During triathlon competitions, I suggest that you start and finish the bicycle leg in your lower gears. Why?
1. As you exit the water, your legs may feel a bit wobbly. Jumping onto a bike in high gear can tax those already fatigued legs. On top of this, many triathlon staging areas are lakeside, which means at the bottom of a hill. Not a good place to be in a big gear. So before you park your two-wheeler in the staging area, first make sure you have left it in a comfortable, lower gear. You can quickly shift back up as you start rolling.
2. Just as you start your bike leg in low gear, I suggest you finish in a lower gear as well. The reason is, if you push really big gears in your last few miles of your bike leg, the transition to running can be downright painful. Tight hip flexors lead to tiny little baby steps on your run. Ow! Don’t let this happen to you. As you enter into your final miles on the bike, simply shift into a slightly easier gear and ramp up your cadence. Then when you get off your bicycle, you can move seamlessly into your long, beautiful running stride.
Bicycle Garage Indy recently sponsored the Go Girl Triathlon, and carries a wide range of of triathlon clothing, accessories and bicycles.
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Continued) To understand the third option, visualize a small CamelBak which is mounted on your waist, not your back, and you have the
CamelBak FlashFlo. Being an avid fan of
CamelBak’s for my riding, I was instantly sold on this waist mounted option for running. Water remains ice cold for the duration of your run. The drinking tube is unusually long, and hooks to the waist strap. When thirsty, you just unhook it, take your sip, then rehook it to your pack. I do find that I need to cinch the pack up quite tightly, in order to minimize pack bounce.
Our last option for drinking/food replacement while running is the fuel belt. This is a belt which holds assorted containers for your food, gel, fluid, etc. These are extremely popular, judging by the number I see worn in the weeks leading up to local marathons. However, they probably are not as important until your runs begin to exceed one hour in length. The FuelBelt Hydration Belt and Nathan Speed Belt hold anywhere from 2-4 containers. The Nathan Booster Belt can hold your race number AND clip on flasks are available separately.
Bicycle Garage Indy has a full line of
Hydration accessories from
CamelBak, Nathan and FuelBelt for cross training, running, triathlons and adventure racing.
Bicycle Garage Indy, North (Clearwater area in Indianapolis) and South (just west of I-65 on County Line Rd, Greenwood)
We are experiencing one of the hottest and most humid summers in recent memory. Proper fluid hydration during exercise is particularly important this summer (How much do you need to drink:
Exercise and Fluid Replacement). Whereas I used to carry water only on my longest runs in the peak of summer, I am even bringing it along on some of my shorter runs. Consider the following options for accomplishing this.
The simplest option is to carry the water bottle in your hand. This used to be quite cumbersome, as the action of gripping the water bottle prevented your arms from swinging freely. However, the CamelBak Quick Grip offers an adjustable comfort grip for a water bottle. By attaching the bottle to your hand, you no longer need to grip and thus your hand remains relaxed and your arm swing normal. There is even a stash pocket for your key, gel or other small item.
A second option that I used for several years also involves a water bottle, but one that is placed in a pack around your waist. I preferred this option as my hands were left totally free. The original design was limited in that the pack would bounce a fair amount on your back. But newer designs, such as the Nathan Triangle Hydration Pack, have reduced this problem by angling the position of the water bottle. The bottle snugs up into the natural curves of your back, keeping it much more steady. These packs today also come with a zippered pocket.
Whatever product works best for you, just be sure that you keep drinking on these lovely, hot and oh so humid days.
Bicycle Garage Indy has a full line of
Hydration accessories from
CamelBak, Nathan and Fuel Belt for cross training, triathlons and adventure racing.
Bicycle Garage Indy, North (Clearwater area in Indianapolis) and South (just west of I-65 on County Line Rd, Greenwood)
Bicycle Garage Indy is proud to be the Official Bike Store Sponsor of the Go Girl Triathlon, Indianapolis's first women only triathlon. The triathlon will take place on Saturday, August 28, 2010, with the venue opening at 7:00 AM. Held at Eagle Creek Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis, the Go Girl Triathlon is is a Sprint Distance event, with a 500 Meter Swim in the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a 10 mile bike in and around the Eagle Creek Park, and a 3 mile run.
More details can be found at the The
Tuxedo Brothers Go Girl Triathlon web site. The Go Girl Triathlon is sanctioned by USA Triathlon.
Tri’s are different than other competitions, in that you have a lot of different pieces of gear that are essential to your competition day. Should you forget anything on race day (e.g. helmet, running shoes), then you literally cannot race. All that time, preparation, money and emotional energy is wasted.
Don’t let this happen to you. Get in the habit of using a
packing list as your checklist every time you leave the house on race day. Below is a sample list which you can modify and make your own.
And what about transporting this gear from your car to the start of the race? You will find that a standard backpack is just too small. Louis Garneau now makes an oversized,
wheeled gear bag specifically for triathlon gear. It is designed to keep your wet gear separate from the rest of your items.
