My dream bike is finished! Moulton New Series Speed!

Away back in 1995, I was looking at Moulton bicycles for the first time, having seen them in various publications. I contacted the dealers in the USA and Steve Hed in Minnesota told he would send me a Moulton AM to try out. It was not for sale as it was one of a pair that Alex Moulton had sent to his wife Anne and himself. Steve had the foresight to insure it as the shipper destroyed the Mouton in transit. He was a friend of Dr. Moulton and visited BOA several times. Shaun Moulton also sent him John Benjamin’s Speedsix in 2002. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0wsutGeSno Steve was world famous for his advisory collaborations with many pro cycling teams. HED wheels were also very popular in triathlon. Unfortunately, Steve suddenly died in 2014 at age 59 and Anne Hed kept HED Cycling building racing bicycle wheels to this day. https://hedcycling.com/ Fast forward to early 2023, I contacted Anne to see what happened to the other AM. She informed me that her daughter Rebecca was working on clearing out many of Steve’s bicycles and could I help with the Moultons. I reviewed the five Moultons they were selling and gave them my estimates. They asked me to see if any USA Moulton enthusiasts were interested and the bikes were sold. Except one. There was a NOS frame kit for a 2003 New Series Single Pylon/Speed in stainless steel! It had never been built and I was very interested. Since I had already valued the bike, I ended up paying more than I planned but the Speed arrived with two Moulton wheels and lots of extra parts two week later. Before even bidding I had checked with my friendly bike mechanic, Diane, to see if she wanted to take on the project. Diane agreed, having worked on my Moultons for years and owning five herself. Many of the parts that arrived with the bike were not made for the New Series and we soon discovered the New Series frame was missing a few bits also. The Hope 70mm front hub was missing a spacer and the Moulton front derailleur didn’t reach the outer chainring. Plus, the frame pivot bolt had gone missing too. Dan Farrell sent us a new style derailleur adapter, but it didn’t fit. USA Moulton distributor Loring Kohrt also contributed. Diane was able to find, fabricate, or machine the necessary parts and the whole bike came finally together. The few painted parts on the frame are light grey so the SRAM Force component in dark grey blended well. As it will be my new race bike for triathlons, it is equipped with Profile bull horn handlebars and Profile carbon fiber aero bars with SRAM barcon shifters at the ends. The red SRAM aero brake levers top off the package. Now to begin sorting the Speed for my next triathlon, # 201!

Reflections on 200 triathlons

This past weekend, at age 70, I completed my 200th triathlon, reaching my goal of hitting #200 this year. I finished 14 tri’s this year (so far), from Jacksonville (north) to Cocoa Beach (south) and from the Gulf of Mexico (Crystal River) to the Atlantic (St. Augustine). With all the changes in the world and to Sandy and myself, I didn’t want anything to stop me. It took me 17 years to hit 100 and only 13 years to reach 200. The odd thing is, that young man (of 40) who did his first in 1993, felt the same amount of joy before, during, and after the race as I do today. And to me it’s the pleasure of completing the event successfully, knowing all the little things that can go wrong and working your hardest to make them go right. I still look up during the swim leg at the sun shining across the water and think, “What a beautiful day!”. And after the bike ride, as tough, long, and hot the run may be, I still feel the thrill of crossing the finish line. I know one day fate will conspire to stop me, but, with Sandy’s support, I’ll continue to strive and train to keep that day far off in the future. By the numbers: 200 triathlons. 35 First Places, 32 Second Places, 22 Third Places. 89 podium finishes result in a 43% podium rate. 2 half-iron distance, 3 one/third-iron distance, 45 Olympic distance (including 12 St. Anthony’s Tri’s), 150 sprints. More remarkable, No DNS, No DNF, No Penalties, No DQs. Now, when’s the next race?