard Olympic triathlon. You can see that someone created a segment for the whole course, plus some smaller segments within the course. Also, under my picture in the top left, there’s a link, “View Flybys.” This feature can show how you raced against people who also have Strava Accounts.
https://www.strava.com/activities/614217272
Also, the RMHP club has a club page. If you do start a Strava account, feel free to join the club page and follow the progress of your teammates. Link for the RMHP club page below:
https://www.strava.com/clubs/ronald-mcdonald-house-providence-rmhp
I hope this was helpful.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ron P.
Team,
This Sunday I’m participating in my first triathlon of the year at Goddard Park in Warwick, RI. Below is a checklist for my gear. This list is something I like to review before every race, just to make sure I’m prepared. I will lay everything out and have a printed version of the list in hand and will actually put check marks on this list next to each item as I pack them in my bag. Without a list, you may be surprised what you might forget. I now know of two stories where people were searching for extra bike helmets on race morning because they forgot them at home!
Please feel free to use the below list as a guide. Your gear my differ, but this may be good place to start.
Ron P.
Gear List:
- Full tank of Gas in car
- USAT Membership Card – (don’t need one if you bought the $10 one day license)
- Picture ID – needed for check in
- Gear Bag
- Cliff Shot Blocks – electrolyte cubes
- Energy Goos
- Salt Pills
- Sunscreen
- Body Glide/Tri-Glide
- Wet Suit/swim suit/tri suit
- Two pairs of goggles – one tinted for sunny days and one clear (I actually take about 5 pairs of googles)
- Towel
- Garmin GPS watch – fully charged the day before
- Race Number Belt with nutrition pouch – If you don’t have one, get one. Safety pins will not suffice in a triathlon.
- Bike – Chain cleaned and lubed the night before
- Extra tire tube in post pouch with tire levers and CO2 cartridge and dispenser
- Bike Pump – Always check tire pressure at the race site. Tires can lose 10% of PSI overnight. Tom Brady fans already knew that!
- Three water bottles filled with Vitalyte for the Bike
- Aero bar drink container
- Bike Helmet (make sure visor is clean)
- Bike Shoes
- Bike Gloves
- Sun glasses
- Running Hat
- Running Shoes
- Extra pair of shoelaces
- socks – 2 pairs
- 2 plastic bags to keep things dry in the rain
- T-Shirt – something dry and comfortable to wear after the race
- Flip Flops/Tivas – something dry and comfortable to wear after the race
I hope everyone’s had a great winter season! As we say goodbye to February and look ahead to Spring, don’t forget about your basic bicycle maintenance. If you haven’t yet, look to making an appointment at your local bike shop for a tune-up. Having your parts professionally cleaned and giving the bike a good look over will not only make you faster and prolong the life of your bike, but it can also help keep you safe. The longer you wait, the longer the wait will be as the more casual bike riders flood into the shop once the weather starts to turn nice. Also, as I’ve stressed before, it always helpful to have a positive relationship with your local bike shop if you need something fixed quickly for a race.
Also, even though we have not had a lot of snow, there’s still sand, pot holes and other debris in the street. The weather has been good for riding, but be safe out there!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Ron P.
Below is my race report for the Oh My Goddard Olympic Triathlon from June 21st, 2015.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ron P.
Oh My Goddard Olympic – 2015
““The rain to the wind said, You push and I’ll pelt.!” – Robert Frost
Sunday was the Oh My Goddard triathlon at Goddard Park in Warwick, RI. This event has both a Sprint and an Olympic on the same day, at the same time and share parts of the same course. I was participating in the Olympic. The weather called for heavy rain and unfortunately, the weathermen were right. I can only assume by all the space at the bike racks, there were a lot of no-shows. Truth be told, I thought I might be one of them and was thinking of racing the Will Speck 5K instead. Alas, I’m not very smart so a triathlon during a tropical storm was the choice I was to live with.
