TT Bikes and 70.3s.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve had people encouraging me to buy a tri bike (anyone want to give me a couple thousand dollars) and to register for a 70.3.

I can’t believe I’m considering both.

I am still not sure about the tri bike, but I can definitely research it.  My biggest concern is that I’m too big for a tri bike.  But I keep getting told that a good shop can measure me and get me fit for the right bike.  So we’ll see what happens there.

I thought that it was silly to even consider a tri bike since I’m still not a fast cyclist.  I’m capable and competent on my road bike, but I’m not fast.  I’m getting faster though.  I always thought that I needed to get faster to make it worthwhile.  But the more I mention that, the more people tell me that no, the bike will also make me faster.  So if I continue to improve and I get a faster bike, I’ll really be able to put on the speed (for me) next season.

If I do get a tri bike, it’s probably something that will go into the trainer until next season anyway.  But it feels like such a big commitment.  Like it makes me a real triathlete.

The 70.3 is something I can just ponder.  The race isn’t even officially announced yet and it’s not for well over a year, so there’s plenty of time.  It’s not real until I have to think about registering.  But I have been considering a 70.3 for a while.  It’s definitely something that would be a real challenge for me.  These races typically have 8.5 hour time limits, and I would be pushing that for sure.  Where I know I can significantly cut time is the bike, because I have much work to do in that arena.

But man. Racing for 8+ hours.  That sounds miserable.  So I’ll have to debate and talk with my coach and debate some more before I tackle it.

I think I do a lot of thinking about racing compared to the actual racing that I do.