Buying All The Things!

Your favorite Dirtbag is making purchases like I have money! Which I only kind of do!
The first purchase made was a shiny new pair of running shoes. After much talking about it I finally got paid and went to the best running store on the island, Runners HI, and picked out a pair of Vibram's running-focused shoe, the Bikila. I've been meaning to get my toes on these babies for a while now (even before my KSOs decided to prepare for the faux-Rapture) and was quite excited by them. I haven't actually gone for a run wearing my new kicks yet, having been on a one week Sit On The Couch And Not Workout post-training training plan*. So next week, when a run does actually happen, I'll be sure to give a full run-down (get it? Get it!?).
To go along with the merriment of spending money on triathlon stuff, I also bought Kratos a new seat! Why, you ask. That is a good question. Especially if you look back through my many many many posts and notice that not once have I even mentioned needing or wanting a new seat. Well, dear reader, what happened is this: As I was putting my bike up on the rack the day before the Honolulu Tri I noticed a small tear in the seam of the seat. Not a large or even a large-ish tear. Just a small one. But in the sun/rain/sun weather we have here who knows how long it will take that small tear to becoming Epic Seat Fail. So to be on the safe side I started searching and researching new seats. I really like the one that is on the bike now but couldn't find it for a decent price. So google google google, text Cycle Dirtbag, google google, open seventeen tabs on my browser for comparison purposes, aaaaand paypal! I went with a Specialized Romin Expert Saddle, found on ebay. Why ebay? The seller advertised free shipping! Free shipping to The Rock (my Rock, not the Nic Cage movie, which was pretty awesome**) practically means I have to buy it. Why that particular saddle? It's got excellent reviews all around and looks to be similar in shape to the one currently on the bike. I'm also excited about the anatomical groove down the center which is supposed to ease pressure on the, to quote the always eloquent Jeremy Clarkson, "gentleman's sausage" and surrounding areas. Hopefully it gets here and I'm as happy with it as I think I will be.
Bonus best part of the saddle purchase is how I paid for it. I didn't! You did. Thanks to your wonderful donations during the Guess My Time 50/50 Challenge I was able to completely pay for my newest piece of cycling equipment using only my paypal account balance. This is the bomb-diggity, as the kids don't say anymore. And be assured that as soon as it comes in there will be pictures of the Dirtbag Derriere perched atop it. I know, you can't wait.


*SOTCANW training plan designed by Dirtbag Fitness. For more information please donate $500 and send me an email requesting all my tips and tricks

**I would like to point out I could have gone with a wrestling joke right there but didn't. You would have expected that. So instead I went with a movie that the millions...AND MILLIONS of The Rock's fans have seen and enjoyed. Especially the part when Sean Connery takes his boot, shines it up real nice, AND SHOVES IT RIGHT UP ED HARRIS' CANDY ASS!!! *People's Eyebrow*

Early Bird Brick and BIKE NEWS!!!

