Turq

Vendetta creation

2008-07-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Not me (its Cam Watt), but it's my wetsuit creation - the Vendetta. I like this photo because you can see the little dimples and I'd rather be in Australia creating wetsuits. This wetsuit is awesome, and you can read more about it at www.xterrawetsuits.com. I'll be racing in one at IMC next month.

Hula Hoop on the Roof

2008-07-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

I think this hula hoop only cost $1.99 at Vons. Rip picked it out herself while we were shopping the other day. The woman in line behind us had the gall to say to me: "Don't you think that's a little too big for your daughter?" Boy, talk about minding your own business. What I should have done is turned to Rip and told her: "That woman says No Hula Hoop." The screaming would have caused the woman to have a heart attack.

$1.99 is probably some of the best money well spent. We've hula hooped in pink bedroom, on the couch, watching TV, on top of Stevie (or whacking her head), and on the roof. On the roof is probably the best, and so this is a phot of us finding the perfect place to hula hoop on the deck upstairs.

Bloody Nose - Ripples meets the Badger

2008-07-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'm "in charge" of Ripples and Stevie every Monday and Wednesday morning. Not that I'm not in charge of them at other times, but on these days my wife hangs out with some surfer-dude at the gym while I am responsible for making sure that the kids are up, fed, etc..

The Badger Hinault went on to win the TdF after a bad crash and a bloody nose. That was the lesson I was trying to teach Ripples the other morning.

She didn't cry. In fact, she has a very high pain tolerance.

La Jolla

2008-07-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

In mid-March 08, I abandoned ship (e.g. quit my law practice), purchased a pair of shades for Liz Stevie, and moved to La Jolla, California. Here, I'm working with my former law partner, Brian, who was thrown overboard last July 4, 07, making the fastest triathlon wetsuits known to mankind.

I'm racing Ironman Canada in almost exactly 1 month, and I'm going to try to blog every day until then.

Seeing (C) different in Kona

2007-10-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

There's no way to explain what it is like to race Kona in the heat, in pain, with nothing but lava for all but the swim.

The way to pass the time on the swim is to look at the fish below.

The way to pass the time on the bike is to look at the ocean on your left (up to Hawi) and on your right (back into Kona).

The way to pass the time and dull the pain on the run is to watch the smiles of the volunteers as you pass.

Both of these fine men were able to enjoy the scenery. Matt did it with his eyes. Charlie saw it better, though, by absorbing the sounds of every drop of sweat dripping from the athletes he passed, and listening to the waves crash from just feet from Alii to miles on the Queen K. Check out "C Different Foundation" (Matt Miller, president)

Bathroom Lines are Long

2007-10-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

The lines for the bathroom are crazy here in Kona. You'd swear they were handing out candy or money. From left to right - from 3rd to 9th - Torbjorn Sinballe, Tim DeBoom, Marino Vanhoenacker, Chris Lieto (biker extraordinaire), Eneko Llanos, Luc Van Lierde & Austin's own (or so we're claiming) Michael Lovato.

One is an ATC sponsored athlete

2007-10-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I was trying to recruit these guys to also be ATC transition sponsored athletes. Macca's T1 time was slower than both Craig Alexander's time this year and my T1 time last year. Transitions are "free time." Though, Macca didn't need it.

Geoff Cleveland hitting T1

2007-10-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Geoff was the 7th age-grouper out of the water. He was in the chase pack with Paul O'Brian and Ian Young. Geoff's from Phoenix and is in the Air Force. He's been to Kona a few times, and today did some of the pulling in the 2.4 mile swim.

Ian Young exits in style

2007-10-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ian Young (Men's 25-29) exits the water in 52 minutes. He and Paul O'Brian worked together in their Xterra Velocity Speedsuits. Paul was 4th out of the water, and Ian was 5th, amongst the age-groupers who at this point were on for a great race.

Stripping to his ATC Garb

2007-10-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Fresh out of the water in 49 minutes, MarkyV has time to pose for a few shots as he strips.
Underneath his speedsuit Mark has his bright yellow Austin Tri Cyclist jersey. The shirt was certainly one of the brightest one's out there on the course making it easier for the cameras to spot. Mark zipped through T1 and proceeded with a 4:50 bike.