Packing List for Triathlon Competition (PDF)
Swim Gear:
o Swimsuit or Tri-Suit (Wear this to race)
o Goggles
o Swim Cap
o Flip Flops (optional)
Bicycle Gear:
o Bicycle
o Helmet
o Gloves (optional)
o Bicycle Shorts and Top (optional)
o Bicycle Shoes
o Socks (optional)
o Sunglasses (optional)
o Water Bottle filled with Water or Special Drink
Running Gear:
o Running Shorts and Top (optional)
o Running Shoes
o Race Belt (or race number affixed to running clothes)
Miscellaneous:o Triathlon Gear Bag
o Race Packet Numbers
o Timing Chip
o Large Towel
o Smaller Hand Towel
o
Suntan Lotion (optional)
Bicycle Garage Indy stocks triathlon clothing and gear from Louis Garneau, Nathan and Fuel Belt, along with hundreds of other bike accessories Indianapolis. Available at both Bicycle Garage Indy-North and Bicycle Garage Indy-South in Greenwood.
Bicycle Garage Indy is the Official Bike Store Sponsor of the
Tuxedo Brother's Go Girl (Women's Only) Triathlon, Saturday, August 28, 2010 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.
Our 12-bike household requires 24 tires, with the four of us riding around 12,000 miles a year. This summer 4 bikes were ready for new tires, so I get to try a wide assortment of the tires available at Bicycle Garage Indy.
First up was our Santana Sovereign tandem. It got a pair of 700x28's Continental (wire bead)
Ultra Gatorskins. Based on a durable carbon black compound, a well regarded puncture protection system and DuraSkin-anti-cut fabric, the Ultra GatorSkin have a reputation as long wearing tire. They weigh in at 330 grams and are a tandem team favorite. We also carry a 700x25 Ultra Gatorskin folding tire as spare on the tandem.
Next up was my wife's 2008 Trek 1.2 WSD and our youngest son's venerable, hand-me-down `90 Trek 1200. Linda rides for sport and triathlons, while Justin is riding to school, and on club and family rides. For their bikes I went with the durable and economical
Serfas Seca with Flat Protection System (FPS). The Seca is a great all-round wire-bead road tire a with long tread life, great cut resistance and superior road feel. Linda got 700x25's, and with Justin's teen riding style, I opted for 700x28's.
Finally, my `83 Trek 850 commuter bike was due for new rubber. I had to replace (mid ride!) one tire last summer, so on the rear I have a Bontrager H2 Hardcase 26 x 1.5". My front tire, which had plenty of tread left, but had sidewall breakdown after 3 years of all-day, outdoor parking was replaced this spring with a
Continental Contact 26 x 1.9". Both are smooth road tires, great on this on former mountain bike now dedicated to commuting.
I will keep you updated on wear over the coming months on all four sets of tires. And odds are, I will have another set to replace soon enough.
Continental, Serfas and Bontrager are just three of the many brands of bicycle tires Indianapolis found at Bicycle Garage Indy’s two locations, North (Clearwater area in Indianapolis) and South (just west of I-65 on County Line Rd, Greenwood)
New to Triathlons? Come to Bicycle Garage Indy's first "Tri Night" and find out about Bikes, Accessories, Nutrition, Clothing and Transition tips to shave minutes off your time!
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Location: Bicycle Garage Indy North,
4130 E. 82nd Street, Indianapolis.
Schedule:
6:00-7:00 pm Food, Beverages, Vendor exhibits/reps (Sugoi, Nathan, Fuel Belt, Nutrition samplers)
Product Exhibits:
Sugoi & Fuel Belt: Kevin Gamper
Nathan: Mike Orban
Nutrition Samplers: Aubrey Siehl, (Sales Staff, BGI North)
7:00 pm Introductions of speakers
7:15 pm Tri-Bike Basics - James Sells, (Sales Staff, BGI South
7:40 pm Transitions - "How to Trim Minutes" -
Linda Hardcastle (BGI Fitness Blogger)
8:00 pm Shopping
8:30 pm Door Prize Drawing
8:45 pm Evening Ends
Click
here to register on-line
Register by Sunday, July 11, 2010 - Registration limited to 40 people.
Participants will receive a coupon good for 25% off triathlon clothing and accessories good during the event.
The Carmel Sprint Triathlon was held this morning, Sunday, April 18, 2010. My 4 year-old & I biked to 110th St and watched the turnaround point of the bike portion.
This rider was the first female to reach the turnaround of the bike leg. (Shameless plug: notice she's on a
Serotta bike!)
Here's a pic of BGI alumnus Scott Mansberger, riding his Cannondale road bike:
There was a freeze warning last night and the 9am temperature was in the low 40s. It was interesting to see folks racing side by side with completely different biking clothing. There were jackets, sweatshirts, bare arms, & even some bare torsos.
I have no picture, but here's a shout out to racer #285: "Your helmet was on backwards." I suppose that's easily done in a hurried transition from the Carmel High School pool.