Brick 500yds/30min

Swim
500yds- approx 7:30

Bike
30 minutes stationary

Easy morning workout today to get the muscles moving for any length of time once more before Sunday's race. Tomorrow is a simple 10 minute run and gear check. My swim felt nice, strong and smooth. This is good because I basically got in, swam 500 yards, and got out. So the swim was the warm-up. I don't know how much warm-up time there will be Sunday morning so its good to know I can swim that far that well cold. And I was cruising, could have pushed much harder. An easy 500 averaging 1:30/100yds isn't anything to crow about, but it does make Dirtbag happy about his swim.
The bike was a get out of the pool, throw on shorts, get on a stationary bike, watch SportsCenter and try to care about college football for 30 minutes. I don't know how far I went. I tried to keep my cadence around 80-90rpm, but that's all. Easy 'nuff.
On to bigger news.
I bought a bike today! Hooray! A Felt F1x, which is technically a cyclecross bike but it'll do. All that means is the tires are a little wider than ideal (not a biggie, they work and I can always buy new tires), and it has brake levers on the tops as well as on the drops as part of the shifter (the pictures will explain, and its something I'll get fixed right away).
I've look at a lot of bikes up to this point and this was the first one my instincts didn't run from. To be clear, I don't know much about bikes and that made me nervous about buying used. But used = affordable and all I really needed are a pair of wheels. But sitting on this one, having Stitches hold up the back tire while I push the pedals around and shift through the gears, play with the bells and whistles, it all felt pretty all right. Not perfect, but good.
It has a short list of fixes before its ridable. The brake pads are worn to nothing, so those need to be replaced, which shouldn't be much. And it needs the right kind of pedals. But Cycle Dirtbag is the man and is putting a pair of his in the mail soon, along with the corresponding clips. So I should be solid there. So, when the pedals come in I'll take it to my local bike shop, have them remove the extra brake levers, retape the bars (this will need to be done after removing the brake levers), put the new pedals on, and get me all sized up and fitted to it. If money comes in for Christmas and/or birthday I'll also buy myself a pair of clip-on aerobars that Island Tri & Bike can attach as well. This sounds like a lot but its really not and its all easy stuff.
I think I did well. I hope I did. Here are some pictures:

See what I mean about the extra brake levers in the center? Those will go bye-bye.

Cyclecross pedals are no good to me. Go Cycle Dirtbag!

Mmmm, comfy.

Yeah, that's a tail light. That'll go.

I have to admit to loving the color scheme. It's pretty badass looking. I think I may name it Kratos. Why? Because he's the God of War. Kratos will strike fear into the hearts of the other triathletes (in my head):
No one is angrier than Kratos.

Training and Shopping

Training Day 1:
Bike 50 minutes. I have no bike yet so this was done at 24 Hour Fitness. My plan for today was to just get through, since I haven't ridden in I-don't-know-how-long. My rpms averaged 85-90 the whole time and I traveled 12.95mi. Legs felt wobbly afterwards, but not too bad. Next time I need to remember to bring a water bottle. Want a real bike.
And that leads to my first official shopping trip. I went into Waikiki after I got back from the gym to check out Island Triathlon & Bike and ask some questions. Fred, the guy who I talked to while I was there, was great. I rode the bike in and parked it in from of the store and he was immediately saying, "All right! Two wheels are better than four. Now you have to be the engine." I told him that's what I was there for and he grabbed me to start pointing the way.
Talk about an intense salesman. But in a good way. Fred wasn't trying to sell me because he needed the commission or because its his job. Fred loves this stuff. Loves loves loves. And that is a whole different kind of sales pitch. "Check this out!" and "Look at these!" and "Feel this! Weighs nothing!" It's like if I got a job at a Yamaha bike shop. I would be crazy on the poor customers. Alas, Fred's store was also about as high-end as it could have gotten. I quickly realized I was not in the right place.
"Ok," Fred said to me, "you aren't going to want to buy the lowest level bike. You really should start a step above that so you're really getting a better deal for your money. Here is our step-above bike." It's a beauty. It's also $1,500. My brain twitches. "Uh, Fred, maybe we should look at the low-end bike." Which we did. Another beautiful piece of machinery. $800. "Of course, we'll let you finance interest free for twelve months. The bike and everything else you'll need, which should be another $200-300." Yeeeeaaahhhh...ummm, sorry dude. I'm pretty sure that's just not going to happen.
Basically, I went into a fancy jewelry shop and said, "Hey, I want one of them rings that changes color when I'm mad." Or I walked into a Ducati dealer looking for a moped. "But a quick one! In red!"
Fred understood, even pointed me towards a used bike shop on the island which I'll check out Monday, since they are closed on Sunday. He also answered other gear questions I had. The gear at their store was, like the bikes, really nice. And really a whole lotta much money. If I ever do get really in to the sport and am willing to drop some serious change on it, Island Triathlon & Bike will get my money. But not today.
Also, I'm working on getting a paypal donation account set up for this blog. Hopefully will be all ready to go in a few days.
Tomorrow, a run!