First Green Cap

2007-10-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

A cheer goes up as the first green cap (#1703) reaches the steps. He was unexpected so it takes a few seconds for the announcer to scroll into the 1700s to find his name. Eventually they find it, Mark Van Akkeren, an age grouper wearing an Xterra Velocity speedsuit. Mark is currently living in Boulder, but is really from Austin.

Reinhart exits

2007-10-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Jennifer exited the water. Like Fish (see below), she pulled a bunch of boys and finished in 1:01.

Reinhart Rocks

2007-10-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Reinhart looks poised for the race start. She eventually came out of the water 3rd in her age group. I always try to get on her feet in the water if we are racing together. I only managed to hang on once.

Fish out of Water

2007-10-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's Andrea Fisher relaxing pool-side at the King Kam hotel just minutes before the race start. Her tri-sherpa would not provide his name, but he looks pretty fit as well. Fish is the head coach for TexasIron, based out of Austin. Fish eventually swam 2.4 miles in 53 minutes, pulling a bunch of boys along the way.

Lovato running smoothly

2007-10-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Lovato looked soooo smooth at this point in the race. Although a bit behind, he was really running like he could catch almost everyone in front of him, especially if any of them faltered. Ultimately he was 9th overall and probably should have caught Luc (3 minutes ahead) except he stopped for photographs up Palani Road with some athletes from Austin and for a latte at Lava Java.

Rob Chance on Cruise Control

2007-10-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here's Rob Chance, who is the only triathlete from Tulsa to make an appearance in Kona this year. In addition to being 2nd out of the water in his age group (also in an XTERRA Velocity speedsuit), Rob pushed himself on the run to make it on the podium. He's not racing Kona next year because it is his wife's turn to shine on the lava fields.

Speedy Stephan Schwarze

2007-10-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Crusing to a 3:06 marathon, Stephan looks good and poses for the camera. Stephan has had the fastest overall age-group run, and today put himself on the podium.

MarkyV leads the race

2007-10-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here's Mark Van Akkeren on Alii Drive, just before St. Peters (about mile 4.5 of the run). He's leading the age groupers at this point with 2 guys in the hunt 2 minutes behind. I didn't capture the grimace on his face from a bad back.

Macca on Alii Drive

2007-10-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

At this point in the race, after the St. Peter's turn around, Macca was clearly in control of the race.

World Famous Cheerleader

2007-10-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

With a cowbell in hand, World-Famous Ripples cheers athletes at the Longhorn Triathlon Festival this first full weekend in October.

Rip is sponsored by Puma and is looking for other sponsorship opportunities.

Taking the Tagents - Smoking at Age 66

2007-10-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Susan Wallace totally dominated the field and her age-group, beating all other women over 60 and placing 3rd amongst both men and women over 60. Here, she's passing a Jack & Adam's fella by taking the tangents, a trick she learned from her son Chris Rulon (another fine triathlete that just aged out of my age-group so I have a breather for a few years).

First Prize to the Men's & Women's Winner

2007-10-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here we have the Texas "everything" : the State mascot, the State tree, the State flag, the State grass, and the State Ripples.
The overall male winner got to take home to Colorado one of these beasts. The overall female winner instead turned her prize Longhorn in for a life-time supply of Ripples' hugs.

Shade .... finally

2007-10-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

There was no shade on the race course. None. Athlete were drafting on the run trying to get in the shadow of the Texas sun. But, the sun seemed to always be beating down on the racers.

If anyone compares the heat and humidity of Austin this weekend to Chicago you'll see that Austin was much worse.

Anne finds Tim hanging out in the massage tent

2007-10-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

Usually Tim is at the massage parlor. Anne found him post-massage with this silly grin on his face.

If you didn't see Anne on the course this weekend it was because she was smoking fast. She gave Tim a 10 minute head start and started hunting him down on the run. Tim had lots of athletes giving him splits on Anne's time, which is kind of unfair but that's the way Tim works when a year-supply of massages is on the line.

Free saline

2007-10-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

At mile 13.11 of the race, Seton Medical Center sponsored their own aid-station.

Louie explains to Geoff what he did wrong

2007-10-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

Louie, having just finished up with an Ironman, explains to Geoff that taking nutrition on odd-numbered aid stations only is meant for Sprint triathlons and not Half-ironmans.

Geoff, still in a daze, puts a towel to his face and explains: "Yikes, I thought I was doing something wrong by skipping all the free water and cola at even-numbered stations."

TexasIron athletes have lots of tricks to winning races. But, Geoff's strategy is not one of them.