Among all the high performance bikes, there were plenty of racers on mountain bikes and hybrid bikes. This woman is riding a Trek hybrid bike, which is built more for comfort and less for speed. She must have had a strong swim, because she was racing in the midst of men on $3,000+ triathlon-specific bikes.
This lady is showing a very efficient & aerodynamic position on the bike:
Racing on 110th St, just east of the Monon Trail:
(Congratulations to all Carmel Sprint Triathlon participants. You will find Triathlon Bike Accessories Indianapolis, and Triathlon bikes in-stock now at Bicycle Garage Indy North in Indianapolis, and Bicycle Garage Indy South in Greenwood. Blog Editor)
My sister is training for the Team in Training Steelhead Triathlon coming up this summer, so we stopped by BGI this Sat. for a bento box. She ended up finding so much stuff she liked, she walked away with 3 new riding outfits. Somehow I got roped into buying the bento box for her, but everything was 15% off (plus we received lots of friendly smiles from the staff) so it was worth it! Thanks BGI for the great service and deals!
Name: Ali Sales Roach
Bicycle:
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
(Ali: We are glad you found all the Bicycle Clothing Indianapolis your sister was looking! The BGi Staff)
Great success! I stopped by BGI to check out the Annual Spring Bicycle Expo and walked (or rode) away with a Giant Dash. I test rode a couple of models but knew I had found my match with the Dash...many thanks to Ben and all of his superior bike wisdom! I'm definitely looking forward to getting involved in road race cycling and triathlons in Indianapolis this spring.
Name: Kelly Simon
Bicycle:
Giant DashCity: Carmel
State: IN
(Thanks Kelly, enjoy your new ride! The BGi Staff)
I was getting started in triathlons back in 2007 and needed a bike. The guys at BGI were incredibly helpful in guiding my decision. They warned me against spending too much, and not getting a sport specific time trial bike. This was invaluable advice and one that I have heard echoed many times since in various publications. BGI also made sure that the bike I selected fit me properly and worked for exactly what I needed it to. Since that day in 2007 I have finished a number of triathlons including some half-Ironman distance races, all on that bike. Without the expert advice of BGI, I wouldn't have come as far as I have. Thanks BGI!
Name: Blake Matheny
Bicycle: Cannondale Six13
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
This is the first of what will be a winter-long series about what trainer workouts I'm doing. When I first bought a trainer, I always felt a little unsure about what exactly I should be doing with it, and over the years I've come up with some strategies I feel pretty confident about. So I hope they help!
A few keys for success:
1) VARIETY. In every workout, you should be doing lots of different things. This is partly for skills development, but mostly because it helps deal with the #1 trainer obstacle: boredom. Do lots of different things, and boredom will take much longer to set in. Get some high-cadence, low-cadence, single-leg, sitting, standing, etc.
2) INTENSITY. The classic philosophy is that you should use winter for steady, low-intensity aerobic base training. However, this really only works if you have a high training volume, 15 hours or more. If you only have 6-8 hours a week, like me, you need a higher-intensity stimulus to get the desired result.
3) PLANNING. Never get on the trainer without knowing exactly what you're going to do. If you try to improvise your workout, or "ride how you feel," I can tell you now what you're going to do--you're going to go 20 or 30 minutes, decide that this is boring, and that your butt hurts, and you're going to decide that you really should get around to doing the laundry.
4) ADAPTATION. The trainer is the most controlled cycling environment you'll ever have, so as the weeks go by, pay attention to what's happening to you, and make changes as necessary. Then see how your respond to the changes, and tweak as necessary.
5) GOALS. What exactly do you want out of this winter? For most people, that's pretty simple: ride faster. But the details matter. Do you want to win a bunch sprint? Improve your 40k time? Complete your first triathlon? All those goals call for somewhat different approaches.
Next time: my goals, and the workout I'm doing this month to start getting ready for next year.
Triathlons are increasing in popularity. I am seeing more and more of them riding and running around. Strong riders too. I had some motor pas me on an Indianapolis Greenway the other day. heads down, gears high, they pulled away and left me in their dust.
I have also found that most Triathletes are serious about their bike accessories. They have all the newest bike gear in Indianapolis too. everything from hydration to bike racks.
Their bikes are cool too. Trek Bicycles makes a very notable tri-bike, the Equinox TTX9.0
That bike just screams fast. I am sure you will see several of these out on the roads at the Muncie Endurathon.
Why a triathlon specific bike? Well it is just the best bicycle tool for the job. Road bikes will work, but if you are trying to keep up with the Jones and they are on one of these..well you get the picture!
Rabobank riders will be tackling the rough pave of Flanders on their stock
Giant TCR Advance bikes. These incredibly efficient frames would be a challenge for most average Indiana Bike Racers. In fact they are so efficient I have seen many of these frames at triathlons in Indianapolis. My suggestion if you want to master a Giant TCR Advance, make sure you get a good
bicycle fitting.
Just keeping it real, the trash can is for spit! 
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