Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Danskin Bike: 'Pain Don't Hurt' and 'Rules Don't Matter' in the Buddy Wave

When we last left off, the swim was done.  Ann Marie and I caught up in T1, then took off on our bikes.  I would tell you about the transition but I honestly don't remember.  However, based on past experiences, I'd say there was a high probability absolute positivity of this:


I let Ann Marie take the bike lead and followed at enough of a distance that I was definitely not drafting...


...often. Luckily the officials never seem too worried about details in the non-competitive wave. By the way, did you guys spot Ann Marie's cheetah helmet? So awesome.

We quickly came to THE HELL HILL.  When Ann Marie started to slow down I worried that she wouldn't make it to the top (and that I also wouldn't make it to the top).  So, I called out a little encouragement:


She kicked it into high gear! Low gear? I still have no idea.  Anyway, she hauled booty up that hill!


We successfully made it up and onto the highway. I was doing so much better than last year; i.e. I was riding my bike and not just holding on for dear life. I did have one sticking point about the ride, and that was the lady who was biking in front of me...and refusing to let me pass. (I would have had at least 5 drafting violations off her alone if they were checking.)

The route was an out and back so there was not a lot of wiggle room. I tried to get competitive and warmed up with some exaggerated sighing.


When that surprisingly didn't work, I got more aggressive. I  started to pull up to pass and yell:


At that point she would edge over to the left and speed up, so I would have to drop back. Other cyclists who were faster than me (only because of their fancier bikes of course) whizzed by us both.

I attempted to pass her multiple times because her cruising speed was slower than mine. Then I yelled at her that if she wanted to go faster she had to a) keep up her speed and b) stay to one side! I finally passed her with an exasperated:

Gosh! I'm sure she is a lovely lady; she just was lacking in basic triathlon etiquette.

There was more leap frogging on the way back, but most people followed the drafting rules of falling back when someone passed. Our very own photog was sitting on the grass, in a better position than the paid picture-taker and caught us biking in!


Before I knew it, we were in and out of T2 and there was nothing left to do but go for a run!




P.S. For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter or Google+, (hehe) I made a CALENDAR. I think it's pretty awesome. I also think you should check it out.


I'm hoping it will be available on the international Zazzle sites very soon!


UPCOMING POSTS: THE RUN LEG OF THE 2011 DANSKIN, SUNSHINE AWARD POST FROM RED NOMAD OZ, AND WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO FOR THE LAST 4 MONTHS


15 comments:

  1. I was wondering what would become of your tweet about R2D2, and I was pleasantly surprised. So much better than anything I could dare to hope to think to attain.
    What happens to people who don't observe the pass? Is it okay to carry a small stick to jam in the spokes? Such a fan. Well done.

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  2. s w o o n!
    stick figures AND R2D2!?!
    l♥ve!

    you so rock -- but you probably knew that already!

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  3. Hahahah, you're so sweet to assume the best of jerkylady you won't let you pass. I am not.

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  4. As always these made me laugh out loud!! I loved the part about trying to pass too - that is the worst! It's like driving, people..stay to the right :)

    SEE YOU LATER TODAY!!!

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  5. lol omg I LOVE the R2D2 picture. THAT is awesome! I also love that you got a little attitudey about passing. Since I know you are mostly quiet and let things go, when you get a little more feisty, it's a rare, great side of tri girl to see!

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  6. Pickleope: You're just too kind (I do love my R2). I love your stick idea! I may have to carry one with me from now on. Though truth be told, that sort of thing doesn't happen to me often.

    Cyn: Aww, thank you :D It never hurts to hear. Though don't say these things too often or I will get an ego :)

    Gia: I know. I can't help it. Even though she isn't reading this I would hate to make her feel bad.

    Erika: Thanks! It was frustrating. Looking forward to Thai with you guys!

    MegO: I love it too :) Yeah, I was also on Sudafed for my ears (don't tell the officials!) so I was a little bit more short-tempered than normal. Plus, that was just ridiculous and I'd reached my limit.

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  7. That R2D2 is spot on, brilliant.

    You are a very polite cyclist. I would have dropped the c-bomb on that woman. I am usually quite a laid back person, all the rage seems to come out when I'm on two wheels.

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  8. I used to run with someone that acted like bike lady. SHe'd stop to walk directly in front of me so I'd try to run past her only for her to start running again. This was an endless cycle. I strongly considered punching her in the back of the head.

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  9. Cranface: Thank you sir. I wanted to make sure R2 was as close to lifelike as possible. Oh, and remind me not to go cycling with you O_o

    runningonwords: Ohhhh, so annoying. I don't blame you for feeling that way. I was frustrated for maybe 10 minutes. I can't imagine that as an ongoing thing.

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  10. Hello my FAVORITE SPORT GIRL :D how are you? I wish you nice holidays and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

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  11. Iloshka: Hey there! Thanks! I bet you celebrate the new year in style!

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  12. I totally forgot about the annoying cyclist no-passing-allowed lady! I so love that you were up for the challenge of "teaching" her the appropriate way to allow passing in the future!! We should all try to do this more often to reduce the epidemic!!

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  13. Ann Marie: It suddenly came back to me as I was putting the post together :) She was...frustrating.

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  14. High gear? Low gear? I still have no idea.


    Your posts make me happy.

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  15. VV: Me too, but it makes me even happier to know that other people are happy too.

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I love comments and I always reply to each one!

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