TriSports.com Blog

Almost Done – Solar

Local Arizona steel workers begin erecting the large steel structure.

A steel worker working on a support beam.

One of the partially completed structures that will provide shade and hold many solar panels.

The completed steel structures anxiously awaiting the installation of 308 SunPower solar panels.

One of the first solar panels on the steel ground structure.

An electrician is busy putting some sweat into the install.

Almost done! Just a few more panels and some electrical to finish up.

Raising the Bar, or Seat

We are once again raising the bar on what we feel a true triathlon store should offer in the way of amenities.  You must have an indoor pool (check), you must have a dedicated bike fit studio (check), and you must have a treadmill to do foot strike analysis (check).  Our newest addition – Port ‘o Potties.

Only at TriSports!

Seriously, how many of us practice using these things?  You really need to know the ins and outs of these giant plastic stink tanks. Sit or squat?  Use TP or run it a bit dirty?  Share or wait in line? These are all decisions we have to make when racing and we think it is important to practice every aspect of racing.  So, next time you are at a store that says they are a triathlon store you know what to ask them – Where is the pool, fit studio, treadmill AND Port o’ Pottie.  See you in line at the races!

A Visit from the Voice

If you have ever done an Ironman, or ever been to see one, there are two things that are most certainly consistent – the M-dot logo and the voice of Mike Reilly. Mike has announced over 100 Ironman races over the years and has said the words, “You are an Ironman,” tens of thousands of times. His voice is the welcome home committee for many of us that cross the line. I have been racing Ironman races for over 12 years and am about to do my 8^th race; in all but one of them Mike has been there to welcome me across the finish line. Mike and I are on the board of Triathlon America together and have gotten to know each other a bit better over the last year. On his way to Ironman Arizona I persuaded him to make a right hand turn off of I-8 onto I-10 (he lives in southern CA) to come and visit our operation.

Mike Reilly with some of the TriSports.com retail staff!

I have to say it was a pleasure to have him in the building, as I think almost everyone one had a life story that involved him. He is pretty much like Kevin Bacon, except in triathlon you are only 2 degrees or less away from him. If you haven’t met Mike Reilly, I will tell you that he is the real deal; he cares about this sport and more importantly cares about the people that are fortunate enough to have found this sport as part of their lives.

Seton Claggett, Mike Reilly, and Pam Kallio

Ironman Arizona – a group effort

This weekend is the 9th edition of Ironman Arizona and for all 9 of these, the TriSports.com staff, family, friends and loyal customers have been on the course volunteering and racing.  This year will be no different.  Our great customers from around Tucson, Phoenix and beyond come out in droves to support the TriSports.com aid station that is nestled under the 202 and Mill Ave bridges.  This aid station serves as a safe haven for volunteers, racers and spectators because of the built in “roof” above.  Along with volunteering, we have four great staff members, representing four different departments (customer service, accounting, buying and management) stepping up to the line representing the red, white and blue of TriSports.com.  All combined, over 40% of our staff will be involved with the event in some way, shape or form.

Retail manager, Erik Jacobson, volunteers at the 2010 Ironman Arizona.

I have to say that we are very fortunate to work in our facility because it really does feel like the entire TriSports.com staff is behind you.  They understand when you had a hard day on the bike, a great run or a meeting in the Pain Cave.  Most of the time when you see someone dragging in this building, it is because they just tortured themselves on some epic workout.  Why?   Because we live the endurance lifestyle, it is what we do, it is who we are.  See you up in Tempe!

2011 Ironman Arizona finisher, and Team TriSports athlete Matt Grabau.

Fighting for Solar

There are three things in life I will fight for:

1)      My family and friends.

2)      My business.

3)      The environment.

This is a story relating to #3 on my list.

