The Bintan Triathlon celebrated its 10th birthday last weekend and I was there once again. I've attended all 10 editions, taking part in nine, only missing the 2009 event due to a broken leg. The inaugural race in 2005 was also my very first triathlon and I was instantly hooked. So much so that the old and rusty steel clunker I'd picked up at a Hong Kong market in 1997 was replaced two days later by a shiny new Scott "racer". Thus began my love affair with bikes, of which I've probably got far too many but I love and use them all regularly. I call it a healthy hobby. My current favourite is my Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4, which is a pure racing machine.
I've decided not run at all this year as a precaution after a spot of knee surgery in January and so for this year's Bintan Tri I formed a team with my mates Kevin Timmons and Ned Philips and we entered two events: the Sprint Distance race in the morning and the Olympic Distance contest in the afternoon. We had a great time and were lucky enough to win both races. I was the cyclist for the team and my weapon of choice was the above-pictured Neil Pryde Alize. It's what's termed an "aero bike", designed to cut through the wind at the expense of comfort. Not that it's a harsh ride, I simply love that bike, and chose it for the 800km-in-43-hours Trans Malaysia Express in 2012 and hardly felt a bump. But for the past year or so I've only used it in triathlons and time trials; it's gotten me the fastest split at quite a few tris (drop bars/clip-ons and all) and won or placed at the odd TT.
But alas it had its last outing at the weekend. I've been riding it while keeping an eye on a little crack on the seat tube that was pointed out by not one but two mechanics over a year ago. It still sort of looks ok to me, even if the crack does look a little bit bigger, so I've reluctantly taken the decision to retire it.
It went out with a bang in Bintan, though, when it outsplit the legendary Chris "Macca" McCormack on the bike leg of the Sprint race. Who needs a full TT rig when you have an Alize :-)
I won't get rid of it, no way, I was fortunate enough to have been part of the Neil Pryde Bikes Epic Rider program back in 2011 and so once it gets back from a LBS where the parts are being removed, the frame will have pryde and place on my office/bike room wall.
What I am getting to replace it? Watch this space ...
I've decided not run at all this year as a precaution after a spot of knee surgery in January and so for this year's Bintan Tri I formed a team with my mates Kevin Timmons and Ned Philips and we entered two events: the Sprint Distance race in the morning and the Olympic Distance contest in the afternoon. We had a great time and were lucky enough to win both races. I was the cyclist for the team and my weapon of choice was the above-pictured Neil Pryde Alize. It's what's termed an "aero bike", designed to cut through the wind at the expense of comfort. Not that it's a harsh ride, I simply love that bike, and chose it for the 800km-in-43-hours Trans Malaysia Express in 2012 and hardly felt a bump. But for the past year or so I've only used it in triathlons and time trials; it's gotten me the fastest split at quite a few tris (drop bars/clip-ons and all) and won or placed at the odd TT.
But alas it had its last outing at the weekend. I've been riding it while keeping an eye on a little crack on the seat tube that was pointed out by not one but two mechanics over a year ago. It still sort of looks ok to me, even if the crack does look a little bit bigger, so I've reluctantly taken the decision to retire it.
It went out with a bang in Bintan, though, when it outsplit the legendary Chris "Macca" McCormack on the bike leg of the Sprint race. Who needs a full TT rig when you have an Alize :-)
I won't get rid of it, no way, I was fortunate enough to have been part of the Neil Pryde Bikes Epic Rider program back in 2011 and so once it gets back from a LBS where the parts are being removed, the frame will have pryde and place on my office/bike room wall.
What I am getting to replace it? Watch this space ...
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