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NINETY-TWO

Regardless of when our racers arrived, our start time was 7:00 o’clock and following our swim we’d head out for a short ride that I wanted everyone to be back at the house by sundown, which was 8:15. As I said, today’s session was mostly about getting started and making sure folks had equipment. Because I’d grown up wearing bicycle helmets, I’d neglected to mention that anybody who borrowed one of our bikes had to wear a helmet whenever they were riding plus that helmet use was a race day requirement. Turns out that bikes and helmets were just the beginning of necessary or highly useful triathlon equipment that the team needed.

Triathlon specific bike shorts would come in super handy. Triathlon shorts, like regular bike shorts, have padding, but in tri shorts it’s minimal. The minimal padding helps with comfort on the bike but doesn’t get in the way when swimming or running. Swim goggles were a necessity, and I couldn’t imagine racing without sunglasses and running shoes. Madre, Padre, Rosalinda, and Monika all used special pedals and shoes while cycling. The shoes had cleats on the bottoms and would snap into the special pedals which made for far more efficient pedaling. An old school pedal option are things called toeclips and straps which aren’t as effective as the special “clipless” shoes and pedals, but with toeclips you can ride in your running shoes, so you don’t have to change from one pair of shoes to the other. The same is true for “naked” pedals of course, but a naked pedal is the least efficient option. I usually rode with a naked pedal, but I was planning to use toeclips for race day. Another piece of optional equipment was anti chafing cream, something Madre and Padre both used in triathlons to prevent skin abrasion in delicate areas.

Everyone who purchased the team Craft Street Trailside Bicycles kit would get a pair of triathlon specific shorts plus a top that was designed for swimming, running, and cycling but most of our racers have practically none of the equipment they should have. Harley surprised me by showing up with a decent bike, helmet, triathlon shorts, goggles, and sunglasses while Loren, who was one of the last to arrive, surprised me even more with the bike she showed up with.

Padre had been busy making sure everyone’s tires were properly inflated while Madre and I were coordinating the swim practice, so when I saw Loren’s bike, I truly was surprised by exactly what she had waiting for her. Padre had Loren roll her Huffy Cranbrook Comfort Cruiser into the garage and then sent her back to the pool for our first training session, so I didn’t see her bike until the pool practice came to an end. The single speed Huffy Cruiser was in the 40-pound range where most of the bikes we were providing weighed in the twenties, and it wasn’t just the extra weight and single speed. The Cranbrook was designed to be cheap and comfortable, not sleek, and efficient, and my heart fell a bit when I saw Loren’s bike.

“Hey,” I said to her, “glad you could make it. Uh, just FYI your bike is really gonna be a handicap for riding. It really won’t matter tonight because we’re just going to ride up to Interlachen Road, take that to Gunn Highway and then turnaround, so no big deal, but I think you’re going to want to upgrade your ride if you can,” something Harley seconded when she heard our conversation.

“Yeah, for real,” Harley interjected. “You might want to invest in something like this,” she added, tapping her flat-bar Cannondale Quick hybrid. “Way easier to pedal and you’ll go faster.”

“Oh,” Loren replied, her mouth twisted to the side, “I was kind of wondering, but Sean said bring what we have so I did. Do you think it’ll be alright for tonight?” she asked me.

“Absolutely,” I ensued, nodding vigorously. “Like I said, tonight’s just a shake down training session and get acquainted thing. I’ll have Madre and Padre lead the way and I’ll ride with you. It’s all good.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” I said. “Let me herd the cats so we can head out. You’ll be fine today, but I would for sure upgrade.”

While Padre’s collection of old helmets wasn’t as extensive as his supply of bicycles, he managed to get a helmet on every head, though fit was an issue for some of the folks, plus I swear there he had an old black Bell, V-1 Pro helmet that’s older than I am. We all grabbed bikes and helmets and headed to the end of our driveway where I addressed the group.

“Okay, listen up,” I said. “Super simple ride. Follow Madre and Padre out of the neighborhood we’ll come back in the same way we go out. The only thing we’ll do differently is that just before we get to Saint Peter’s Church, we’ll turn right on Interlachen Drive. We stay on Interlachen down to the traffic light at Gunn Highway. Once we get to Gunn we’ll just turn around and come back the way we went out.

“Oh! One thing,” I added. “Heading out, just stay on the streets, but coming back in it’ll probably be easier if you let Padre or Madre open the locked gate on the sidewalk and just bop up there until you’re clear of the security gate and then pop back onto the street to come back. Getting the big gate to open with a bicycle is a pain in the butt so it’s just easier to hop up on the sidewalk for like 15-feet. Way easier,” I reiterated.

“Ready, Padre?”

“Ready to roll,” Padre replied, adding, “It’s not a race. Stay single file especially on Interlachen and we’ll at least pretend to stop at the stop signs so pay attention. Alright?” he asked turning his head to catch everyone’s eyes before adding, “‘Hey! Ho!’”

Being familiar with Padre’s que Madre and I replied, “‘Let’s go!’” and rolled slowly northward towards Interlachen for our four-mile ride.

Though the inappropriateness of Loren’s bike was extreme, she was far from alone in not owning a bike that would be appropriate for Longleaf, and seeing how much our would-be racers lacked I was super glad that I started our group training session with an easy swim followed by a low key, short bike ride. I’d described our introductory training session as, “Just getting our feet wet,” so Loren’s ridiculously heavy, all steel, beach cruiser would be adequate for the slow meander to and from Gunn Highway, but not much beyond that.

After everyone was out of the pool and had both a bike and helmet, we headed out on Crestridge Loop, traveling south until segueing with Imperial Key Drive before turning right onto Robert Trent Jones where we navigated the security gate then turned right on Interlachen with Saint Peter’s Church in view. We cycled past Interlachen Elementary, and I could hear Padre giving advice on when and how to shift the gears based on speed and pedaling cadence as we headed down to Gunn Highway where we turn around before cycling back to the parentals’ place.

Loren soldiered on, and because our ride was short, flat, and low key, she did fine, but not well.

Once we were back at the house everyone gathered the things they’d brought with them, and Padre asked about his bikes. “Your next practice is Sunday morning,” he said to the group, “so the question is do you think you’re going to ride the bike we’ve set up for you between now and Sunday, because if you aren’t and you’re planning to be here bright and squirrely Sunday then it probably makes the most sense if you just leave them here,” he concluded with brow furrowed in interrogative.

“I’m not sure if I’ll get to ride tomorrow or not,” McD said, “but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to take the Allez home with me and leave the Voyageur here?”

“Well, since you got your Schwinn here in one piece then you must have a safe way to get the Allez back to your place? Uh, I know you’ll all be careful with the bikes, but I need them to come back in good shape, understood?” Padre’s question receiving a murmur of confirmation. “Bike racks are the absolutely easiest way to transport your bikes but all but the Super Sport that Angie’ll be riding have front wheels that come off without tools so they can fit in the backseat of most cars.”

“Yeah,” McDougall said nodding, “I have a rack and I’ll be super careful?”

“If you’ll take care of her, you can bring her home with you,” Padre said.

“Cool,” McD replied. “Thanks, I will.”

“Uh,” Padre asked, “so you want to leave your Schwinn here?”

“If it’s no trouble. If I’ve got a bike here plus one at home, I know I’m set for both group training sessions plus some solo riding, and I don’t have to transport a bike back and forth.”

“Good thinking,” Padre replied.