Last time I reviewed what blueseventy’s Ben Bigglestone said about wetsuits at the Timex team meeting. This time the blog is about bikes. Dean Gore and Scott Daubert of Trek showed up to talk about their bikes, specifically the TTX. The new TTX is suppose to be faster than the model that Lance rode in the TDF, but since none of us are racing Lance, (and Trek would probably give him the new model anyway) I’ll share their tips that will help against the amateurs most of us race.

Here’s a time saving tip. Next time you see a forum thread on Slowtwitch asking, “Should I ride my road bike or tri-bike in such and such triathlon?” just skip it. The answer is always ride the tri-bike. The position benefit of the tri-bike trumps the weight penalty versus the road bike for every real world triathlon bike leg. The guys from Trek had modeled the first part of the Ironman Wisconsin course to show why. Only when someone creates a triathlon with a one way, mountain top bike leg finish should you re-address this issue.

Want to cut time off your bike split for free? Their next tip was to carry a water bottle on the down tube.Tests in the wind tunnel showed carrying a bottle here reduced drag versus a bare frame. By the way, this was the second time I’ve heard this; John Cobb found the same thing in his wind tunnel tests. Take the advice and carry your spare tube, tire levers and CO2 cartridge in the bottle and ditch your seat bag. Bontrager is suppose to have some cool aero water bottles, but the only place I’ve seen them is in a picture of Karen Smyer’s bike.

The last tip I remember was about tri-bike handling. When Trek was redesigned the TTX the feedback they got from their pro riders was a short stem handled better on the downhills. The jumps between sizes on the TTX are pretty big so if you are between sizes, you might be best served going with the larger size. I asked the Trek guys if there was a stem size that they wouldn’t recommend and that said they offered stems between 7 and 13 cm and all would work but…shorter seems better.
Those are the sponsor’s tips. And when I hear a good pro tip, I’ll post it.

Being an amateur on Team Timex is like being the proverbial fly on a wall; you hear a lot of stuff that’s not being said to you. Sometimes you pick up some helpful or funny pieces of information from the team sponsors and pros. By helpful/funny information I don’t mean “Our brand X is the fastest,” or “You need to swim 42 X 100’s on sub 1:07 to get faster at the IM swim”. The first isn’t kept as a secret and the second isn’t helpful…or funny to someone who swam 1:20 last October.

Take wetsuits, for example. Sure, we’ve all heard that Vaseline petroleum jelly is bad for wetsuits, but is the damage to the suit worse than the damage to your neck from a wetsuit hickey, and if so how bad is it? And how about swimming in chlorinated pools with wetsuits? How much will knowledge about my 1000-yard wetsuit aided time cost me in terms of wetsuit wear? According to blueseventy’s Ben Bigglestone both Vaseline and chlorine will degrade the stitching of your wetsuit. But if you’re a pro and get a new one every year, what the heck do you care? Apparently, neither eats away like acid so base your behavior on how long you want to keep your suit.

How about Pam non-stick cooking spray? OK, according to Ben, except that it makes you smell like “chips”. That’s across the pond talk for french fries.

But the big question everyone wants answered is, what about peeing in your wetsuit? Will this shorten wetsuit life and friendships? Ben says you can use your wetsuit like your own private port-a-potty with no worries, enough water gets in the suit during the swim that there is no harm and no one will ever know.

The Timex pros are also a great source of tips. Ever had trouble pulling the ankles and wrists of a wetsuit up high enough for a snug fit? You should, it takes time to put a suit on right. Timex pro Blake Becker said he puts his suit on starting with it inside out. I had to see it to believe it. It works.

Encourage Blake to post pictures or video of this tip. There is no way I’m posing in a Speedo for pictures on the Internet!

Next time I’ll post what I heard about the Equinox TTX from the man know as “Lance’s bitch” at Trek. It’s not on their web site!

I went to a large party recently and, after a while, noticed I felt out of place. I didn’t know why, it was a nice party and I was wearing appropriate party clothes. Then I got it - I was the only one I could see wearing a plastic watch.

At first, I worried that this stamped me as some sort of fiscal under-achiever, everyone was wearing expensive watches. Then, I hoped that my plastic OVA Ironman stamped me as something else, a triathlete.

In a room full of people with watches designed to make a personal statement of affluence, I thought my watch said something else about me. Or maybe posing as someone who swims, bikes and runs all the time is just a different way to say the same thing.

Nonetheless, the anti-bling of my $55 watch made me feel left out. Would two carats in each ear plus the Timex equal the dress for success impact of a Rolex, or don’t gentlemen wear jewelry?

Name: Oakes Ames
Birthdate: 3/26/53
Birthplace: Danville, KY
Current Residence: New Canaan, CT
Occupation: Dad
Years Racing: 19
Favorite Race: Hawaii

List 5 Top Race Results:
Year – Race Name – Place (include age group if applicable)
1. 2005 Ironman Wisconsin, 1st, 50-54 age group
2. 2005 Eagleman 70.3, 1st, 50-54 age group
3. 2005 New York City Triathlon, 1st 50-54 age group
4. 2004 Ironman Hawaii, 4th 50-54 age group
5. 2003 Ironman Hawaii, 1st 50-54 age group

Favorite Pre Race Food: Coffee

Favorite Post Race Food: Beer

What’s in your MP3 Player?: My daughter’s music

Biggest Pet Peeve: People with tans at early season races

What would you do with $100,000 if you won Hawaii? Down payment on a Kona condo.

Anything else we should know about you?
I do not do most of my training at night, it’s just looks that way because of bad New England weather.