First Bike & Garmin "Watch"

April 2013

Tri Gear

So . . . if I'm going to do an outdoor triathlon, I need tri gear.  Here is what I purchased:

Giant Avail 5 Road Bike:  This is an entry level road bike that I purchased for around $650.  I went to a zillion bike stores and tried all kinds of manufacturer's bikes.  The first time I did a little test ride on a bike was a hoot.  Since I had not ridden a bike for 40 years, I was just a tad nervous as we rode in the parking lot.  I learned that fitting a bike is not just measuring to see if the horizontal bar fits your height.  Each bike has it's own geometry that makes the rider bend over at different angles, etc.  This bike just felt good to me when I road it which I'm told by elite triathletes is more important that the fork material and the other things you pay big bucks for.  They also advised that I do a major test ride - at least an hour.  So I took the Giant Avail to a paved "people trail" in town and road for an hour. 

Oh my gosh!  The ride was exhilarating!  I don't know if they just improved the technology of bikes in the last forty years or if the little skinny road bike tires made the difference, but I felt like I was a bird flying as I road down the path.  There seemed to virtually no resistance with the road.  It was amazing and I came back to the bike shop on cloud 9 and grinning ear to ear.

There is one thing that I will do differently the next time I purchase a bike.  There are professional bike fitters who will help you find the bike with the right geometry to fit you.  The take body measurements and flexibility measurements, and then recommend various bikes.  I am going to take my new bike for a fitting in the near future.

Garmin Forerunner 910XT HRM:   I just ordered this yesterday online.  The 910XT is a serious watch that can monitor activity in the pool, bike and run.  It normally retails for $450, but I found it on sale for $347.  It is a big splurge for me and is much more watch than I really need.  I purchased it mainly for the convenience.  I had been using the Run Keeper and Road Bike aps on my iPhone to monitor my pace and could have just purchased a $60 heart monitor.  The Forerunner also monitors data in the pool and will also do cadence which will be nice.