Meet Trinity!

Wow, it's Tuesday 5th June, it's the Jubilee Holiday Weekend and today I've done absolutely NONE of the 5hrs training I'd got on the plan so I thought I should at least update my blog as it's seen no action for over a month. So here's the news!!
Unless for some reason you are safe from my Twitter feed you'll know all about the new ride. If you do then this post will no doubt bore you to tears, but what the hell eh :-D

So here's the deal :- I have a new ride and her name is Trinity. Isn't she sexy.........

Ahhhh damn, wrong Trinity! I got all confused again, I'm supposed to be talking about the bike. Ok, I know what a lot of you are thinking, "I've already got the Focus" and I have. It's fully blinged up, top spec of everything and a wonderful bike that has just given me my best ever Ironman ride and qualified me for Kona. "So why the new bike?", well I guess it's pretty much a sponsorship deal - Yep, really! A sponsor bike for me, crazy isn't it?Unfortunately that doesn't mean I've just been GIVEN a rediculously expensive bike either.

The real Trinity

So how do I end up with such a damn expensive new toy? Well I'm not entirely sure, it kinda came through chance. A few years back when I had the ill fated and constantly creaking Quintana Roo I got fed up of taking it back to the shop only to be fobbed off with various reasons why it might have all the faults it had without any of them ever really getting fixed. So on the recommendation of a clubmate I took it in to see Mike at Bike It, Barnstaple and when I picked the bike back up again it was silent for the first time ever. He'd replaced the bottom bracket with a better version (something which seemingly could have been done earlier under warranty) and the job was done! Of course I had to pay the full price for it which hurt but from then on they were going to do all my work. Even when I had a rush of bloody to the head and broke the credit card buying the Focus from Wiggle before Hawaii 2010 it came with 'issues' and Mike sorted them out without any fuss or grumbling about how I should really have bought a bike from them in the first place. The first time I took it in I expected no favours as I was after all just asking him to fix somebody elses mess, I've lost track of how many times since I've been in to have work done and tweaks performed for very little (if any) outlay. The truth is they've been pretty much sponsoring me for years!!

Then one day last year we're out riding and Mike makes a comment about me riding a Trinity in 2012, I just laughed it off and then it got mentioned a few more times over the months until somehow it became a serious suggestion. If I'm honest I think he thought he'd be able to approach Giant and they'd let me have a bike, with just the frame & forks costing £4k though it doesn't quite work that way unless you're name is Timo Bracht, yet still he came up with the goods.
As with most so called 'sponsored' Age Group athletes the bike isn't strictly MINE! It's mine to use and race for the year and presuming Mike can teach me how to take such a complicated thing apart and rebuild it then it'll be off to the Ironman World Championships in October.

So far in it's short life it's been raced 3 times before it had 100miles on it and since done two 4hr+ rides. Due to the complex nature of almost everything involved it's also had a Retul Bike Fit. The races have had mixed performances (although I am now the Royal Navy Sprint Triathlon Champion :-D ) but then I'd hardly ridden the bike, while the bike fit was a very interesting experience. There is no way of knowing if it was the solution to all problems, but either the bike or the fit has got me through both long rides without any back issues which is almost unheard of. In fact the only slight question mark I have after the fit is over the ISM saddle I came home with. Apparently they take a little getting used to so I'm willing to give it some time, but at the moment it just seems to have moved the normal saddle sore issues from one place to another. Time will tell I guess.

There you go, that's about it for now. My next race is Burnham-on-Sea Sprint Tri this weekend. A nice fast & flat course, perfect for me & perfect for Trinity. Presuming of course that all this Ironman training hasn't taken too much speed out of the legs.