Hey everybody,

While not an "active" (yet) member of this community, I'd like to throw my hat into this one!

A little background from me: I was an All-Canadian swimmer through university, took up Triathlon in 2002 and had a bit of success with AG wins through 02 and 03. In 2004 my girlfriend qualified for her 4th (and final) Canadian Paralympic team as a swimmer, I didn't have the cash to go watch in Sydney so there was no way I wouldn't be there in Athens.

To make a long story short, I sold my bike, bought a plane ticket and an engagement ring. My girlfriend (now fiance) won two medals (a bronze in 50m Fly and a silver on the Medley relay). I didn't pop the question over there (too predictable) the day after she came home I asked her to marry me. She thought that would be a good idea and August 19 '05 will be the big day!

Just throwing this out there because really selling that bike was the best decision I ever made, to see my girl on her stage with the best athletes in the world was worth a lifetime without wheels. Rest assured, if my cause is worthy, as soon as my lanky ass can afford a new bike the OCR will find a good home. Tibbs I'm 6'2" by the way :)

Ian

Good idea. OR do we have to wait for tibbs to tell us when we can vote for this?

---

"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

Another essay for you to consider:

I myself am a tri-newbie. My older brother got into it last summer and tried desperately to get me to join. I admit, while I enjoy watching the Ironman, I assumed most triathlons were either "kick your ass hard" like the Ironman or at least half an Ironman. To my naive surprise, not all tri's are that bad (I assume they don't want first timers to die). Not only did my brother live to tell the tale about his first tri, but he is now hooked. Needless to say, I am training for my first triathlon this summer and hope to participate in two total this year. And of course, as with any sibling rivalry, anything my brother does, I HAVE to do better. And while my training is going well so far, one thing I haven't purchased yet is a bike (with it being extremely cold here in Michigan, I have been training indoors on a bike rather than outside).

And from what I've heard, my 10 year old mountain bike won't cut it. =)

I just knocked over a bag of potato chips. Now I have to clean them up. Life isn't fair.

Tibbs you got pics of this rig?

---

----------------------------------------------------
Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

If that was me I'd just eat em off the floor...

---

kiwipat

per ardua ad astra

Wow,

Someone who knows my current situation emailed me about this thread. And well, hey, anything is worth a shot.

Years ago, I used to be into Rock Climbing, but found my way into computers, and really let my health go. Over the past 3 1/2 years, with the arrival of my two daughters, I've seen my health get steadily worse. This past January 2004, I decided I would do something about it. I have lost over 40lbs by starting out small and then building up to running and now swimming.

I am very happy and proud to say that I ran my first Marathon this past Saturday! I finished at around 4:46.

I have been out of work for about 2+ years. Aside for some side contract jobs building websites, I havn't been able to gain full time employment. This, as many of you know, is really hard since we have two very young children, and well, health insurance isn't cheap.

In order to pay for my Ironman florida entry fee I sold a lot of my musical equipment (I'm in a band), and it helped pay for the IMFL entry fee, and for this years local gym's fee so I can swim. I have been swimming, and did my first 2.5 mile swim about 2 weeks ago. The only thing I haven't been able to really do yet is biking since I don't own a road bike. I also sold my mountain bike in order to pay for running shoes and such.

Should I get this bike, I will follow the rules as laid out by the poster. I have nothing to offer, as I've sold everything. :) I can offer free music from my band however... http://theinterference.com/ (check out: "Sooner or Later" and "Don't Come Back")

I know I can do the Ironman this November, I just need a bike to help me achieve that goal. Should I get a job anytime soon, I'll gladly bring the bike back to the board or back to you Mr. Tibbs.

Thanks so much for making this offer, as there are tons of barriers to getting into this sport. There are those of us who have the desire, but not the financial means to enter.

Oh, I am 6'2" @212lbs. It sounds like this bike would be a perfect fit for me, but I've never owned a road bike.

Sincerely yours,
Trae "occy" McCombs
http://occy.net/
http://fitgeek.org/

---

--
Trae McCombs
TSR - Sponsored by the Masses. Racing for the hell of it.
Ironman Finisher 2005 -- 14:09:18

Tibbs--I think you've got your winner. occy! That's my vote. Can you relate to this guy or what?

hell, if this is legit, I'll help with equipment. anyone want to go in on a Peaceful Tribe Long course if he goes through with IMFL?

