southerngal, my husband is the opposite and prefers not to spend a dime. He gets a strange thrill from that. I don't get that either so there you go.

"Anyone understand?"
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YES!...er...So, what's the problem? ;)

Haim

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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

One of the aspects of tri that a lot of folks love is the GEAR. For some it is more about the GEAR than the training or racing. For many gals, the GEAR is about cute outfits for training and racing, and for many guys the GEAR is bikes, wheels, garmins, HRMs, etc. Many of us are a-types, near OCD in some cases, and this is just a way to focus and express it. This is his way of washing his hands every 10 minutes ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Don't let him see the dimpled jersey thread in the main forum...

I do the same thing to a point. I read everything I can get my hands on trying to find that one piece of information that is going to make me a better athlete. You should see the tower of books by my bed. I'm much more careful on big ticket items.

I've decided it comes from being frustrated with being slow and not accepting the fact that I'm not genetically gifted to be fast. If I can find some external "thing" then it won't be my own limitation, it will be because I did have the right "thing", thereby releasing me from the responsibility of being slow.

Make sense?

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

That makes sense, he does have to work hard for his speed. Thanks.

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http://www.rdsupplier.com "making race directing easier"

Face it gal - you're married to a gear head. It's the "boys and their toys" syndrome.

Go on the main forum and read the many posts with people (almost exclusively males) arguing back and forth about every little new toy that comes out. Some people get totally sucked in by the marketing hype and newness factor and feel that they absolutely have to buy it.

For some people triathlon is all about the toys. Why do you think there are so many "bike pjorn" threads on the main forum.

Unless this is causing problems for your household finances, just let it go and let him be happy doing what he's doing. You wouldn't want him trying to convert you to his side, so don't try to convert him to yours. I realize that you're just trying to understand him, but it seems like you're a bit frustrated by his attitude (or maybe I'm reading too much into your post). If it's not illegal and not going to make you go bankrupt, then let him have his fun.

I enjoy the bike pjorn threads myself, it's nice to see other people excited about their new bikes. He does like all the toys and on the positive side he keeps me up to date on all the "latest and greatest" even if I do diagree with the "greatest part."

Dawn, I think I will take your advice and let him have his fun. He is very big on, "if you think it's faster than it will make you faster." So I will let him think faster and hopefully be faster!!!

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http://www.rdsupplier.com "making race directing easier"

my husband is a gear head with tools and classic cars and new old stock parts. and he is such a nerd, it's beyond funny. we have books and books of serial numbers so he can buy the parts with the right numbers, etc. it's sick. for reals.

what i learned long ago is to just let it go. sometimes it will piss me off, but...look at all the stuff i do. i'm a chanel make-up junkie, a fiber whore (i'm a fiber artist), and insist on having lots of pets (there's more, but i'll spare you). so i've got no room to balk.

as Dawn said, unless he's doing something harmful, let him go. i tell myself my husband could be out doing stupid stuff (i mean, stupid bad stuff), but he's not. he is a great person, my soul mate. i can live with a closet full of car parts. (and he can live with a house full of pugs/cats, fiber, with chanel and shoes in every room. lol)

Dudes just have a tendency to want to buy themselves a win. Also, it looks cool when you roll to the transition area with the coolest stuff.

Yeah I understand, I used to be just like your man in that way.