TriSports.com Blog

Lazer Tardiz TT Helmet

The Lazer Tardiz Time Trial Helmet is the first time trial helmet to use multiple surface treatments to improve aerodynamic performance.  The front of the Lazer Tardiz helmet is slippery smooth allowing the helmet to cut through the air with exceptional aerodynamics.  The rear of the helmet is a matte surface with  aero dimples that help create small air turbulences in the rear of the helmet.  This air turbulence helps exhust the heat that is produced inside the helmet.   Heat dissapation is further achieved by the Aquavent at the top of the Tardiz TT helmet.  Adding water via your waterbottle to the Aquavent acts like an evaporative cooler – water saturates your hair (providing you have some) and the your pedaling speed provides the ‘air movement’ and that will provide heat dissaption, and therefore, keep you cooler.  An additional feature is the X-static padding which is bascially micro-strands of silver wooven into the padding which help to eliminate odor causing bacertia.

The Lazer Tardiz TT Helmet is gear that gets used.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon

Last weekend TriSports.com athlete Leanda Cave traveled over 8,000 miles to compete in the inaugural Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. The course was designed to take the athletes on a stunning tour showcasing the best of Abu Dhabi. Landmarks along the course included the first 6 star Emirates Palace Hotel, the Arabian Gulf, The Corniche, and Yas Island home to the Yas Marina Formula One Circuit.  

 This weekend Abu Dhabi set the stage for a very unique triathlon experience with a star studded field of athletes.  The distance: 3km swim /200km bike / 20km run and the prize purse…big!  The backdrop for the race was the Emirates Palace Hotel, an extravagant mansion of a hotel with a 3 billion dollar price tag…..it made my 5 star hotel look rather boring! 

The ocean was crystal clear and warm.  As the sun began to come up over the ridiculously tall architectural masterpiece that is the Abu Dhabi skyline, I came out of the water with the likes of Julie Dibens, Lucie Zelenkova and Tereza Marcel.  It was Dibens who set out like a demon on the bike, and I was doing my best not to let her out of my sight.  It felt like real racing, as the bike leg took us around the Formula One track, not once, but twice…so much fun.  It was a good way to make 200km fly by!!  With a 3 minute deficit on Dibs going out on the run, I was unable to close the gap.  I don’t think any of us felt all that amazing running after such a long time in the saddle.  My improvement on the bike over the last 3 months has been huge, and with many more months and races between now and Kona I’m really excited about things to come. 
It was an amazing race and venue.  I found the people very kind and helpful and the place very interesting with such a diverse array of cultures and wealth on display.  I visited the 3rd largest mosque in the world encrusted with 24ct gold detail, I dressed in traditional clothing, I saw the largest chandelier in the world made with over 300,000 Swarovski Crystals and weighing nearly 9 ton, and I visited a huge shopping mall where you could buy any sort of fashion from anywhere in the world.

 Leanda finished second in the women’s elite division with a finishing time of 7:12.23. Congratulations Leanda!

Make-A-Wish – NH Style

TriSports.com is continually giving back to communities all over the United States and the entire planet.  This past summer we supported the Make-A-Wish foundation of New Hampshire.  We stepped up big time to help them raise over $50,000 to help kids in their local community.  The entire event culminated around the Timberman Triathlon in August with a special appearance from Chrissy Wellington.   Here is a video of that event:

Picture of the Day

I have received this photo and the corresponding link so many times today that I had to share it with everyone. This past weekend was the 24th Annual Tucson Bicycle Classic. TriSports Cycling team members represented extremely well – among the placements in the GC: 2nd Place Sr. Men II – Victor Riquelme. Check out Victor’s photo posted by VeloNews.com. If that doesn’t make you want to get out and race a bike, I don’t know what will!

Congrats to all of the TriSports Cycling team members on their collective awesome racing. Other notable finishes include Anna Sanders, Cara Bussell and Kathryn Bertine: 6th, 7th and 9th respectively for Pro Cat 1-2 Women, Chrissy Parks: 6th Cat 3 Women, Erin Borg: 2nd Women’s Cat 4, Justin Orkney and Andre McNulty: 3rd and 4th respectively Cat 3 Men, Brynn Dietz and Ken Montaney: 6th and 7th respectively Cat 5 B Men. Many others raced – great job to all!

CycleOps Joule 2.0

The CycleOps Joule 2.0  is the jewel that completes your power training crown.  The Joule 2.0 is the ultimate dashboard for your existing Powertap ANT+ wireless hub.  The Joule 2.0 analyzes your data and provides insights to construct an entirely individualized real-world, power based training plan.  There are 18 different data points that can be configured by you or your coach within the Joule.  Eight of these metrics can be displayed at the same time on your Powertap Joule for real time, instantaneous feedback about your current workout, and most importantly, how it relates to previous efforts stored in your Joule.

The Joule 2.0 provides an impressive and functional menu displays which include a comprehensive dashboard display, summary report, power detail report, work report, peak power report, time in power zones and time in heart rate zone, climbing report, surges report, and activities summary.  All this can be downloaded via Saris Cycling Group’s PowerAgent 7.4 software for more detailed analysis.