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll start by throwing in a pair of DeSoto Power Tri shorts.

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------

dude, the first ri I did, I got my ass kicked by some fat guy on a mountain bike

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------

froggy-O

It's legit--here is his post from the IMFL Message Board from before he came over to Slowtwitch. ANd I checked the IMFL participant list--he is on it.

I can't relate to this guy, he's poor. Now if you will excuse me I have to take the Bently to my private airstrip and fly my G4 to Maui for a training run.



Kidding occy!

---

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Give it to Trae.....if he's genuine....he deserves it.....okay, if I win it, it's his......

---

Stephen Perera
Gibraltar, Europe
graphics@gibraltar.gi

Not my call.

---

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

My vote is for Trae.

---

Andy

'You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Thinsg Are As They Are.'

nobody gonna join me here? I say give him the bike and we outfit him in Tribe stuff for the race. Either that or we shave his head and tell him he has to go as Mr. Tibbs.

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey again guys...

I'm more used to the world of IRC, and the threads on BB's are a wee bit awkward to me at the moment. If I'm posting in the wrong place, I apologize.

What a great group. You guys (and gals) seem to genuinly care and emptathize with my situation. Even if I don't get the bike, it is nice to know people understand where I am coming from.

I don't want to mislead anyone here. We aren't "poor" in any traditional sense of the word. We did fairly well in the tech business from 98' - 01' But then the bottom fell out. We have a goodly amount of equity in our home, but we can't get any out of it because I am unemployeed. I can't get a decent enough paying job because I have never finished college. We, thankfully, have no car payments, and a VERY low mortgage on our house, otherwise we would have been sunk a long time ago. 100% of our money goes to food/utilities. We've had to supplement that with our savings due to a lack of any substantial income. If something doesn't happen in a few months, I'll be down flipping burgers at McD's as our savings have almost depleted.

I'd like to think I'm a fairly decent web designer and computer professional. So maybe if any of you are in a position to hire, or need to contract someone, You could do yourselves a favor by getting a top notch graphics/computer/manager person like me, and maybe then I can afford to get a bike.

Some of my websites(hosted for free by friends):
http://fitgeek.org/ [a place for geeks trying to get fit or who are fit]
http://occy.net/ [my personal home page]
http://theinterference.com/ [my bands website]
http://gotnerd.com/ [a web design / development company I'm trying to start]

*note to Internet Explorer users, the above websites look their best, and any website for that matter, in Firefox, a free/open source and superior web browswer that is standards compliant: http://getfirefox.com/ -- You are less apt to be exposed to critical security issues under windows if you are using a browser like Firefox and not Internet Explorer * [Ok Ok, so I am a geek. ;)]

Anyhoo... I've rambled on more than enough here, and I hate spilling out our financial situation to the world, but... hey, things are tough all around in this current economy.

Thanks again for your time, and your kind words,
Sincerely,
Trae "occy" McCombs

PS. Feel free to hop on irc [ www.irchelp.org ] and chat with me. I think it would be cool if we could create a #slowtwitch channel . As a matter of fact, I'm going to do that. ( slowtwitch.com admins, I'll be happy to turn the irc channel over to you should you desire it )

server: irc.freenode.net
channel: #slowtwitch
My nickname: occy

---

--
Trae McCombs
TSR - Sponsored by the Masses. Racing for the hell of it.
Ironman Finisher 2005 -- 14:09:18

nobody gonna join me here? I say give him the bike and we outfit him in Tribe stuff for the race. Either that or we shave his head and tell him he has to go as Mr. Tibbs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds good, vote thread goes up tomorrow.

---

Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

Why do poor people like you smell like sour milk?

It's a joke! My god everyone calm down. Frog put down the lead pipe.

---

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Tibbs--you are a dung beetle. But a HOT dung beetle.

not sure if i get a vote - longtime lurker few time poster

this dude sounds worthy - if i get a vote it goes to him.

share the love guys



and tibbs you are a twisted sister

Jim--Now you have crossed the lines of human decency.

www.bump.com

---

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.