Watch this video for a quick explanation of The Moulton Mystique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-a6gq_0To
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Moultoneer article
Most of you know I'm a big fan of Moulton bicycles and have owned 8 in my life with 5 in the stable now. I wrote an article about my triathlon experiences with the Moultons and it was just published in The Moultoneer magazine. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Watch this video for a quick explanation of The Moulton Mystique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-a6gq_0To
Watch this video for a quick explanation of The Moulton Mystique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-a6gq_0To
Sunday, October 23, 2016
#144 Great Floridian 1/3 Triathlon in Clermont
Saturday, October 22, was the Great Floridian Triathlon in Clermont. This 26th Annual event is an "iron-distance" race without the Ironman price. The course change last year to a 3 lap discipline allowed the creation of a 1 lap and 2 lap event also. I did the 1/3, with a .8 mile swim, a 38 mile bike, and an 8.7 mile run. Several fellow Seminole County Triathletes competed also in all 3 distances.
Fall arrived on Saturday morning with a 57' temperature and a stiff west wind (Friday morning was 70'). I arrived early to get a good parking spot and rack my bike even though my race didn't start until 9:00 AM. Wetsuits (which I dislike) were legal so as I sat in the car with the heater going, I wondered if I should put mine on. I decided to skip it and headed to the swim start and found the water temp was 74' which made for a pleasant swim even with the wind-driven chop. With the late start, the sun was high and I really enjoyed the swim which took me 38 minutes. I debated whether or not to grab a bike jersey to wear over my tri-top as it still felt cool (60') but decided to forego comfort for speed. This turned out to be a good decision as I was comfortable and also noticed several riders stopping to pull off windbreakers in the first 10 miles. The bike course seemed to be a continuous series of hills; for the whole distance, I felt I was either climbing at 8 mph or descending at 30+. I rode through Clermont, into Monteverde and then the Ferndale loop. Buckhill Road lined up ahead of me at mile 22 and Sugarloaf Mountain (Category 3 climb) arrived at mile 26. I had trained the latter part of the summer specifically for this race and shifted down and climbed all the way up. The Moulton performed well as usual and I had quite a cheering section among the spectators as I pedaled to the top. Sommer Sports had a shuttle running between the race start and Sugarloaf so families and friends could watch their athletes climb the mountain. I shot down the mountain at an all-time high speed of 42.7 mph which is quite thrilling on a bike. I passed 3 or 4 people in my age group on the bike leg. Rolling into the transition area at mile 38, the computer showed an average of 16 mph but official time had me at 16.2. Either way I was quite happy with my pace. Doing this 3 times for the ultra-distance must really be tough.
After a 1 minute bathroom break, I began the run, which consisted of 2 out-and-back loops on the Lake County bike trail for 8.7 mile course. All the water stops were well manned with anticipation of the long evening runs coming up. Sommer Sports had your first name on your bib so the volunteers could cheer you on personally. Temps were in the middle 70s by then. I ran conservatively initially as my right quad was hurting a bit, I stopped to massage it twice and the pain went away. From mile 2 to 6, I picked up speed and passed 2 more people. Nearing the final turn-around I closed up on the 4th place man and he was eyeing me as we did the last turn. We both picked up the pace but he had a bit more speed and I finished 59 seconds behind him for 5th place out of 13. My overall run splits were 9:46 per mile at 1:24:53. My total time was 4:27:32 for the entire course. Longtime friend and competitor Ken Junkins won my age group with an amazing 3:31:55, nearly an hour ahead of me and 45 minutes ahead of 2nd place. In her first year of triathlon and her longest race ever, Kerry Librada Girona won her age group with a 3:35:06 and finshed 4th Female overall. SCTer Meggan Ann Johnson was very happy with a 3rd and everyone else had a great time including Joe Briatico who did his first iron-distance triathlon.
I really enjoyed this race and look forward to doing it in 2017. Now the running season begins! *Click on any photo to enlarge it.
Fall arrived on Saturday morning with a 57' temperature and a stiff west wind (Friday morning was 70'). I arrived early to get a good parking spot and rack my bike even though my race didn't start until 9:00 AM. Wetsuits (which I dislike) were legal so as I sat in the car with the heater going, I wondered if I should put mine on. I decided to skip it and headed to the swim start and found the water temp was 74' which made for a pleasant swim even with the wind-driven chop. With the late start, the sun was high and I really enjoyed the swim which took me 38 minutes. I debated whether or not to grab a bike jersey to wear over my tri-top as it still felt cool (60') but decided to forego comfort for speed. This turned out to be a good decision as I was comfortable and also noticed several riders stopping to pull off windbreakers in the first 10 miles. The bike course seemed to be a continuous series of hills; for the whole distance, I felt I was either climbing at 8 mph or descending at 30+. I rode through Clermont, into Monteverde and then the Ferndale loop. Buckhill Road lined up ahead of me at mile 22 and Sugarloaf Mountain (Category 3 climb) arrived at mile 26. I had trained the latter part of the summer specifically for this race and shifted down and climbed all the way up. The Moulton performed well as usual and I had quite a cheering section among the spectators as I pedaled to the top. Sommer Sports had a shuttle running between the race start and Sugarloaf so families and friends could watch their athletes climb the mountain. I shot down the mountain at an all-time high speed of 42.7 mph which is quite thrilling on a bike. I passed 3 or 4 people in my age group on the bike leg. Rolling into the transition area at mile 38, the computer showed an average of 16 mph but official time had me at 16.2. Either way I was quite happy with my pace. Doing this 3 times for the ultra-distance must really be tough.
