TT bike it is…

I’ve been trying to decide which bike to use during the Ironman race for a while. Up until the Outlaw Half I’d been on my road bike pretty much the whole time. The longest distance ride had been the Rutland Sportive where I’d also used the road bike.

Last Sunday I did a 4 hour ride followed by a 45 minute brick run. For some reason I’d got quite uncomfortable in the saddle (I mean more uncomfortable than normal, I mean it’s not exactly like sitting on the lounge sofa), but this time it was a bit of an issue. The brick run wasn’t a problem, my legs felt great so I wasn’t concerned about making the transition off the bike. However, the thought of being really uncomfortable on a bike for over six hours in the race itself wasn’t very appealing.

I decided to ask a few people what they thought. I even ran a Twitter poll. Opinions were split. The consensus from people that had done an Ironman before was to go with the TT bike. The rationale being that it was less time being uncomfortable because the bike would be more aerodynamic. Can’t argue with that. The other argument in favour was that it would look cool. I’m not sure that this was the best reason to destroy my backside over a prolonged period, but I can’t argue. It would look more cool (the fact that I’d probably be absolutely annihilated by the mega fast cyclists doesn’t matter).

I opted to ride my last long ride on Friday on the TT bike and make a call then. I normally did this ride on a Sunday but due to being in Sweden for my mate Grizzly’s wedding I needed to fit it in before I left. This meant a stupidly early ride. I mean really stupid. I think the birds even thought I was an idiot when I went past.

The ride went really wel. I didn’t get uncomfortable for the whole of the six hour ride, and the speed was easy. Decision made. TT bike it is. And I might even look cool…maybe.