Glad to see this got started again. What fun!

Here are some new ones:

1.) "No Public Nudity" signs in transition
2.) Western Airlines
3.) Bike/Run/Swim Tris
4.) Sam Posey doing color for Ironman
5.) The Pamakids running club
6.) Pauli Kiuru
7.) LSD (not the drug)
8.) Schlitz Light Half Marathon series
9.) Cotterless cranks
10.) Bill Leach

My first bike was a centurion Dave Scott ironman expert with suntour gpx components, gripshifts, scott clip on bars, and the worst clipless pedals ever created ... Sampson. I also had the original aero drink system with the bladder (bikestream I think it was called) that mounted behind the saddle and fed the tube with the bite-valve that you had strapped to your frame and bars.

Lance Armstrong was in my age group my first tri. I beat him in the swim but lost by about 40 minutes in the end.

Lance Armstrong was in my age group in my 1st tri. I beat him in the swim but lost by 45 minutes in the end.

My first Road Bike was a Peugeot PKN 10. Gave it to my brother 20 years ago, who has it sitting outside a shed in his back yard all rusted and ugly. Probably ought to buy it back and put it in a museum!

First MTB was a 1982 or 1983 Fisher Montare, weighed about 32lbs. but with a 69 deg. head angle was almost a full on DH bike. Sold it to some poor College student for $250 then promplty the check bounced. Also, ought to have been kept as a museum piece. One of the very first production MTB's. Man did I thrash that thing. It was bombproof.

If you showed up at a race with a disc and weren't likely to place on the podium you were a poser...

>>centurion Dave Scott ironman <<

The yellow/lavender one? That was my bike and I rode that until 2000.

Another question for everyone: What was your first tri?

Mine was the Rinconda Tri in 1987 on the Stanford campus.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

My first was the 2-Day FM Triathlon, Sydney,January 1986.We had to swim across the harbour under the bridge and all I could think about was the sharks.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

They are still here in north county. They have moved their competitive outlets into paddleboard racing where they are kicking ass in the 'old fart' division. Still pretty fit guys and the same characters they were in the 70's. As a reminder, they both raced the Fiesta Island race in 1974 won by my college grad adviser Bill Phillips.

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Kurt Luoni
US Sales Manager
Orca Wetsuits

"You bought Adidas SL72's, the best (training) shoe ever?"
- - I can't find the site (been looking for over an hour). As I recall it was in S. America somewhere and they apparently still make the shoe there? Don't know, but they had a s**tload of them in every size and color.
Bad news is that they're nowhere near what I remember, so I've now moved on to the Vibram 5-fingers. Now THOSE are cool. I was interested in the SL72s as a minimalist shoe, but the 5-fingers redefine the concept of minimalism. I'm hoping to run barefoot once the weather gets better, but my legs have to learn how to run all over again. I'm amazed, because I've been a midfoot striker since forever and it took me zero days to adjust to the pair of Newtons I bought but my first run in the 5s about killed me. Running shoeless recruits a lot of lower leg muscles that have been sleepin' on the job for years...
Anyway, the SL72s were a major disappointment. After less than 50 miles of wear, I donated them.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

You were racing for over a decade when Pauli Kiuru showed up at Wildflower along with Wolfgang for their "North American swan song" race!
A decade before that your bought Scott DH bars after you read about Andrew McNaughton using them to clean the clocks of the big 4
You were using aerobars for 2 years before Greg Lemond beat Fignon on "triathalon bars" at the 1989 Tour de France


Dev

1) The Profile "Piggy Back"
2) Jurgen Zack's "passing blinker in Kona" on his aero bars
3) Renee Goldhirsh for the dubious honor of being the first triathlete to be busted for doping (life) that I can remember.
4) Exceed
5) Proflie Aero 1's
6) Mirage helmets with lycra cover
7) Bio-pace rings
8) Discipline Tri Wear
9) Nike Sock Trainers (not racers)
10) Bell Stratos helmet (aka Darth Vader Helmet)

I had those Sampson pedals. Actually, they were amazingly light. But when the cleats failed, you were screwed.
It's cool that he's still in business, though, still trying to innovate.

Amazing also how gripshifts have now become the mighty SRAM company. But bummer that Sugino, Suntour, and Centurion are all gone. And Nishiki has left the US.

And first tri, in response to other post, 1987 Budlight San Jose.

As far as tri-babes go, forgot to add Fernanda Keller! In 1988 at the Carlsbad Tri, saw the most rockin bod in history way up in front with the pro men. She's still kicking ass and looking great doing it.

not to hijack your thread -- but back in the early 1980s, Yukon Jack and Scoal were the sponsors of a cross country ski race series called the Great American Ski Chase -- as a high school kid -- this was the best motivator of all.

Imagine today if chewing tobacco and whiskey were served at a finish line of any event?

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Have Fun ** Tri Hard ** Be Kind
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I remember meeting this guy at my first Chicago tri:

The giant grey Polar HRM that was as big as an iPhone... all it did was show heart rate... nothing else.

Rip 'n Tear clothes/body fairings.

You've been around the sport a long time when you remember............. "transitions zones" where you just laid your bike down on the grass at the fringe of the beach by a lake!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Racing on a road bike,
Toe Clips
Nike Air Mirhas (best racing flat ever).
Looking up to the Californians on Team J David
eating figs in a race
Peanut butter and honey sandwiches in the hot Kona sun.
Eating cold macaroni at 4 am on race days
complete changes in transitions
No wetsuits
No Powerbars, or fancy gels.
Forte Tri suits. Had a custom one made for Hawaii. I believe this was bought out by Emil Desoto.
Doing 10 mile runs at 5 am with Gordon Haller.
The Puntous Twins, Joanne Earnst, Harold Robinson, Chris Hinshaw, Monty and the great Erin Baker.
Having every Triathlete magazine ever published.
Remembering Dave Scott on the cover of the Triathlon Magazine.
Doing a race in 1987 when Lance was only 16
Nobody running and getting an ironman tattoo moments after finishing a race.
The Cape Cod Endurance Triathlon.
Julie Moss's famous crawl and the original winner Gordon Haller going by her with Kathleen McCartney
Knowing the names of every ironman winner.
John Dunbar's superman costume.
Holding the original trophy.

Now entering my 28th season over half of my life. Wow what a journey.

still wearing it -

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Hare Krishna

1. When race results were "mailed" to you.
2. 
   When you had to get your bike and helmet "inspected".
3. 
   When you had to acknowledge on the entry form that you had completed an open water swim before the race.
4. 
   When entry fees were ~ $40

kenny souza was the king of duathlon,

SIS (Shimano Index Shifting).






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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

When you remember that most races were not even swim,bike,run yet.
When in many races you had your own car drive along with you for your support, no aid stations yet.
THere was no olymipc/international distance
When everyone changed clothes for each sport(except me)
When everyone tied their shoes(except me again)
When only Dave Horning and I had what you would call a tri suit
When Kenny Souza was fresh out of high school and doing his first ever bike ride(with me of course)
When the biggest races gave out steak dinners and elaborate trophies for the winners
When Scott Molina, Scott Tinley, Mark ALlen, Dave Scott, and most all of us still had day jobs
When you went to some strange Island with almost no one on it, and did some crazy race called the International Triathlon for the first time since it was moved from Ohau. And you remember it being called the Nautilus Triathlon before that....

Lance Armstrong was in a tri in Norman, OK that I was in when he was 15 yr old.....he crushed the field that day....who knew!

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Michael in Kansas
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit"
"Its not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up" Lombardi