Earlier this year we made the decision to install solar on our building. By June we had selected a vendor (Technicians For Sustainability) and by early July we had started the permitting process. This also included submitting plans to our BOA (Business Owners Association – it’s like a Home Owners Association but for the area our facility is located – the Butterfield Business Park). Fast forward to October and all of the permits, structural drawings, etc. were completed, which included getting a variance from the city because one of the structures holding the solar will go a couple feet into the easement of our property. We were contacted by TFS that they were ready to begin, what an exciting time – STOP! The day before we were to start construction we were contacted by our BOA that the architectural review committee, headed up by a local architect here in Tucson, decided to decline the installation of our project.  Why? They stated a couple reasons, but mainly because you can see the solar panels from the road.

Yes, bureaucracy (and complete arrogance) at its best. Luckily the state of Arizona has a law that protects us – A.R.S. § 33-1816; however, it is a fight that I didn’t think we would have to address, especially considering the BOA had over 3 months to address the issue. Needless to say, we are proceeding with the project without the blessing of our BOA. This is for the environment, this is for my kids, this is for our future.

Solar Update #2

With all construction there is some mess. Several trenches needed to be dug to house the conduit.

Many days of pounding heard from our offices resulted in the structure on the roof to hold the solar panels.

Heavy lifting – we needed a crane to lift the 164 panels onto the roof.

Moving the panels for prep.

A technician inspects his installation.

One of the completed solar arrays.

Starting the work for the ground mounted structures, drilling the 11’ deep cores to support the steel structure.

TriSports.com is going Solar

Arizona State Team Time Trial: Take one for the team…and then puke.

This past weekend we had the Arizona Team Trial Championships that was put on by the good folks of the Southwest Hand Cycling Team.  Since I am a triathlete at heart it is always good to get out and do time trials with the roadies because they are playing in my space, not to mention the fact that in a TTT you are expected to be in a pack in your aerobars!   The TTT is a fun discipline because you start with four people and your finish time is taken by on the time of the third person.  This means you are able to lose a team member and still get an official finish. Also, in the team competition you are very limited by the weaker riders on the team because you can’t exactly shell them off the back so you need to work a bit harder (taking longer pulls at the front) to keep the team intact as long as possible.

TriSports Cycling member puking in the bushes.

The TriSports.com contingent was super strong at this event – we had 7 teams (6 of them from the TriSports Cycling Club and Team and one team of all triathletes).  Our two women’s teams took the top two spots on the podium while our best men’s team took 3^rd.  It was awesome to see all of the red, white and blue out there on the road!

Billy Brendon, Seton Claggett, Steve Acuna, and Craig Pansing

Leadville – Race Across the Sky

I just did my first Leadville 100 mountain bike race, also known as the Race Across the Sky.  I had three goals for the race – have fun, rubber side down and go under 9 hours (the time mark for getting the big belt buckle).  I accomplished all three of these; however, the real story is in the sub-plot of the race and what made the race special for me.

I have always had cowboy belt buckle envy, I was fortunate to ride my two wheeled horse fast enough to get me a big old buckle of my own! Yeeeee Hawwww.

I trained quite a bit for this race, many 300+ mile weeks on the bike with lots of climbing (most weeks had over 20,000 feet of climbing).  However, like most races it is the journey to the race that is more epic than the race itself – the race is the reward for all of the hard training.

Here is part of our pit crew – Brian (center) and his brother Chris made the trip and were assigned to be the Lube Men. Debbie made sure the tanks were refueled.

I was fortunate enough to have one of my very best friends do the race with me, Sandy Sweetland (he made it into Leadville just two weeks earlier when we did the Crested Butte Odyssey race), as well as a few guys that gave me lots of advice and did some of the training with me – Jake Rubelt (Tucson’s King of Leadville – this was his 10^th one including several top 5 finishes), Paul Thomas (he went 7:13 on the day and it was his 2^nd mountain bike race of his life), and Jimmy Riccitello (read his pre-race blog here).  Not to mention all of the other people I knew out there on the course.