The Swim:
The swim was in Greenwich Bay. The beach faced North and the wind was coming out of the Southeast keeping the water flat and calm. I was in the first wave and there couldn’t have been more than 30 of us. In looking around at my fellow pink caps (second year in a row I was in the pink cap wave) I didn’t recognize all the normal people who would beat me at such a race and this gave me a bit of optimism. Then, BANG, the gun went off and the race began. There was far less pushing and jockeying for position than usual. By the time I hit the sharp turn at the first buoy about 150 yards out the pack had spread out. There were about 6 or 7 guys in the lead pack with the rest us plodding behind. About half way through the swim it began to pour. The rain was falling at such a rate I had a hard time seeing the big yellow buoys. I’d look up and all I saw was water and white splashes. At one point, I caught myself swimming straight for shore. I probably lost a good minute or so in total by not navigating well. When I rounded the last buoy the rain had slowed, but not stopped. I saw the lead pack of swimmers getting out of the water well ahead of me. I knew I would have my work cut out for me on the bike if I was going to finish well.
Swim time: 23.59
The Bike:
The 20 mile bike course was flat and would have been fast if not for the rain. There were a lot of corners in those 20 miles and my first goal was not to get hurt. With that said, my second goal was to start tracking down the amphibious people who got out of the water ahead of me. I think I passed 4 of them in the first 4 miles and slowly started closing on the rest. About 20 minutes in, I think it was Davisville Road, the rain and wind combined to create conditions bordering on biblical. The area was industrial and wide open and there was nothing to block the wind, which at this point was doing its best to shove me off the road. I may have even seen frogs falling from the sky….but I digress. The rain made visibility horrible and potholes were especially hard to spot. The flip visor on my Louis Garneau aero helmet was key. When biking into the wind, the visor was down, reducing visibility but not eliminating it by keeping the rain out of my eyes, and with the wind at my back the visor was up. At one point I was soft pedaling close to 30mph on flat ground with the wind at my back. The wind was insane! And there was so much water on the streets, there existed the possibility of hydroplaning. I passed a couple of other riders by mile 12 and by mile 15 I passed a volunteer who told me there were only two people ahead of me, and one of them I could see! And yes, I’m the ass who said to myself, “bitch, you’re going down!” I continued to try and track him down as we merged onto the Sprint bike course which provided even more riders for me to pass. I finally caught the rider from my wave as we got into T2 and I made out to the run course ahead of him.
Bike time: 56:55
The Run:
Both the Sprint and Olympic run courses started off in the same direction for a half mile or so. Out of T2, up the stone stairs and off into the woods; the wet, muddy, soft trail through the woods. As I ran out of T2 I knew there was only one other person in my wave still ahead of me and shortly after the split from the Sprint course, I saw him. His stride was long and his balance was suffering in the soft mud and slight ups and downs of the trail. I opted for quicker, shorter strides and tried to be careful where I stepped, especially considering all the wet horse manure I wished to avoid splattering all over my legs. It took another half mile to close the gap and after a brief exchange of friendly comments like, “nice job” and “this weather sucks,” I passed him. A few minutes later I was all by myself and I didn’t see another runner until the last 1.5 miles of the race when we merged back onto the Sprint course to the finish. It was nice to see people again.
Run time: 42:50
Overall:
Overall it was a fun day! To be clear, I did not win the race. I did however, finish first in my wave and thus I won my age my group. Overall I was 7th in a small field on a bad weather day. But hey, you can only race against the ones who are there! (-:
Overall time: 2:06:25
The masters swim program has begun at Kendbrin, at 25 Hospital Rd in Riverside, RI. Practices are Sunday 7:30am-9:00am, along with Tuesdays & Thursdays 5:30am-7:00am. There is a $5 drop-in if want to come by and give it a try. This a great group and an excellent opportunity to work on your swimming skills, no matter your level. The coaches are also very experienced in open water swimming and if you tell them your goals, they will work with you to help achieve them.