Take that!! Love, Geoff

2007-10-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Local folk-hero, Geoff Whitfield, squeezes in a sub-4:40 half ironman. What is even more amazing is that Geoff only took nutrition at odd-numbered aid stations. Strange, but true. Geoff has his sites on Kona next year, passing all Full-Ironman races this year to hang out with his cute daughter.

Geoff is another TexasIron athlete who can train in his sleep.

$10,000 if you're under 4:30

2007-10-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Rumor had it that Keith Jordan was offering a bonus to anyone from Boulder that broke the 4:30 marker. Keith must have known something we didn't - that no one would get the 10 grand today.

Nevertheless, John cruises in with a giant smile. It was a really tough day for everyone including this pro that impressed everyone with his running.

Zane phones in for Pizza

2007-10-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits to being the race leader at any point in the race is that you get any food you want at the next aid station. Here, John Phillips asks Zane to order Mr. Gatti's pizza. Silly Boulder Boy, anyone knows that Mr. Gatti's doesn't deliver out at Lake Decker.

Zane, bike-fitter extraordinare, knows this and is actually phoning Adam, who is still on the trail of Obama.

which is more confusing, the sign or the runner

2007-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

there's always a joker in every race. jack & adam's bike shop, the sponsor of the longhorn tri, always promises one athlete: "Wear this Hat, and we Promise you'll podium in your age-group." Little does the winner realize that Jack extends the # of "podium winners" just enough to include the person that wears the hat. Last year anyone in the top 42 in the Men's 40-44 age group made it onto the podium.

Aid stations have everything but...

2007-10-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

fresh legs.

This aid station, at mile marker 1, was voted the best aid station of the day. While others were more colorful, none provided every conceivable food product. TexasIron triathletes cleaned out the back of their cars to provide such goodies as: pretzels, gummi bears, fried chicken, bbq chicken, cheese sticks, apple juice, water, pepsi, pepsi-lite, pepsi-zero, and chicken fried steak.

By the way, all of this food is considered the trade secret of TexasIron's coaches and should not be shared.

Paul stops for a lime

2007-10-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Paul took 5 cups of water and 2 limes at this point. They had to radio to the next aid station that he already had his fill and should be denied any service at mile marker 4.

Just like the Energy Lab

2007-10-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Next weekend in Kona two men will have a similar experience at the Energy Lab, just north of Kailua-Kona at the Ironman World Championships. However, today it was Paul Terranova catching a glimpse of Freer. "Hmmmmmm" I could hear Paul say. "Freer looks like he's hurting and I'm feeling like having another Corona." As they pass one another seconds after this shot, Richard yells "gotta a lime, mate?"

Boulder Boy give chase

2007-10-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's really hard being from Boulder and racing in Austin. Here is John Phillips who ultimately shined. But, at this point in the race - mile 1.1 - he was not yet into his rhythm. But, he ultimately found it and began picking off local favorites.

Cotter chases

2007-10-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

With unbelievable leg cramps and thoughts of a honeymoon at the end of the year, James Cotter tries to chase down Freer. He is only 2:20 down at this point, and puts on another 21 seconds over the course of the next 2 miles in his fancy Zoot shoes and see-through shirt.

Mile 1, and only 12.1 to go - Freer leads

2007-10-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Local pro with an accent, Richard Freer, leads the field at the 1 mile marker by 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Prepping for Florida, today was only supposed to be a swim and a bike. However, there was no way Freer was going to stop in T2 with a roaring crowd and the lead. So, after a 5 minute transition to see if anyone else would show up in T2, Freer just left the transition area with a set of borrowed legs as his were left on the bike course.

Naked Photo of Amanda Beard

2007-09-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

Only World-Famous Photographer Terry Martin could catch Amanda Beard running naked on Zuma Beach.

In order to protect her privacy (because she's an Olympic gold medal winner), my office made me blacken her from ankle to neck. So, with a little photo-shopping I've "dressed" her in a wetsuit.

Team Amanda Beard happened to have won the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. www.nauticamalibutri.com. I don't know if Amanda was their "ringer" or if it was the TdF cyclist.

Celeb Aero Helmets

2007-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

The Celeb teams were by far the fiercest competitors.