The TriSports.com Leadville Race Team – Sandy, me and Jimmy. Kind of nice we represented all three colors of our kits!

The night before the race Sandy and I were trying to figure out what time to get there as we were slotted in the “newbie” corral with probably 900 other people – all behind the 900 people that had done the race before or had a pro card.  I got a text right before going to bed from Jimmy that he was leaving at 4AM so he could get at the front of the newbie corral (the race started at 6:30).  Jimmy also sent me one last text that he would be my domestique up until the climb to Columbine (mile 40), after that it would be every man for himself.  This audible was a good decision so Sandy and I got up early and were able to stage at the very front of the corral.

Jimmy at the Twin Lakes pit row – I think he is asking for some toilet paper. Oh yeah, side note, this is the first time Jimmy rode this bike he barrowed from Paula Newby-Fraser.

Once the race started I stayed glued to Jimmy.  If he zigged, I zigged, if he zagged, I zagged.  He guided me through hundreds of people for the first 25 miles until I had a small mechanical problem and we got separated.  Little did I know he was having a small ass problem and I passed him – he would later blow by me up Columbine.

If you don’t know Jimmy, he is one hell of an athlete.  He retired years ago but on any given day he can destroy most mortals on the bike and run.  This is the most fascinating part of my Leadville story.  Jimmy, along with a few other “old school” triathlon pros showed up, just for the spirit of the race – Paul Huddle and Mike Pigg were two of the others.  In their heyday, these guys could easily be top 20 at this race.  Here was Jimmy, however, starting in the “newbie” corral (he could have easily pulled some strings to start in the first corral) with me and the other first timers.  Not only that, he knew he was out of shape and he knew he would just have to burn the candle at both ends until he went to survival mode.  Yet in all of this, he still baby sat me from well before the start until my mechanical.  Over 40 miles after Columbine, I finally caught up to Jimmy on the last big climb of the day.  He was hurting yet he was in good spirits and offered me food and water, I was fine but was overcome with guilt that I was leaving him behind – on the same section of road that he guided me down.  He would finish just a few minutes behind me (once again reiterating how good his is b/c I am in the best bike shape of my life and he is probably in his worst).  Jimmy Riccitello is probably the most unselfish person you will meet and he, along with all of my other friends, showed me once again in the mountains of Colorado what this sport is all about.

After hanging out for 90 minutes after his finish, Paul “PT” Thomas was at the finish to welcome me home.

Bike Case Beat Down

Over the years I have seen many people come to TriSports.com that are emotionally attached to their bikes. If they are stolen or crashed these folks feel like they have lost a loved one or their favorite pet. I think I have come to this point with my beloved TRIALL3SPORTS Velo Safe 2 Bike Case. I have had this bike case for 10-years and it has gone all over the country with me (from Hawaii to New Hampshire and everywhere in between), my bikes and the loads of other stuff that I cram inside. This bike case has been beat down over the years, the airport gorillas have unleashed a holy war on my case and I think it is almost time to retire my great protector.  The most amazing thing to me is how long this case has lasted and the fact that the newer cases are 10x stronger than this one.

My Velo Safe 2 bike case, pretty much like the Energizer Bunny.

In all of the years and the 80,000+  miles (I have no idea what the real number is) of travel I have only had one bike get damaged and it was 100% my fault because I was in a rush and did an awful job packing my bike (the brake lever ended up scratching the frame). I have also lent my bike case out to many friends who have taken the case around the world.

These cases are great for cramming other stuff as well, besides two bikes and four wheels, here are some other random things I have thrown in along side our bikes: two person tent, pillows, golf clubs (and bag), child booster seat, floor pump, shoes, helmets, wetsuits, stuffed transition bag, customer orders, banners….the list goes on and on!

This post is a tribute to my trusted bike case that has never let me down and my stamp of approval on the best made bike case on the planet. If you would like to read more on these cases, please check out this article on TriSports University.