Why Tri at all?

I have always avoided triathlons. When everyone was out doing the Danskin Triathlon here in Seattle I was looking the other way. This is crazy for someone who seems to be the natural triathlete...afterall I was an All-American swimmer in college and since then I have run three marathons.

The part that scares me is the bike ride.

It all stems back to a small bike trip I took with my sister way back when. I was only 12 years old and she wanted to ride around the island of Martha's Vineyard. She was 18 and one of those crazy bike people.

Janna worked in a bike shop in our neighborhood with all those interesting souls who loved to talk about bike parts and gears and get their hands really dirty with grease. Occasionally I would visit Janna in the store when my mom needed to drop something off. I hated the smell of that store. And it was dirty! But Janna loved it there and she found kindred spirits to fuel her bike passion.

So, Janna wanted to ride around Martha's Vineyard and for some reason my mother thought it would be a great idea for me to go too. Oh, how awful! By now you can tell that I am a bit of a princess. Plus, I was only 12. I did not like the idea of being away from my family for a few days and to my greatest horror Janna had plans to spend the night in youth hostels along the way.

So off we went. All I remember is that I had some sort of clunker for a bike. It was not a sleek road bike...it looked to be about two decades old and we had borrowed it out of the garage where my family was renting a vacation home.

I wanted to cry for most of the trip. And if you ask my sister I think I did cry for most of the trip. My brothers came to visit us at the youth hostel where we were staying and all I wanted to do was go home where I could find a clean bathroom and a warm bed. I was scared by the communal kitchen and the strangers strumming guitars.

I have no idea how far we went but it felt like hundreds of miles. And ever since then I have shunned bicycle riding. I have indulged in the spinning craze because it's indoors and I do not have to spend the night in a strange place. But outdoor bike riding has not been for me.

So...where does that put this princess? I have miles to go before next June. At the moment I have a passable training bike but I do not have a racing bike. I have a lot of research to do before I purchase some wheels. And I need to conquer the demon from within and learn to love the bike!