Going Aero for 1 mile

It seems like getting started is the most difficult task for anything. Case in point. I picked up James Joyce's'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man a couple of weeks ago and have not been able to get past the Intro. There is simply not enough time in the day with work, kids, workouts, family, and the occasional 5-6 hours of sleep. I was never tasked with reading anything by Joyce in High School or college, and now I want to find out what the fuss is about. Portrait is considered the third most important English language novel of the twentieth century, and I guess that I will have to find out for myself when I can carve out more time.



The same itch applies to going aero. I currently ride an entry level Specialized road bike with no aero bars. I had never ridden bike in the aero position. At one point, I was the only person doing a half-iron distance tri with no aero bars on his bike. Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Well, the veil of aero ignorance was scheduled to come off last Saturday when I was going to ride my new Quintana Roo (pronounced kihn-tah-nah roh-oh) on a group ride. We were 1 mile into it, when my rear tire got a slash, and my introduction into the aero world was short-lived. I went home and did my bike workout on my old road bike.

Maybe next weekend I'll put a dent into Joyce's classic and do a full ride on my new tri bike.

In the mid-term

Gearing up to gear up for Ironman Arizona 2009, there are many to-do's just to begin the training. First of all, is IM AZ even going to be held in April, or, will it be moved to the Fall as per the rumor mill? If it is moved to the fall, will there be a replacement in April so that I can do it in conjunction with my fortieth birthday?

Secondly, I have to buy a new bike -- one designed for the tri. I have decided on the QR Seduza...I think. I just need to make up my mind to plunk down the cash.

Next, it may be important to learn to swim. I don't mean, learn to not drown, I mean learn a halfway efficient technique to not get DQ'ed on the swim. I have swum the 1.2 mile distance of a half, but I have done it very slowly. A swim coach should be able to help. The tweaking from flailing to gliding begins August 13.