I've made and deleted this post a few times, but for the sake of posterity, and at the risk of being a complainer, I've completed the act this time.
This will most likely be an ongoing thread to share a rebuilding experience, to ask for advice during the rebuilding, and to provide a template for anyone who may encounter a similar situation in the future. I hope that no one else will, but terrible things do happen.
I started doing tris in 2009, mostly as a bucket list item. I got hooked, and took the plunge more fully in 2011. I bought my first tri-specific bike (A QR CD0.1) in 2015, and along the way I had (as we all do) acquired a number of pieces of kit - bibs, kits, wetsuits, bottles, goggles, bags, sensors, etc. I bought the bike as a special occasion purchase using my unused PTO and bonus pay when I left my job to go back to law school, knowing I would need an outlet during the long hours of study. I took care of that bike, and it carried me through my first IM in Boulder, in 2016. 3 years of law school later, I graduated and received an offer for a job in Denver. My wife and I decided to make the move, and in the middle of studying for the bar exam, no less. We planned the move for mid-June, rented a truck and packed all of our belongings on it for the trek across the country. This included the tri bike, a fattie I had purchased in the mean time, and ALL of my tri-related gear. Race bibs, finisher medals, event-branded bags, clothing purchased at IM Boulder and other events, age group awards, team kits, running shoes, cycling shoes, etc., carefully packed up and loaded into the truck for even more use in Colorado. That is, until Kansas. On June 18, on I-70 westbound, off of exit 54 near Colby, Kansas, the moving truck into which all of our things were packed, burned. The contents of the truck were a total loss.
TL;DR - Moving truck fire destroyed all my and my wife's belongings, including tri gear, in the middle of Kansas.
Fortunately, we did have insurance which covered our belongings, and I even had the tri bike separately insured. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the insurance is not enough to fully replace the replaceable things we lost. But, since the bike was separately insured, I am in the process of finding a replacement. My family had a few things left over from IM Boulder that they sent to me, and miraculously we had not thrown away some things we had definitely intended to throw away. The gear isn't what makes me an Ironman, but it still hurts to have lost some of the reminders.
I'm currently in the hunt for a new bike, and have a few leads and resources for which I'm extremely grateful. Some basic replacement items have already been ordered (running shoes, heart rate strap, shorts, socks, etc.), but the majority of the gear I will need has yet to be replaced. I'm planning on a direct replacement for my RudyProject gear bag, and a couple of other direct replacement items that are individual to my taste, but I will be reading product review threads with an unusual amount of interest for the foreseeable future, so don't be surprised if I pop in with questions.
In the meantime, I already have some questions for ST:
1. Has anyone here had to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle it? Feel free to PM me with this, and I welcome advice on general moving on with life after this, as well.
2. In the major categories (aside from bikes and saddles), what are the top 1-2 picks? Pedals, cycling shoes, bottles, sunglasses, helmets, etc. are all fair game. I realize this is a highly personalized question, but I'm overwhelmed by the stuff I need to replace, and starting points are very valuable to me right now.
3. Denver locals: Who/What are the groups, shops, pools, routes, etc. that I need to be looking at or talking to?
4. If there's something I'm forgetting here, please chime in. There's a lot of things going on right now in addition to thinking about the replacement of lost tri gear, and like I said earlier, starting points are valuable to me at the moment.
Thanks in advance for whatever advice/suggestions you can provide, I'll keep updating as things start to get back to normal and I get things replaced.
Brenden Macy
Sports & Entertainment Attorney
I am Drive. I am Grit. I am Determination.
This will most likely be an ongoing thread to share a rebuilding experience, to ask for advice during the rebuilding, and to provide a template for anyone who may encounter a similar situation in the future. I hope that no one else will, but terrible things do happen.
I started doing tris in 2009, mostly as a bucket list item. I got hooked, and took the plunge more fully in 2011. I bought my first tri-specific bike (A QR CD0.1) in 2015, and along the way I had (as we all do) acquired a number of pieces of kit - bibs, kits, wetsuits, bottles, goggles, bags, sensors, etc. I bought the bike as a special occasion purchase using my unused PTO and bonus pay when I left my job to go back to law school, knowing I would need an outlet during the long hours of study. I took care of that bike, and it carried me through my first IM in Boulder, in 2016. 3 years of law school later, I graduated and received an offer for a job in Denver. My wife and I decided to make the move, and in the middle of studying for the bar exam, no less. We planned the move for mid-June, rented a truck and packed all of our belongings on it for the trek across the country. This included the tri bike, a fattie I had purchased in the mean time, and ALL of my tri-related gear. Race bibs, finisher medals, event-branded bags, clothing purchased at IM Boulder and other events, age group awards, team kits, running shoes, cycling shoes, etc., carefully packed up and loaded into the truck for even more use in Colorado. That is, until Kansas. On June 18, on I-70 westbound, off of exit 54 near Colby, Kansas, the moving truck into which all of our things were packed, burned. The contents of the truck were a total loss.
TL;DR - Moving truck fire destroyed all my and my wife's belongings, including tri gear, in the middle of Kansas.
Fortunately, we did have insurance which covered our belongings, and I even had the tri bike separately insured. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the insurance is not enough to fully replace the replaceable things we lost. But, since the bike was separately insured, I am in the process of finding a replacement. My family had a few things left over from IM Boulder that they sent to me, and miraculously we had not thrown away some things we had definitely intended to throw away. The gear isn't what makes me an Ironman, but it still hurts to have lost some of the reminders.
I'm currently in the hunt for a new bike, and have a few leads and resources for which I'm extremely grateful. Some basic replacement items have already been ordered (running shoes, heart rate strap, shorts, socks, etc.), but the majority of the gear I will need has yet to be replaced. I'm planning on a direct replacement for my RudyProject gear bag, and a couple of other direct replacement items that are individual to my taste, but I will be reading product review threads with an unusual amount of interest for the foreseeable future, so don't be surprised if I pop in with questions.
In the meantime, I already have some questions for ST:
1. Has anyone here had to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle it? Feel free to PM me with this, and I welcome advice on general moving on with life after this, as well.
2. In the major categories (aside from bikes and saddles), what are the top 1-2 picks? Pedals, cycling shoes, bottles, sunglasses, helmets, etc. are all fair game. I realize this is a highly personalized question, but I'm overwhelmed by the stuff I need to replace, and starting points are very valuable to me right now.
3. Denver locals: Who/What are the groups, shops, pools, routes, etc. that I need to be looking at or talking to?
4. If there's something I'm forgetting here, please chime in. There's a lot of things going on right now in addition to thinking about the replacement of lost tri gear, and like I said earlier, starting points are valuable to me at the moment.
Thanks in advance for whatever advice/suggestions you can provide, I'll keep updating as things start to get back to normal and I get things replaced.
Brenden Macy
Sports & Entertainment Attorney
I am Drive. I am Grit. I am Determination.