Back to Ormond Beach for my third time at this great triathlon. It’s a very accessible race in a nice beach town just north of Daytona on the Atlantic Ocean. Since Diane and I built the 1965/2016 Moulton 8 speed bike, I’ve wanted to try it in an actual race. Inspired by the 1960s era deeds of British cycling legends John Woodburn and Vic Nicholson on F-frame Moultons, I thought this would be a great venue for the 8 speed in competition. The morning was perfectly clear with almost no wind, a flat ocean, high tide so almost no current, and 75’f.
I had a great 500 yard swim in the calm salt water, rushed up the beach to transition, and jumped on the 8 speed, anxious to see how it would perform. Since I wanted to emulate John and Vic, I did not add aero bars or a handlebar drinking bottle, but rode on the drops for the entire 10 miles. I was happy to see my average speed rise to 18.1 mph for the first 5 miles pedaling along the Halifax River. After the turnaround, there was a slight headwind and even with pushing hard my average dropped to 17.6 on State Route A1A along the Atlantic coast. After racking the bike, I headed down the ramp for the 5k beach run. Hard pack sand and a nice breeze almost made it pleasant as the temps had now climbed to the mid-80s. My attention was diverted by mullet jumping out of the water and sure enough, two dolphins appeared, enjoying their breakfast. My legs felt great and I maintained a fast running pace all the way into the finish. My longtime competitor and friend James Mayer won with me in third place. The Moulton 8 speed performed very well and was a real pleasure to ride. My average speed of 17.6 mph was a bit slower than last year’s pace of 18.5 on the Moulton SST but it’s always difficult to compare races a year apart.
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| Atlantic sunrise over transition |
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| Racked and ready, the little Moulton looks a bit lost! |
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| Myself with James Mayer before the start |
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| Swim start down the beach |
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| Rounding the first buoy |
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| Exiting the water |
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| Riding along the Halifax River |
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| Racing on the 8 speed |
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| Now for the run |
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| Feeling great at the finish |
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| Well done, Moulton! |
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| In front of The Birthplace of Speed Garage with A1A in background |
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| Nice award! |
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| Vic Nicholson back in the day; huge chainring! |
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| John Woodburn breaking the record...in December! |
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| 1963 news story |