Each team had a "ringer" or two to ensure total victory and annilation only understood in Los Angeles.
Team Amanda Beard (co-ed) and Team Nautica (men's) won. Rumor has it that some TdF riders were on their bikes, but the body guards wouldn't let anyone with a camera get close. Futher, I tried to take photos of these bikers faces and actually DID. But, when I returned from my leg - the run - someone had deleted these pictures.

I'm not knocking any of the celebs, but they had to go the distance. But, with average bike speeds of 26.8 and 27.7 miles per hour, even a 9 minute mile would get you podium.

Malibu Tri - They're Off

2007-09-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

The first wave of the Malibu Triathlon took off in the frigid waters. Macca is somewhere in front, prepping for his Kona 2007 win.

2,000 athletes in this sold-out triathlon showed up to hob-nob with Hollywood's fittest athletes. The weather was awesome. Everyone's family could camp-out on the beach while each wave got ready to go. You could literally sit with your kids up until 1 minute before the gun went off and then sprint into the water. The bike and run courses were equally spectator friendly. The run course was a super fast sprint 2 miles or so up the beach, and then back.

There were lots of teams out in their matching race garb. The LA Tri Team and Team Disney appeared to be out in the largest force, and there were lots of high-fives on the out-and-back run along Zuma Beach.

No Fat here, only rubber

2007-09-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Wearing the XTERRA Vector Pro 2, Mr. D explains that the "X" in "X-files" stands for "XTERRA" and that this is evidenced by the fact that he can pinch less than an inch of rubber on his wetsuit.

None of this makes sense to Mitch Thrower, and if you listen to the entire interview on www.triathlete.tv you'll understand why nothing on the X-Files made sense either, except that little alien that landed on Malibu Beach and out-split David.

David Duchovney Knows

2007-09-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

TriathleteMag TV: [Mitch Thrower]: So, Mr. Baldwin, what do you have to say to that?
Bachelor: [Andy Balwin]: That? What's "that" you ask?
TMag: Yes, "that."
Bachelor: No comment.
XTERRA Wetsuit Rock Star: [David Duchovny]: Come on Andy, you wear the funniest wetsuit you can buy and "no comment" on why the VectorProX2 is the best wetsuit in the world. I'm going to smack you around Malibu if you can even keep up with me in the water.

EDITOR's NOTE: Andy Baldwin, MD was observed "doing surgery" on David's tires in the transition area. The Desparate Housewives had other comments about what they observed.

Jo's coffee

2007-09-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning cup of ice & cup of joe.

Apex 2's shins

2007-09-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the shins of the Apex2.

Orca's Apex 2 - chest up

2007-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Here's the Orca 2 from Eurobike.

Vibe

2007-09-06T19:23:00.001-07:00

Triathlete Magazine, October 2007, page 88

Wave TT Prototype from Germany

2007-09-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here's one of Germany's answers to the current TT bikes coming out by the various and sundry bicycle companies - the WAVE TT. The Germans have moved the real wheel even closer in than many other bike cut-outs, thereby trying to capitalize on this aerodynamic aspect that some companies just miss (e.g. others have the cut out but can't get the wheel close enough).

Transitions = Free Time

2007-09-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Transitions are free time. With practice, it's easy to be in the top 1% if you only count T1 & T2 as your total time. Last year I got a slot at IMAZ to Kona by beating the guy behind me by 18 seconds. He lost his slot during his transitions.

Off-days are a great time to practice transitions. There's no reason you can't shave seconds if not minutes off of your overall time by simply practicing. Quick transitions for me give me a few extra seconds to go to the bathroom so I don't have to go on the run, and this has worked on my last 3 ironman races (e.g. no bathroom break for 26.2 miles).

I'll never beat the top pro in my overall time. But my goal next year is to have the fastest transition overall.

They ought to give an award at every race for the fastest combined transition time, or maybe a prize at the Ironman World Championship & Clearwater to the fastest T1 + T2.

Texas Iron Stars

2007-09-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Texas Iron athletes were out today in force. They slightly outnumbered the J&A folks, and certainly outsplit them in transition. Coaches Cleveland and Fish are returning from IMCanada, where they just did the swim and bike as a warmup for Kona, or at least that's what Andrea Fisher reported after getting bronchitis from her husband (who is not racing Kona in order to support his wife).

Here's Ali Gardner, who will be racing Kona in October. The other guys are no-names since Ali beat them in today's race. I asked for their excuses but could not get one.