After a 1 minute bathroom break, I began the run, which consisted of 2 out-and-back loops on the Lake County bike trail for 8.7 mile course. All the water stops were well manned with anticipation of the long evening runs coming up. Sommer Sports had your first name on your bib so the volunteers could cheer you on personally. Temps were in the middle 70s by then. I ran conservatively initially as my right quad was hurting a bit, I stopped to massage it twice and the pain went away. From mile 2 to 6, I picked up speed and passed 2 more people. Nearing the final turn-around I closed up on the 4th place man and he was eyeing me as we did the last turn. We both picked up the pace but he had a bit more speed and I finished 59 seconds behind him for 5th place out of 13. My overall run splits were 9:46 per mile at 1:24:53. My total time was 4:27:32 for the entire course. Longtime friend and competitor Ken Junkins won my age group with an amazing 3:31:55, nearly an hour ahead of me and 45 minutes ahead of 2nd place. In her first year of triathlon and her longest race ever, Kerry Librada Girona won her age group with a 3:35:06 and finshed 4th Female overall. SCTer Meggan Ann Johnson was very happy with a 3rd and everyone else had a great time including Joe Briatico who did his first iron-distance triathlon.
I really enjoyed this race and look forward to doing it in 2017. Now the running season begins! *Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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| Climbing up Sugarloaf Mountain |
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| Moulton SST ready to go! |
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| Big crowd! |
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| Relaxed and ready |
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| Swim is finished! |
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| Bike leg return |
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| Rolling into T2! |
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| Mile 4 on the run |
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| Into the finish! |
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| Me and my Moulton |
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| Meggan Ann Johnson heading for 3rd! |
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| Happy Finishers |
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| Relaxing under the SCT tent |
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| Kerry taking the win in 30-34 Female! |
Sunday, September 11, 2016
# 143 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in September
Saturday was the fourth and last Clermont Sprint Triathlon of the year. I was looking forward to a strong finish for the year as I missed the third race due to Sandy's knee replacement. Many of my friends from Seminole County Triathletes were there along with my usual competition. Weather was perfect at 73' at the start and Lake Minneola had cooled down from Hurricane Hermione's heavy rains the previous weekend. I racked my bike right next to a big Hammer Nutrition sign too.
As the sun poked over the horizon, I had a great start to the swim and felt strong throughout. Exiting the water in 9:43, I hopped on my bike to began the circle around the lake followed by the hills back to town. I rode conservatively, saving my energy for the big climbs in the last 4 miles. After the climbs, I rocketed down the big hill, hitting a maximum speed of 39.3 mph. I rolled into transition, completing the course with an average of 18.5 mph. My run began strong and I felt great all the time heading to the turnaround at 1.5 miles. Ken Junkins, the eventual winner, waved at me heading back as I was going out. Coming up to the waterstop at 2 miles, I caught and passed a man in my age group, 60-64. I figured he would start chasing me as soon as he saw my age on my calf, so I picked up the pace. Glancing back occasionally for the next 3/4 mile I saw no one. With about 400 meters to go, I saw the guy running hard, trying to catch me. I began running harder but saw he was still closing. I really poured it on and turned into the finishing chute,beating him to the finish line! I then looked at his calf and saw his age: 51! It was the wrong guy! I ran the 5k in 25:26 for a 8:12 mile split; my overall time was 1:14:22, good for 6th place out of 13. Ken had finished in first in 60-64 over 10 minutes ahead of me too! I don't think I'll ever catch him. My friend Kerry Libroda Girona finished Women's Overall in second behind her coach, 10 time Ironman winner, Nina Kraft. This is Kerry's first year of triathlons!
As the sun poked over the horizon, I had a great start to the swim and felt strong throughout. Exiting the water in 9:43, I hopped on my bike to began the circle around the lake followed by the hills back to town. I rode conservatively, saving my energy for the big climbs in the last 4 miles. After the climbs, I rocketed down the big hill, hitting a maximum speed of 39.3 mph. I rolled into transition, completing the course with an average of 18.5 mph. My run began strong and I felt great all the time heading to the turnaround at 1.5 miles. Ken Junkins, the eventual winner, waved at me heading back as I was going out. Coming up to the waterstop at 2 miles, I caught and passed a man in my age group, 60-64. I figured he would start chasing me as soon as he saw my age on my calf, so I picked up the pace. Glancing back occasionally for the next 3/4 mile I saw no one. With about 400 meters to go, I saw the guy running hard, trying to catch me. I began running harder but saw he was still closing. I really poured it on and turned into the finishing chute,beating him to the finish line! I then looked at his calf and saw his age: 51! It was the wrong guy! I ran the 5k in 25:26 for a 8:12 mile split; my overall time was 1:14:22, good for 6th place out of 13. Ken had finished in first in 60-64 over 10 minutes ahead of me too! I don't think I'll ever catch him. My friend Kerry Libroda Girona finished Women's Overall in second behind her coach, 10 time Ironman winner, Nina Kraft. This is Kerry's first year of triathlons!
