It was this carefree attitude that took hold of me as I was flooded with relief on my way up the swimming exit. On my wobbly legs and cramped calf I slowly made my way into the transition area. It was nearly empty of people and my section was nearly empty of bikes. Nearly everyone who had started anywhere near me was already out on the bike course. No bother. I was happy to be out of the water.
This, obviously, was my first ever triathlon transition. The first thing that went really well was that I remembered right where my bike was and headed straight there. No wandering around the rows like I was lost on the wrong floor of a huge parking garage. My brother Matt had made the excellent observation that our bike row was near a "No Parking" sign which was easy to look for and spot. After that nothing went quite perfectly.
I had kind of thought a few things through, but my bike and equipment wasn't set up in the optimal fashion. I had a towel laid out with my biking shoes and socks and a few snacks and a bottle of water laying there. My helmet was hanging on the handlebars with my cycling gloves inside. I sat down and time must have slowed down around me.
I was all alone. There was no one else in this race. There was no one there to watch me. All that was important was my equipment, my refueling snacks, and making sure I was able to get on that bike and get out on the road. Hurrying certainly wasn't important. I rinsed my sandy feet off with my water, I dried them off and pulled on my socks and shoes. I dried my body off and found my biking shirt. Thankfully I had thought to pin my number to it the night before. I sat back down and had a couple drinks and some food. I got up to put on my helmet and had some more food. At some point I actually walked over to a garbage can and threw away some of my debris. Allison told me later that no one else, probably in the entire race, used the garbage cans.
I finally got up and pulled my bike from the rack and started down the row.
Hmmm, it sure was bright out there. Ah! My sunglasses. It had been very overcast in the morning and I didn't leave my sunglasses out on my helmet. So I put down my bike, dug my sunglasses out of my bag, and put them on. Picked up my bike and took a few steps down the row.
Owww, my head sure does hurt from all of that concentrating and straining during the swim. Ah! I had thought to bring some ibuprofen. I put down my bike, dug out the pills, took them with some water, and headed down the row.
I got to the main aisle and started down towards the bike start. What is this? That sure is some pressure on my bladder. I had been too busy trying not to drown to think about just going in the lake and I certainly wasn't going to let it all out on the bike ride like I'm sure the pros would do should the need arise. So I asked one of the race workers if there was a toilet in the transition area. He said yes and pointed back the way I came. Alas. I headed back past my row and used the very welcome Biffy.
Later on Allison and others in my family told me that they were very confused about what was going on with me and my transition. It was taking forever and finally when I started going I made it only a little way only to be turned around by a worker and disappear from their sight.
Finally, I was ready. My fans spotted me again as I headed down the main aisle towards the exit. Take a look at this picture and notice how there are just rows and rows of empty racks around me. Everyone else is already gone. (I'm in the blue shirt with white helmet right in the center)
As I get closer to the exit notice the bikes now. All of the pros and elites are already running or finished with their entire race (of course they started up to an hour and a half earlier than I did).
I was cheered out on to the road and off I went. What a pleasant day it was! I cannot remember having a more delightful bike ride.
The course was just over 15 miles and started off by going around the lagoon of Lake Nokomis. Then around the main lake and up to Minnehaha Parkway. It followed the Parkway until it turned into the West River Road. Then the ride took me up the River Road to the Franklin Ave bridge where I got a nice view of the U to the north and either a rowing team or some boating expedition on the river to the south. Then down the East River Road to the Ford Ave bridge and back onto Minnehaha Parkway, back around the lagoon and into the transition area.
As I said, I was feeling great. I was so happy to be on a bike and pedaling myself forward that I did not go out with a racing pace. I was content to go at a pace that I could keep up without really tiring myself. As happy as I was I was still tired from the swim and I remember thinking at about mile 2 "Whoa! I have 13 more miles of this and then I have to run a 5K!" So I decided to just have a nice ride.
I wasn't going to win anything with my racing abilities so I did my best to win the non-existent "Friendliest Competitor" award. I thanked all of the spectators who cheered for me as I passed. I thanked the race volunteers who did the same and were blocking off intersections for the race. I thanked the police officers who were directing traffic across some of the open intersections and blocking off some of the busier streets. I encouraged the cyclists that I passed, of which there weren't many. I figured that if I was passing someone they would really appreciate the encouragement. I watched in amazement as 14 year-olds zipped by me on their slick new racing bikes and in even more amazement as an 80 year-old passed me on his not-so-new road bike.
The sun was out. The course was beautiful. The trees were shady. And I wasn't in the water. What could be better? But the ride had to end some time. As with my swim, it didn't end quickly. In fact, just like my swim I was right near the bottom with my overall biking time. But I did make it back.
My swim was so long that Allison had worried about seeing me towed out of the water by a lifeguard. During the bike ride the delay in my return made her fear that I had suffered a flat tire or worse. But nothing could have been further from the truth, I was just enjoying myself. Finally I turned into the home stretch and the transition area was in sight. There again was my family and friends, smiling and cheering me on. I had completed 2/3 of a triathlon.
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