Guy hangs with a different group than I do. I agree it is an equipment junky sport-but I sure know some kick ass guys/gals that have crap equipment. I have found triathletes to be one of the most welcoming and open group of athletes I have been around. Equipment is cool, but really do not think it is what this sport is about. Fast is cooler, but even that does not matter. Often I see one of the elite raceers hanging with people that do not even qualify as MOPers.

I remember a race back in '99. We were all chillin' at the awards ceremony when the announcer stopped, said "Wait a minute folks. We still have one more person on the course and here she comes now!" We all moved over to the finish line and and cheered her in. It was her first race. She was last by a good 30 minutes. We didn't care.

I used to be involved in auto racing. There you will find some of the nicest, shirt off their back kind of people. I've also known some seriously flaming asshole crybaby whiney ass arrogant shitbags in that sport.

Every crowd has it's good and bad.

---

"Du or Du not-there is no Tri" - Yoda

Its a relative thing. If Seth spent a significant amount of time with some pure roadies, he'd probably change his tune about the majority of triathletes. Being in the military, I move around the country a lot. I find the roadie groups are a lot more notorious for elitist attitudes than the tri groups. I always have a harder time breaking into the roadie groups. Seems you have to "prove" yourself more to them that you belong with them. His statement really amounts to more of a statement saying "Hey, I'm good, but I'm still just a normal, approachable Joe. Don't put me on a pedestal," than a slam on triathletes. Then again, there are always a few bad apples in every bushel. Unfortunately they are often the ones that are remembered.

 
Maybe he's just grumpy because any random middle-aged MOPer is likely to be better kitted-out than he is.

Doesn't elitism imply exclusion? Triathlon seems a pretty inclusive sport to me.

NOT elitism: "Look at my expensive toys! Aren't they cool?"

Elitism: "You cannot look at my expesive toys, or even talk to me or be in my club, unless you, too, have expesive toys."

Hmmm. Name me a sport or hobby that doesn't have a group of "my toys are better than your toys" snobs. Among my other hobbies:

Sailing - the king of "speed for dollars" sports. Think triathlon with a couple more zeros.

Fly fishing - what do you think keeps Orvis in business?

Skeet shooting - Some of these shotguns would buy a dozen P3s.

Still, if you walk up to a sailing club, flyshop, or skeet range wanting to try out the sport you will find helpful, knowledgeable people willing to bend over backwards to help a newbie. If you hang around the sport long enough, you will also find the others. Just like Triathlon.

I would agree with you on the roadies being even worse. He'd realize how bad they can be and see triathletes as not being so bad. I find roadies to be a pretty tough group to get into and a bit snobby. But I wonder if he may have come from a swimming or running background. I did myself and those two sports have always been about being a smart competitor as well as the toughest and hardest worker.

So I've been a bit taken back by a few things, but I wouldn't agree with the elitism. I think it's more of the poser mentality that people have mentioned here before. A good example is one athlete that was about a year or two into the sport and still had a lot of learning. She was a good runner, bad biker and was like driftwood in the water. When looking at someones bike with all the latest, she said "Oh, I gotta get Dura Ace" on her brand new QR. I have no problem with people having nice components, but I say 'first things first' and know what you're doing. Learn to swim and then learn to swim fast and then maybe get fitted to your bike, smooth out your pedal stroke and put a lot of miles on your bike. Then read up and see if the difference in the weight in mostly flat triathlons is worth all the money and check to see if you're really yearning for a little better performance and reliability from componenents that you don't understand.

Smell what I'm cooking? I'm not a huge fan of all the expensive wheels, frames and pedals and all that, but don't really care much if the athlete knows what they are doing and has put the training in to match.

I had posted about this a couple of weeks ago and nobody responded. I am glad you noticed. I was definitely offended. This guy came across as a real "I tool cool to be called a triathlete." What a jagbag.

I could be wrong about this, but isn't his training financed in part off the backs of our entry fees and our USAT membership?

i got that impression as well. and also that "i don't even do this for real, just in my spare time, and i can kick your ass" kind of vibe. it's more than a little cocky.

---

f/k/a mclamb6