My swim nemisis

2007-09-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Reinhart is why I actually show up for swim practice. She's one of the coaches with Texas Iron and she is a fish in the water. Often I have to sew lead into her wetsuit to slow her down enough for me to catch a draft.

Freddie Ferraro Smokes

2007-09-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

F.Ferraro is fast for a 58 year old. He's also just plain fast, placing 11th overall and 2nd amongst age groupers. Every second counts for him, so he usually has the best equipment (e.g. he was one of the first to purchase the new XTERRA Velocity speedsuit), the quickest transitions, etc..

I can't figure out why he doesn't race 70.3 or Ironman distance races. Perhaps he's happy blowing away the competition at sprints and olympics.

Today he crossed the finish line looking relaxed and ready to race again tomorrow.

Avery Visser Rocks

2007-09-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday I bike with 50 or so other folks from Austin Tri Cyclist on the "Taco Ride." It is an easy ride for the first 30 minutes of so. Then, slowly people are dropped one by one, or group by group. If I'm doing the 30 mile loop I somehow always get caught by Avery Visser (age 14) and her dad. I don't know how she does it but even when I'm on the eve of an Ironman race (when I am presumably my fastest) she always manages to catch up with me.

This morning's paper (Austin American-Statesman) front page and then page E1 features Avery, calling her the "triple-threat teen." Today she placed 4th overall in the Women's Open Division. Avery won the Austin Danskin earlier this year, which I think had been won by Desiree Ficker in the past.

Obama Releases Adam for the Weekend

2007-09-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama released Adam from his prisioner's camp (campaign trail) for the weekend to do a little announcing for the race. All Austin south of the Capital could hear Adam's booming voice as he gave play-by-plays from his podium.

Adam is trying to schedule a meeting with the "Voice of Ironman," Mike Reilly, in the event that Obama falls prey to Hill Clinton. Rumor has it that Obama is going to race in the Longhorn Triathlon as part of a relay team and in an attempt to woo the triathlon voters who are by far the most educated of all athletes.

Jack & Adam's crew

2007-09-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Either Jack or Adam (ala Jack&Adam's) knows something that no one else knows - how to get winners to wear their race garb.
Here's Lon Breitenbach being chased by Todd Gerlach. Todd, usually ahead of Lon, had to stop to change his little kid's diaper. Lon capitalized on the diaper change by surging ahead. Lon was only bested by Jason McMillan (also in J&A tights) & Brandon. Not far behind was Paul Terranova (5th) in his J&A outfit.

Brandon Marsh - Men's Winner

2007-09-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today was a training day for Brandon Marsh. He's thinking about next weekend and the Los Angeles Triathlon, a very overrated event with no-names like Emma Snowhill (2nd at World's in Hamburg yesterday). Brandon was all alone after a great swim and solid bike. The race officials left trucks in the middle of the course on the first lap to try to slow him down. Last year this race was won by a Canadian so Brandon wanted to make sure that an Austinite won the race. The Canuck didn't bother to show up.

Austin Triathlon - 9/3/2007

2007-09-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

It started raining during the Expo yesterday. Yikes! After the unfortunate rain-out for the Cap Tex Tri a couple of months ago I knew there were a lot of eager triathletes with extra months of training ready to roar down the streets of Austin.
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My alarm went off at 6:20, giving me plenty of time for a shower, a couple of cups of coffee, and time to dress my daughter. I looked outside and it was really overcast. I knew that the race director would delay the swim start another hour so that I could get some extra sleep.
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The race appeared to go off as scheduled, at 7 a.m. while I was sound asleep. I finally got out of my condo by the time Brandon Marsh was out of the water in his Xterra Wetsuit and leading the second to the last race in the Texas Tri Series.

Trek TTX Equinox

2007-09-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Sharp looking bike and I'm sure that if you put Lance on it it would be blistering fast. Very few photos of Lance on display (maybe one large one where one might think it wasn't Lance). Not a lot of chatter about Lance, and maybe that's because the French (and possibly German) are still not fond of him. And, little about AC or the TdF for that matter in the Trek area that I saw.

Orbea's seatpost

2007-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

The seatpost assembly looks better than my P3C's assembly, which used to slip but no longer does. Also, check out the bottle-holder seat. I think that there's an idea brewing here, especially if you choose not to ride with a spare tire/tube. If I get this seat and the bike, then I'm going to paint my profile aero water bottle black.

