This past year (2013) I traveled 3 different times with my coach and friends, Lori and Brian. We traveled to Eagleman 70.3, Lake Placid, NY for a training camp, and then again to IMLP. The bike I have been riding since I started triathlon's name was Polly. Polly previously belonged to Lori, which is initially how we met. Polly was a great bike. Lori rode her for 6 or 7 years before I bought her. While at Eagleman (and every other time we're together) we were chatting about racing, speed, training, and BIKES! I'm bike illiterate, and until more recently triathlon illiterate as well. I'm just good at doing what I'm told! :) I vividly remember looking at Brian and saying "I can trust you to tell me when I've improved enough to invest in some free speed, right?" He looked at me, put his head down, and reluctantly said "You're ready." I say reluctantly, because Brian does NOT like to make financial decisions for me (which I don't blame him). I try to remind him that when I ask a question that pertains to a purchase/hotel/travel I'm asking for his honest/coach opinion and if I can't afford his answer that's fine, but I still want the truth.
I went home and told Jason, very excitedly, that Brian said I had improved enough that a new bike would be beneficial. He was very proud of my. . . until we started discussing the price point of a custom built Project One bicycle. . .then he got sick. . .(just kidding...kinda) From there, I played on the Trek website for months and the longer I played the more I feared to tell Jason about what I was designing. It wasn't until I was determined that I wanted a power meter to take my training to the next level that "Homewrecker" came into play, because the more I added the higher the price increased and by the time I was done designing it took several conversations before Jason finally gave the "OK" for my dream bike to be built to my exact specifications. Before that, Jason would just refer to her as my "baby" saying if I got a new bike I had to race for a few more years and couldn't even think about asking to have a baby...I was cool with that :)
I have a wonderful marriage, and would never actually purchase a bike if I felt it would "wreck" my marriage, but as a non-triathlete, I totally understand how it's hard to swallow the purchase of a new bicycle, but as my husband, he understands how much triathlon plays into my happiness and he sees my potential and what I've been able to accomplish on a bike that's actually too small for me (Polly was an XS and Homewrecker is a Medium). He really is the best!
This coming Friday I will be traveling to Pittsburgh, PA for a Retul fit of Homewrecker. This bike fit will set me up in the best position to get the most out of each ride. . . I'll be sure to share how that goes after they hook me up, and make me a video game for a few hours!
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