It is very true. We SlowTwitchers are a cult. But we have slightly different Guidelines than to just dump your wife. (If SlowTwitchers were to dump who ever said they were freaks, they’d get about as much love as I do.)
According to the “Freaks Guide to Triathlon” (as published by Gopher Press) you are to freshly shave your legs, post a positive reply letting us knnow what you’ve come up with to stump her in her heathen ways, and then go out and buy a nice new part for your bike. Only after you have completed those three steps can you hope for the SlowTwitch gods to forgive you and your household.
Being a triathlete is like being in a cult, only more expensive. In a cult, all they want is your money. In Triathlons, especially the long courses, it sometimes actually requires your soul.
Try being in Kona in October…you’ll feel normal and that anyone else is the freak.
Almost cult-like is a group of volunteers I met at this past Ironman who were all from Peach Tree City, Georgia. I kept seeing this city on volunteer forms and at bike check in asked one couple why so many people from this one town came all the way to Kona. They told me they were part of a tri club, located in a suburb of Atlanta, and they are the Dead Heads of triathlon…they travel to all of the Ironman North America races to either race or volunteer. They were great volunteers and I really hope they make it to Kona this year!