I was in Urban Cyclery today (they’ve kindly moved to new premises and are now my new local bike shop) and realised that after doing quite well with money over the winter with Christmas and kids’ birthdays and whatnot, spending has started to really kick off in the preseason preparation. It’s a crazy time of year for spending money as a triathlete and this year it’s possibly even worse as my enthusiasm for trying new things takes over.
On top of paying entry fees for most of the races in the first half of the year, including some very big fees for big races, I’m sorting out my race bike after making a mess of it last year. Fortunately my specialist insurance company have really looked after me so I’m covered there. I’ve entered XTERRA England, which was then cancelled, and then restored after being taken on by another company. It should be a good family weekend away in August and I’ve been enjoying getting muddy over the winter, but I think it might be time to upgrade from my 20 year old Orange mountain bike if I want to be competitive. Technology has moved on a little since then.
So on top of that I’ve got a shopping list of lots of running shoes for racing, trail running and training, a new trisuit for this season and for GB racing (the design changed), mountain bike shoes (my MTB Sidi’s are the first generation click lock buckle I think), tyres, some GB kit and some other Cardiff Tri kit, gels, energy drinks and bars, cables, goggles, and all those little things that I won’t think of until I realise I don’t have it.
Triathlon is not a cheap sport. But it is fun. And worth the effort we put into it.