The CycleOps Joule 2.0 is gear that gets used!

Race, Score Free Stuff, Save the Environment and Make a Difference – Part 4

Yes, I jumped ahead last week, so although this is Part 4, I am actually discussing the third item in this blog title, Save the Environment.  Responsibility towards the environment is on all of our shoulders.  If we each have the attitude that “what I do won’t make a difference,” we’d never get anywhere.  Luckily, a large number of our population DOES want our children, and their children, etc, to have the pleasure of enjoying nature.  It has always been important to TriSports.com that we do our part, as minor as it may seem, to help the greater good.  Since the founders of TriSports Racing and TriSports.com are one and the same, it is no wonder that we are making huge efforts towards making the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival more “green.”

SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT – We have made a pledge to go green.  We have always been friendly to the environment, separating recyclables and hauling them back to Tucson, using as little paper as possible and more.  In 2009, however, we made this a focus and began our preparations for our 2010 attempt to become certified with the Council for Responsible Sport, or ReSport for short.  Some of the processes we implemented in 2009 included composting all of our food waste in order to reduce what ended up in landfills; doing away with print registration and print race packets for pre-registered participants in order to reduce paper usage; offering participants an opt-out of receiving a race shirt in return for a credit; utilizing compostable plates, utensils and cups to reduce landfill waste; setting up recycling stations all over the venue; having finisher awards made from recycled bike parts that are, in turn, able to be reused as key chains and bottle openers; and ensuring that our vendors attempt to reduce their impact on the environment as much as possible.  Due to these processes, we went from 3 tons of landfill waste in 2008 to only 1 ton in 2009!  We still want to bring that number down, but wow!  We have some finetuning to do in order to do well on our certification review, but 2009 was a great test year to prepare us for 2010.

What more can you expect in 2010?  A greater focus on separation of recyclables, compostables and trash.  A more eco-friendly shirt that will use water- or vegetable-based inks.  Continued borrowing and rental of equipment, reducing the need for new equipment.  Further reduction in our landfill waste with a goal of less than 2 pounds per participant.  Ride-share option added to registration.  All of these features add up to a more environmentally-friendly event, and one that you can feel good about adding to your schedule.  If you have any ideas of what we can do to further “green” our events, please feel free to let me know! 

That concludes this series, and I hope to see you at the races!  Can’t wait to sign up?  Register now!

Another Big Honor for TriSports.com

The League of American Bicyclists Announces TriSports.com as a Silver Level Winter 2010 Bicycle Friendly Business

Washington, DC – March 9, 2010 The League of American Bicyclists is proud to announce TriSports.com as a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB), in an impressive group of 51 new BFBs. The official announcement was made at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 9. The announcement, the fourth time BFB winners have been named since the program’s inception in 2008, marks the ongoing success of the program and continued momentum amongst businesses to provide a more bike-friendly environment. “The League is especially excited to recognize TriSports.com as a 2010 winter BFB winner at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit. TriSports.com is making simple changes to their transportation policies to encourage biking to work. They are setting a community-wide example,” said Andy Clarke.

Businesses that apply for the award are contributing to a more bicycle-friendly lifestyle for their employees. TriSports.com serves as an example for best practices and innovations in bicycle friendliness at the workplace, making bicycling an easy option for transportation and providing amenities such as showers and a locker room and incentives such as credit for miles commuted.
“This Bicycle Friendly Business is making a difference for employees, customers, and communities,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. “TriSports.com promotes bicycling as a viable form of transportation and gives their employees choices and options that make biking to work easy and fun.” The staff and management at TriSports.com were very excited to learn about their designation as a Silver Level award designee. “Being a bicycle retailer, we feel that we have even more of a responsibility to our employees and our community to be a Bicycle Friendly Business. At TriSports.com, we strive to offer our employees as many opportunities as possible to encourage them to ride their bikes to work. As a company, we commuted over 35,000 miles to work in 2009, so we will continue to develop new strategies and incentives to increase participation and grow that number,” stated Debbie Claggett, Vice President of TriSports.com.

There are a lot of very simple, effective and creative ways that companies are finding to get people back on their bikes, and the League is proud to recognize the efforts of working America to make our nation a more bike-friendly place. Companies across the country are realizing that getting their employees biking – either to or from work, in course of work, or even in their own time – is good for business. When bicycling is infused in a company’s culture, great things happen: reduced health care costs; more productive employees; improved worker and customer satisfaction; smaller carbon footprint; and increased corporate social responsibility.

Applying for BFB recognition is easy and free. Applicants receive technical assistance from the League staff as well as tools to evaluate and assess their bicycle friendliness through the application process. The BFB application is available online at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org.

The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign.

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America’s 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org.

TriSports.com is an industry leader in triathlon, swim, bike and run retail, located in Tucson, AZ. TriSports.com is more than just a retail presence, however; the company is also very involved with growing the sport through partnerships with races, clubs, teams and other endeavors like spearheading the effort to declare Tucson as the “Winter Training Capital” for cycling and endurance sports. TriSports.com has been recognized by Wells Fargo with their Copper Cactus Award for Business Growth (October 2005), by Comerica Bank as one of Arizona’s “50 Companies to Watch” (October 2008), by BizAZ as a “Top 35 Entrepreneurs Under 35” (June 2008), and as one of Outside Magazine’s “Best Places to Work” (May 2009). Learn more about TriSports.com online at www.trisports.com/info.html.

