Jon's Jibber-jabber

This past Sunday I completed my first Ironman-distance race, the inaugural Challenge Atlantic City.  I had heard great reviews about Challenge Family events.  They are a huge series outside of the United States and this was their first event in the US.  I consider them probably the only major competitor to WTC in terms of Iron and half-Iron distance races. This was an inaugural event so one has to enter with the expectation of a few glitches.  The key was "a few glitches."  I was not impressed with this race at all, nor was I impressed with Atlantic City.   To be completely honest, AC itself is a disaster. Maybe it is from doing too many races in Disney or Florida but AC is not a very nice city.  Even the casino and Boardwalk area looks as if it hasn't been updated in years.  They still permit smoking inside the casinos so the entire public areas of the casinos smell like smoke.  Stained carpets, falling apart rooms and outdated decor wer...

Being relatively new to triathlon (in my second season of competition), I have taken up the habit of listening.  My wife would tell you this is not one of my best qualities but I'm not talking about domestic listening here.  I mean that I have been talking to others and reading other points of view to pick up tips about the sport.  Absorbing knowledge like a sponge has helped me become a smarter triathlete, if not a better one. One of the things that I frequently observe is the tendency for many who compete in triathlon to identify themselves with an individual sport.  Often, triathletes will say they are a cyclist or a runner or a swimmer primarily.  Many, indeed, have migrated to triathlon from competition in one of the three sports.  As you would have it, I came to triathlon by way of running.  For my first few triathlons, I remember myself talking about running and my previous road races.   Some say that runners have an advantage as th...

A few weeks ago I purchased a set of Zerolite Comp Clinchers by Vuelta to replace my stock AlexRims on my road bike.  I only use my road bike for short rides or when I am going to be in heavy traffic.  My 2011 aluminum Fuji isn't suited to go fast or simulate race conditions but it works well for recreational and training purposes.  I wanted to try something a little deeper and with better hubs than stock.  Vuelta Zerolites have popped up in searches several times as I was going through the online bike component sector. First, I will start with look.  The Zerolites are not to shabby in the appeal department.  They are designed pretty well.  The lettering seems to be solid on the wheels even through some wet rides.  The spokes are also black, giving the wheels a matte look when riding.   They look very similar to other wheels in the 30mm range. Aerodynamics are a non-issue as it's obvious that these aren't going to give you the adv...