Orbea's pointed nose

2007-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

For $2,000 a Dallas plastic surgeon will trim your nose.

For $4,000 you can buy this nose. (actually, I don't know the retail price).

Unlike the Felt, the tube does not hug the wheel. My guess is that Orbea would have done it if wind tunnel testing proved it helped.

Orbea's nose

2007-09-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Very pointed. I'm sure it's windtunnel tested and cuts through the wind like butter.

More Orbea

2007-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know that this blog posts from most recent entry to oldest, but I'm still going to post a few shots of the new Orbea. I tried to walk off with one of the bike, but now that Orbea and Orca have joined forces, there are more folks watching over this bike. I have not affiliation with this bike company and actually compete against the wetsuit company. But, Ronnie Points (ORBEA USA) promised me a 50% discount if I could get 100 people to purchase this bike in the next 30 days if I returned the bike (after stealing it for a few minutes). They intentionally underinflate the tires at the Expo so thieves cannot ride off very quickly.

Orbea's slick bike

2007-09-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'm only posting these photos of the new Orbea because I'll be purchasing one soon and I need to be able to get on line to see it before it arrives.

I forgot to find out how much I'll have to take out of my daughter's education fund, but I'm sure she can get a scholarship.

Cube mimics Softride

2007-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Softride has not gone out of business. It's actuall a 3 speed. So, we won't be seeing it on anything other than a pancake fast course. But, at least they are trying to come up with something new, or improve on a potentially good idea that disappeared.

Cube's patriotic color scheme

2007-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going to guess that Cube is a French bike company. They did a better job in their rear-wheel cut-out then the Carrero. However, there's still that gap the must cause a little wind damage/drag. Note that the top tube slopes up, unlike the Isaac which seems to slope down.

Carraro

2007-09-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Carraro's bike looks nice, but nothing over the top. A lot of bike companies had TT bikes. Actually, almost all of them did, even if that meant taking a road bike and pimping it with a disk wheel, 808 up front, aero bars, etc.. I suppose if they want to sponsor a team in a major European race they've got to have a TT bike. Some did a better job than others, including Carraro.

Wilier

2007-09-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Wilier's booth was cool in that it had their top two bikes going around in circles just like at an auto show. You knew that these were their best bikes and you couldn't help but to go up and look at them. Very slick. If Scott had done something to show their new Plasma perhaps I would have gotten a shot of that.

Still More Madone

2007-09-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here's what everyone was looking at. Trek also had a carbon cut-out of this section. I know what it is. I know how importance it is to be stiff, etc.. But, I have no idea what Trek has done differently. But, they think that they have so I'm showing you this photo.

More Madone

2007-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Trek Madone 6.9 Pro

2007-09-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

The guy who lives next door to me only rides Trek's Madone. This one was very sharp. If I owned a road bike this is what I'd purchase after seeing it. Although I love my Cervelo, I'm afraid to say they won't be putting me on a Soloist if this bike is at the local bike shop.

EVERYONE stopped to gaze at this one. The Japanese cameras, in Japanese hands, were snapping every time I passed this.

Fuji Aloha

2007-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of these being ridden around Austin that I thought I'd post their newest. I don't own one so I have no idea what changes. I think that this is an entry-level tri-bike that seems to pass me sometimes in races. Since none of this is about the rider, and all of this is about the bike, then surely Fuji must be doing something right.

I don't know if they sponsor any pros, and not that that is the only way to promote your bike brand, but if they put this bike on a dark horse they might be able to move up the ranks of bike counting at races.

Look 496

2007-09-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

Still a cool looking bike. I think that if Luke Bell continues to ride this bike and continues to win, as he will Kona one of these days, Look will make a better entry into the triathlon world of bikes. If DanE gets someone to Kona to do a bike count this year then my guess is that there will be more Looks than last year.

Felt's best

2007-09-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not necessarily looking for something new from every bike company, but I couldn't find anything new from Felt. I think that they are making headway with their 2007 line, but nothing seems new for 2008 except a different color scheme. Personally, I like the 2007 colors - all black - and they could have jazzed that up (e.g. like a newer or brigher or duller black) just like the car companies manage to do, like "pearl black."

Scott's Plasma - nothing new

2007-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Maybe I overlooked their new Plasma, but this is all I could see. All the stickers are distracting. Also, I didn't see the new seat post so the bike could be: (a) resold to someone with a different height; and/or (b) boxed in a traditional carrying case. I'm not trying to knock Scott's Plasma because I know someone who rode on all season and loved it. But, you'd think that they would showcase their newest and greatest. Maybe they did and I'm blind.

