Bike Mounts During Triathlon: Good, Bad and Ugly

I had the opportunity this past weekend to watch the Dextro Energy DC Triathlon on Sunday, June 21st.

While waiting for my girlfriend, Krista Schultz, I thought it might be fun and informative to video some of the athletes mounting their bikes as they left transition.

Watch and see:

My takeaways:

There are two methods for handling bike shoes: (1) mount shoes on bike or (2) put on shoes in transition area.

The majority of the athletes who tried #1 were not very smooth when they mounted then swerved as they messed with trying to get their feet into their shoes and I saw a few dropped shoes.

For the athletes who put on their bike shoes in transition, the main issue that I observed was that the pavement was slippery. Be careful.

The smoothest mounts were the athletes who quickly jumped on their bikes and started pedaling (see the “Good” examples).

My recommendations: Whatever method you choose, practice, practice, practice. If you’re new to triathlon, I would recommend placing your shoes on in transition. If you do mount your shoes on your bike, use thin rubber bands to each shoe to the front or rear derailleur to hold the shoes parallel to the ground.

Live life richly and boldly!

David

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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Everday Life

© 2009 David B. Glover