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| Hammer time! |
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| Ready and waiting |
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| Wave 2 swim finish; Wave 5 in background |
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| Nina Kraft heading to a win |
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| Ken Junkins out ahead |
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| My chase begins |
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| Seminole County Triathletes |
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| Kerry and Nina after the race |
Splash & Dash with Gwen Jorgensen
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| Gwen and Jack |
I swam at Lucky's Lake on Labor Day three days earlier and found out later she was one of the many Olympians who swam by me (very quickly) on my second lap. Today, the children started first and then the adults on a two lap 1200 meter swim followed by a 5k run. With a race on Saturday, I took it easy and only did one lap and found the Olympians exiting the water with me. However, they did TWO laps to my one! Everyone took off down the trail for the two lap run with the Olympians setting the pace. Gwen finished in a dead heat with two Australians, Emma Moffat and Charlotte Mcshane alongside.
Gwen and the others signed autographs and posed for photos in the next hour and everyone really enjoyed the experience. I also got to meet Charlotte Mcshane, an Australian team member who is originally from Scotland What a great group of people!
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| Swim start |
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| Sarah with Gwen and her husband |
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| Tagg LeDuc, Gwen and Reeli Reinu |
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| Sara McLarty and Emma Moffatt |
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| Charlotte Mcshane and me |
Saturday, July 30, 2016
# 142 Port Orange Triathlon
Today was the Port Orange Triathlon on the Halifax River by Daytona Beach. Finished 2nd in my age group (by 57 seconds to Matt Mahoney) but I think I would have been closer to the victor as the run course was 4 miles instead of 2 and I was picking up speed. The turn-around banner was placed at mile 1 instead of 2! Felt very strong on the bike and the run.
Moulton SST performed great: now with bladed spokes on both wheels. Sapim CX-Ray aero spokes from Wheelbuilder.com. Averaged 18.8 because we had 2 bridge crossings.
Water temp was 80', air was 80' at start, 88' at finish in the Florida sun!
Lots of photographers on course and they gave the pix away. A Morgan trike showed up at the finish!
Moulton SST performed great: now with bladed spokes on both wheels. Sapim CX-Ray aero spokes from Wheelbuilder.com. Averaged 18.8 because we had 2 bridge crossings.
Water temp was 80', air was 80' at start, 88' at finish in the Florida sun!
Lots of photographers on course and they gave the pix away. A Morgan trike showed up at the finish!
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| Sunrise |
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| Ready to go! |
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| I'm ready too! |
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| Heading out. |
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| On the course. |
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| Run start |
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| Moving now. |
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| Great finish! |
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| Matt Mahoney and me. |
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| Me, Matt, & Dr. Sanford Kinne |
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| Morgan trike. |
Sunday, July 10, 2016
# 141 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July
After a very hot week, Saturday was time for the July sprint triathlon in Clermont. The Seminole County Triathletes were out in full force and it was the 2nd tri for many people. I got there earlier than usual and even more people came earlier than me. It was 80' before sunrise so I expected a hot race. While setting up, I prepared a "cold towel" for my run. Not usual for a 5k run but I expected it to be plenty hot. Race started on time but the lake was warm; 86' to 91' depending on who you talked to. My swim was a bit faster but running to my bike I felt the heat effects immediately. Felt tired on the bike for the first 4 miles until I "cooled down". I had a nice time trial alongside a JHOP team member riding a BMC Time Machine with deep dish wheels coming down the first big hill but the Moulton pulled ahead with a top speed of 39.3 mph. I then beat him to the top of the next hill. Zooming into transition to the cheers of my SCT friends, I finished with an average of 17.6, about 1 mph slower than last time. Viewing the splits after the race, many people had slower bike times. Had a great 5k run that was a touch slower and I think the cold wrap helped; 25:51 for 8:19 splits. Final time was 1:14:34, good for 9th out of 19 in my age group. Ken Junkins lost to a new 60 year old, Steve Gallagher. Now more people in Male 60-64! My friend Reeli Reinu fininshed 2nd in Female 40-44 and another friend, Gerry Librada Girona, won Female Overall in only her 2nd triathlon! Great day!
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| Moulton SST ready to go! |
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| Big smile before the start! |
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| Swim start |
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| Exiting the swim |
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| Last turn on the bike |
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| Heading in! |
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| Heading out! |
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| Into the finish |
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| Hammering home! |
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| Reeli Reinu |
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| Me and my Moulton SST |
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| Kerry on the podium |
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