Isaac

2007-09-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

It comes in Zebra and yellow. Note the matching handlebar tape. Isaac had a booth along the hallway so no one missed this bike. The seat looks forward enough to make it a good triathlon bike. I have read no reviews on this bike but it looks like the top tube drops an inch from rear forward. The rear wheel sits in nicely (unlike a few other companies that just couldn't get it right).

Botranger's underside

2007-09-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

The entire set-up looks very clean and practical. Their are holes for strapping your tubular to the underside. So, taping your tubular to the rails or seatpost better be a thing of the past.

Botranger Bottle Holder

2007-09-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

The design is slick on this. Very clean. I can't comment on how aero it is, but you can attach everything to this.

Storck's long neck - verylong

2007-09-01T19:07:00.001-07:00

I've never seen a Storck before, and it must take after the bird. I think that the seatpost comes off. It looks better up close then in this photo, but it probably will take a big guy who doesn't like to be in the forward position to ride this monster. I suppose I snapped a photo of this one because everyone else was. Maybe they know something I don't know.

Kuota K-K

2007-09-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the bike in all it's carbon glory. I have not put it side by side with a few others (let's say, a Trek or a Look or a Plasma) but it was cool up close.

They must not know whether it will be ready for Kona in October because I'm sure they could have paid some graphic artist to make it look pretty for Stadler and whoever else may get to ride it in a few months. I'm just going to guess that Stadler will not be riding it, and that it will be ready in the spring 2008. So, I guess I'm still getting an Orbea.

Kuota Kuenn-K stats

2007-09-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the stats on the Kuenn-K next to the bike which I should be posting above this post. I assume that the name is from a Slowtwitch poll on selecting the newest name for this bike. It's also nice that they give the geometry for the bike (unlike many other companies where you have to guess when looking at their pretty bike in its pretty stand).

If Kuota is trying to capture the TT market, or rodies that want to a TT bike, then naming it the Kuenn-K may turn them off because "it's an Ironman bike." It will be interesting to see whether Stadler rides this bike in a few months - Kona 2007 - or that green monster he rode at IMGermany. If he doesn't ride the Kuenn-K then what is the point of naming it this?

The guys at the booth were really nice to folks that were clearly only consumers and not dealers, unlike other bike companies.

Cervelo's P2C - better colors

2007-09-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

The bike was hanging super high and unapproachable from a customer's stand-point. Maybe Eurobike is for dealers who just don't care, but again I don't think Cervelo set itself up for the WOW factor that I'd like to see (as a consumer). I do like the colors on the bike. Not that it matters much, but the seat was set in the backward position (not much of a TT and doesn't show off their 2 holes for that magic bottle holder). I don't think that there was a plackard to say what changes were new for this bike in 2008 other than the colors.

Cervelo P3C - yuck color scheme

2007-09-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

I own a P3C from 2 seasons ago. If this was the color-scheme when I was looking to upgrade I would never have purchased the bike. I don't know what changes have been made for 2008 other than the colors and perhaps the seatpost and that bottle mount that I keep hearing about and someone else must know something about it.

Cervelo's space at Eurobike was unimpressive in that it was very small and the bikes were not easily approachable, IMO. I still love my Cervelos (I also have a Dual) but I would have loved to see a bigger or better display. I'm sure that's what they have in store for Interbike in a few weeks.

At least the seat is in the forward position.

Kona 2006

2007-09-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

My blog dropped off the face of the earth pre-Kona. Then, there was Kona... I finished. It was much more difficult then I imagined.

Orbea's new rocking bike

2007-09-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

I was at Eurobike 2007 on a fluke business trip. There, I found my new bike for 2008, available in December. Orca (see background Apex) has joined forces with Orbea in some fashion, and I'm told 300 of the 1,000 available to US customers have already been pre-ordered. I'm sure to call on Tuesday. It's an awesome looking bike. They have a little left to fine-tune on the seatpost, but it will get done in time for production. More on the Apex later.

La Jolla Training Camp - September 2006

2006-10-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

My wife, Ripples & I stayed at the La Jolla Palace, which is our new 2nd home. There, Rip keeps her dog, Jake, who is permanently on loan to Keith. I trained every day in Triathlon Mecca - San Diego County. Here I got in ocean swims in the Cove, lots of runs, and long rides into the hills to get apple pie in Julien.