TYR HURRICANE CATEGORY 3 WETSUIT

The Hurricane Category 3 wetsuit from TYR is gear that gets used.  Feature packed with innovative features like the 360 degree core stabilization system which consist of five core stabilization panels that precisely target the muscle groups to elevate the swimmer ensuring optimal body position (especially important for newer or less experienced swimmers) and preservation of core strength over the long-term of the swimming race. Yamamoto Nano SCS coated 5mm neoprene panels are used throughout the entire leg, chest, and core to raise the swimmer in the water to help reduce form drag.  Free R.O.M. Zones eliminates constriction, allowing the swimmer to achieve a long reach while placing no strain on the shoulder.  Graded force catch panesl are strategically aligned on the forearm to allow a cathc-and-pull stroke that acts like a built-in paddle.  Form fitting wrist cuffs allows powerful strokes while keeping water from entering the suit and quick release ankle cuffs allow the ankle of the suit to reverse and open for a quick and effortless removal during T1.

The TYR Hurricane Category 3 wetsuit is gear that gets used.  Grab one and feel the difference.

24 HIOP

The 24 HIOP (Hours In the Old Pueblo) is a 24-hour mountain bike race that has been going on here in Tucson for the last 11 years.  I have done this race for 8 of the 11 years (the first 7 and again this year).  The course is fun yet challenging and it is a great melting pot of all types of cyclists – roadies, trigeeks, fixies, hippies, and everything else young and old.  I was forwarded this video by Vladimir Chaloupka.  Mr. Chaloupka is amazing with a video camera and really captured the spirit of the event.  If you are ever in the Old Pueblo (yes, that’s what we call Tucson) in mid February you might want to come check out the event (oh yes, if you do want to race it does fill up early).  P.S. I do make a short cameo in the film during the stampede!  P.S.S. Check out the TriSports Cycling guys at the front of the start!

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.

Swim Challenge.

This press release was sent to us today.  Always great to see our vendors stepping up and supporting great causes.

VISTA, Calif. – March 3, 2010 – Aqua Sphere, the leader in high-end, innovative swim products, dares to see who will go the distance—men or women?

As the sponsors of the Swim Challenge, Aqua Sphere, the company that promotes comfort and long-lasting performance in the water has thrown down the gauntlet in an effort to raise funds and awareness for breast and prostate cancer and in the process, determine who rules the pool.

Beginning April 1 through November 30, swimmers of all abilities can sign-up and sign on to www.swimchallenge.org  each day to log their hours (not their laps) in the water.  Whether they like it smooth or rough, on their backs or their stomachs, – it’s not the stroke that matters but who will outlast their competition.

The Swim Challenge website will track the total time, men vs. women, via a “leader meter” posted on the website and created as a widget so that competitors can keep tabs on their counterparts. The site will also allow swimmers to individually track their personal progress in the pool, encouraging them to swim longer each day.

A $35,000 donation will be split between the Prostate Cancer Foundation (men) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (women); allocations will be determined by the cumulative hours swum by each gender.

“Regardless who wins, they both win,” says Olivier Laguette, Director of Marketing for Aqua Sphere. “We’ve all been personally affected by cancer in some way or another but instead of simply writing a check, we wanted to do something fun that would promote a healthy lifestyle as well as some healthy competition – and a little bit of gender wars seemed appropriate.”

Aqua Sphere, the originator of the “swim mask,” is widely known for their line of comfortable aquatic eyewear including the popular Seal and Vista masks and the Kaiman and Kayenne goggles.  Designed for form and function, swimmers can simply fit the frames to their face and forget about them while they enjoy swimming for time, distance, exercise or just fun.

About Aqua Sphere – Aqua Sphere is the worldwide brand of choice for swimming gear, based on the highest industry standards of design and innovation.  Launched in the mid-90s as a division of the diving industry leader Aqua Lung, Aqua Sphere is committed to supplying eye protection for dedicated or casual swimmers, enabling them to feel safe, comfortable and at home in the water.  The company’s numerous innovations include the Seal, the first swim mask featuring 180° vision and Kaiman, the first panoramic goggle.  For more information, call (800) 775-3483, or log on to www.aquasphereswim.com.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF) was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder as an independent, not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. The Foundation supports scientists at top universities and academic medical centers worldwide conducting the most advanced and promising breast cancer research that will lead to prevention and a cure in our lifetime. A minimum of 85 cents of each dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly to breast cancer research and awareness programs. For more information, visit www.bcrfcure.org or call 1.866.FIND.A.CURE.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation – The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) was founded in 1993 to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. Through its unique model for soliciting and selecting promising research programs and rapid deployment of resources, the PCF has funded more than 1,500 programs at nearly 200 research centers in 20 countries around the world.  The PCF is a force of HOPE for more than 16 million men and their families around the world who are currently facing the disease.  For more information, visit www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.