The transition clinic, previously scheduled for April 23rd, has been rescheduled to May 14, 2011 at 2 pm. Learn how to gain "free speed" by racing smarter. Other calendar updates are below.

Great job to all the CTC members that raced this weekend. The club had a great showing and took home many awards. Club member results as well as pictures from the event will be posted soon.

I hate triathlons.

Triathlons hurt. Can we just agree on that? The only time they don't hurt is about three days after the finish. And who am I kidding, racing in the first place? I'm a middle-aged physics professor with a perfectly average VO2 max and a back that goes out more often than the rest of me. "Racing" --- Ha! There are going to be lots of people in front of me, and nothing I can do about it.

But I signed up months ago, and the race is tomorrow morning, so I better get my stuff together. Stupid little spandex tri-suit, check, goggles, check, wetsuit, check... I hate cold water, did I mention that yet? The lake was 48 degrees last weekend, and it snowed yesterday. It is going to hurt just getting in the water. Oh, and I swim like an epileptic chimpanzee, so everyone in the next three waves is going to get out before me. They could all sit around and have hot cocoa at T1 and still be gone before I get out of the water. They probably do --- how would I know otherwise? Shoes, check. Ok, I don't HATE running, but running when I'm completely exhausted from swimming and biking is really low on my list. Bike, che- no! I need to swap out the brake pads and put on my racing wheelset.

I get out the deep carbon wheels, swap the pads, put the bike together and step back to look at it. It looks ... Mean? Yeah, mean. Sleek and fast and predatory. I figure I'd better make sure it's all working, so I take it for a spin around the neighborhood. It shifts smoothly, rolls silently, and as I tuck into the aerobars for a second lap the switch flips somewhere in the back of my head, and I remember why I do this.

Yeah, this is going to hurt.

Yeah, there will be people ahead of me.

But... they're going to have to REALLY hurt to stay there.

Let the season begin!