binhopires wrote:
RafaelMB wrote:
Since I hail from a developing country, down here it's the $$$ that gets in the way of tri as a lifestyle, in my opinion. When I was a junior, my family wasn't well off, but I had the luck of being a Physical Education student at the time and could use the facilities at my school to train - oh, and no Cervelos or Canyons for me, a regular local brand would have to do the trick. Now factor in the nightmare of going to races (money and logistics-wise) and you had a recipe for disaster. Of course, none of this applied if you were one of the few lucky rich kids who did triathlon, but anyway, it was so hard financially that I stayed for 3 years in the sport and had to quit it for something more sustainable. No wonder the best athletes in Tri come from developed countries - the same applies to golf and any other "rich kid" sport.
Now I'm 15 years older and finally got well off enough to be able to return to triathlon. And I realised that once you're past Junior category in the sport, there's still another hurdle for it to become a sustainable lifestyle, the already mentioned Ironmanā¢ fetish that seems to take hold of the sport. Some may deny it, but yes, it feels like sprints and olys are for n00bs or people who haven't grown a pair yet. You read a book on triathlon training (f.e. the excellent Triathlete Training Bible) and there's a palpable sensation that it doesn't dedicate the same attention to shorter distances as it does to longer ones. You watch videos from GTN or (ugh)Triathlon Taren and they gloss over shorter distances, since it is for beginners. And finally, you see that the media coverage of long distance events is absolutely disproportionate in relation to the number of participants, the accessibility to and sustainability of this kind of sport. I understand that the sport was born as a long distance one, but come on, it's time we admit that IM events are not and cannot become a minimally widespread lifestyle, or else triathlon might end up like modern pentathlon.
I keep track of how much I spend (using YNAB), but I dont have the courage to take a look at the reports.
I skip a lot of races because I can't process how much they are charging us.
Not to mention the ridiculous tax we pay if we want to buy bike parts here, the currency rate and the dangerous of being robbed and/or killed at the roads.
Geez, we are f***ed
Well, here in Brazil, if we practice any sport other than football (soccer), we are very f%@#ed indeed.
I avoid racing triathlons in states other than the one I live in, because the costs would be prohibitive. And even here, I mostly do open water and running events, since they are simpler to plan for.
The city I live in has a very nice bike path, so I use it in the early mornings to train in order to avoid the risks of cycling in traffic. Also, my city is very safe, so I really don't think about being robbed of my bike, I'm more worried of being hit by a motor vehicle.
The tax thing is a shame in general, but I really don't have the need to change bike parts or my sports watch very often. I'm in it for the fun, so I see no point in spending a boatload of money on those things.