Sun - run + 60 min ocean swim
Mon - 2 hrs bike, 60 min ocean swim
Tues - 5 hour bike (to Julien), 60 min run
Wed - 60 min swim
Thurs - 4 hour bike (to & through Camp Pendleton), 30 min run
Friday - coffee (and a run&bike)

My Daughter's Name is M-Dot

2006-10-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find a ruler one day, and I wanted to measure Ripples' growth. So, I thought that my Ironman flag would be just perfect for tracking Ripples growth. Here she is, January 4, 2006.

Ripples is my training partner. My wife gave her to me late last year as a present for not buying another Cervelo.

Rip loves the hum of the treadmill. She giggles when I put her on my aero bars. Her favorite toy are packets of e-gel, which she sucks on in futility, hoping one day to get a taste of Strawberry (which aren't good for babies, you know).

April 2006 - My Wife & My Qualifying Certificate

2006-10-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

This was my first full IM. I did 4 x 1/2 IM last year (my 1st yr of tris), then got a coach, set a goal - complete an IM - and signed up for IMAZ. In my previous races I had tremendous problems with keeping food down on the run, and finally figured it out after reading numerous slowtwitch posts on the problem. Saw my first Ironman in Kona in 2004 and that's when I "signed up" for this journey.

Pre-Race Meals - nothing but pasta for lunch and dinner for the week before. Lots of liquids when I arrived in Tempe in order to anticipate the heat.

Morning Meal - 2x powerbars, 1 gel, 24 oz accellerade, nervous energy.

Swim - I got beat up on the mass start. I placed myself poorly, got kicked in the face (with goggles stuck so I couldn't see - not that you could in the murky water anyways), zigged and zagged everywhere, kicked some more, finished in 1:07.

T1 - 4 min. Don at austintricyclist says this is "free time" so I tried to rush. Volunteers were on top of things. This is the first time in the race when I began to appreciate them. They placed everyone from Austin in the front bike racks. Great to be from a town that is ahead of Boulder.

Bike - 5:21. The third loop was painful in the groin worse than any previous long ride. Saw a few crashes, one real bad one leaving the race start on the 3rd loop. To avoid my GI problems (e.g. previously throwing up) I alternated between gatorade and nuun. I tried to keep track of calories and carbs and liquids and the heat and the other bikers. Someone on a Felt saved my butt from one crash by signaling quickly before we both plowed into a guy laying spreadeagle on the course. My neck had been killing me from previous rides and Cassidy at TPMassage worked wonders the day before with his "magic" balls.

T2 - 2 min. Free time. Volunteers in the tent were more excited than I was at this point. On to my first marathon. I didn't know if my body could do it.

Run - 3:34. I was cruising the first loop. Saw my coach, Jamie Cleveland (Pro, 9th place), and was pumped. Second loop went well. Here's where I truly appreciated the volunteers. By this time they were the real pros; passing out water, gadorade, coke right where it needed to be placed. I was popping thermolyte pills every other mile. Third loop, about mile 17, my pace dropped. I began drinking Coke at every station...what a miracle drug. On I ran without any cramps.

The End - 10:09. Cheering was awesome across the Mill Ave. bridge. Lots of Austinites to cheer everyone. It was good to have a jersey that said where you were from. Immediately saw my family who had to bear with my training. Qualified - I got a slot in my AG (35-39).

Coach Cleveland & Cassidy Phillips

2006-10-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

At my "interview" in November 2005, Jamie Cleveland asked me what my GOALS were for 2006. One answer, "qualify for Kona." He laugh, said I was being ambitious, but that he'd draft a training plan to get me there. He did.

Rorschach Test

2006-10-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tempe Lake is a fresh water lake. Though, not worth drinking during my 1 hour and 8 minute time not-well-spent swimming in it. Here's the salt that remains despite many cups of water splashed on my head and back. Ripples loved licking the salt from my legs.

Packing Special Needs

2006-10-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

The night before, checking & re-checking my T1 & T2 bags, plus the debate of what to put into my special needs bags.

Thankfully, I have Rip to make sure all my bags have numbers.

Ironman Arizona - 1st IM

2006-10-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

April 2006, Tempe Arizona. 10 hrs, 9 minutes