From our club email list today:
“A good friend of mine from Corvallis had his Cervelo P2K and transition bag stolen at Pacific Crest this past weekend.”
That pretty much sucks. I know at SJ yesterday the TA was wide open to anyone.
clm
wow. the bike, too? that really sucks. when I was working yesterday, I locked my bike up, even though it was twenty feet away from me the whole time.
I’ve always taken for granted that my bike was safe in transition, thanks for giving something else to think about as I struggle through the run!
That’s jacked up! Before I started I used to worry about having my bike stolen in transition more than I worried about the swim. I have seen some wide open transitions for sure.
Yup. Sucks. And there’s NO excuse for it. I can’t remember how many times I’ve cursed under my breath at being sent back to my vehicle to get my race number when a CLOSED TA is opened up…“Uh, sir, race number?” “@#$%^^@#$@#%@…okay” And that’s the way it should be.
That really sucks.
I was a spectator at SJIT yesterday cheering on my wife and friends because an 8 hour adventure race on Saturday pretty much toasted me for SJ. At least I knew enough to not even sign up!
After the race they locked the side gate and tried to get all participants leave through the main entry. At that gate they were checking race munbers on bodies to bikes. Sure someone could have perhaps scooted around the back and gone out the back past the finish line but at least they tried!
Cheers, Karma
Secure transition area is required at USAT sanctioned events (which Pacific Crest is not) . Sorry to hear about the loss. Watch carefully on Ebay.
Did the transition zone have security?
Dave in VA
I grabbed my bike at SJIT and no one looked at me or anything.
I could have taken any bike I wanted.
Dave
I was surprised to note the lack of transition area security at Eagleman this year. A big event like that, and the plastic fences were curled down, ppl were going in and out willy nilly with nobody overseeing any of it. I’ve done this race before in 2001 and 2002 and don’t remember the security being as lax as it was this year.
Ironically, if the organizer chooses not to police the transition area, they will actually subject themselves to less liability. If they try to police the area by requiring you have a race number, wristband, etc. then they create a situation where they have taken some responsibility.
I usually have my wallet, cell phone, and keys in my transition bag. I couldnt imagine how pissed I’d be if someone took them and/or my bike
“Secure transition area is required at USAT sanctioned events”
That’s a good one. Did the Wendy’s tri in Columbus yesterday.
Participants = Around 500 people total with tri, du, and relays.
Number of draft marshals/course officials = 0
Amount of transition security = 0
Gosh, y’all should come race in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Totally secure transition. Closed until the last biker arrives. Official ever present in the transition prior to the start and on the bike. 150-250 participants. All 3 road tri’s I did this month in the area were like this.
Tons of fun. Great races.
One reason not to have a bling bling bike.
I hang outside the transition around the time the last biker arrives and promptly take my bike to the car/rack/lock. A little paranoia never hurts.
In any case… That totally sucks for the guy at Pacific Crest. Can’t believe people are that lame.
One of the advantages of more liberal handgun laws?
As someone new to all this and aiming at my first tri in a couple months, can I ask whether anyone ever uses a simple cable lock to secure their bike? For those of us who aren’t too worried about a few extra seconds needed to remove a lock, wouldn’t it be a good idea?
A cable lock can certainly be cut, but that’s not the point – a thief would be a lot more likely to just grab another bike that isn’t locked, rather than take yours. Seems to me it would prevent bike loss whether someone takes it intentionally or accidentally.
The instances of TA theft are so exceedingly small in number that I can’t see going to that length.
Peter,
I did not do Eagleman (EM) this year, but did it 4 times in previous years. In 2000, I had my wetsuit stolen out of transition at EM, it seems the row I was in had a few accessories stolen, helmets, shoes, etc. I think the race security tries to keep it secure, but if you allow racers back into transition before the last biker finishes its almost impossible to have a completely secure transition area.
So it has not just been a new development in 2005.
Peace,
RF
There’s no harm to bringing a light cable lock with ya, and then seeing if you actually need it or not.
As for me, I don’t worry much about it. My bike is nice enuff and all, but nowhere near worth stealing compared to the silly-expensive eye candy at every TA I’ve ever seen, so I frankly don’t even think about locking it. Same concept as the lock - making the other bikes look more appealing to a would-be thief. My bike does that all by itself
I’ve seen TA’s where you felt like you were trying to get into Fort Knox, and the security/volunteers wouldn’t let you in or out w/out checking for a #, AND making sure it matched the # on the bike - to other’s where I think you could have had your pick of whatever caught yer fancy.
Why not just set up a video camera and tape the whole transition area from the swim start? Put up signs “Transition Area Under Video Surveillance.” It could still happen, but not so stupidly easy. I took my road bike (which had less value) to local tris, because they were so unsecure.
re: video surveilance
good idea, would also probably make for some good entertainment as well
Peter
.
It would be more effetective if the sign read “Monk is watching you”.