I am not sure but the last time I turned up at a triathlon it was not made up significantly by athletes. The last time I turned up at a group ride there were many people that could not change their tire or fix a flat. I have not been around here long (florida 2000 first tri) but it sems that there are not many real triathletes round that are real men or women. Please fill in the blanks… must start with can fix a flat!
Triathlon has become a proving ground for people that want to prove something athletically. The sport has been marketed around that, and its finally coming to fruition.
As far as where the athletes went, I’m not too certain. I hate to paint a broad stroke, but I think athletes have dissapeared in most sports in America. We’ve been enamored with the fast food diet and weight lifting as excercise that most ‘athletes’ look more like offensive linemen than athletes. I love my MLB, NASCAR, and NFL, but they paint a horrid picture of how an athlete is built.
good point! Triathlon has always been there for people to push too far from day one! I am still looking for pure athletes thats use the sport as the judge (ried) not the sponsor (lovato)
Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer…
3 Atheletes.
Zero ability to change a tubie. =)
Sorry… what was the point of this thread again?
Maybe the point of this thread is to point out how irrelevant in information from posters is. consider the above post showing golf and tennis and who gives a shit! its a triathalon board! can tiger change a zipp after 20km on the queen K, no, so shut up! please post relevant athletes only !
I am not sure but the last time I turned up at a triathlon it was not made up significantly by athletes. The last time I turned up at a group ride there were many people that could not change their tire or fix a flat. I have not been around here long (florida 2000 first tri) but it sems that there are not many real triathletes round that are real men or women. Please fill in the blanks… must start with can fix a flat!
Hey englishmuffin!
First, I’m not taking offense to your post! Secondly, I can change a tire, fix a flat, put the chain back on after dropping it, blah, blah, blah…it still doesn’t make me an athlete! Ya might consider me a “recreational athlete” or even a “weekend warrior”! Ya won’t find an athlete in me…I just enjoy getting out there an mixing it up! Hope you find the athletes you are looking for! My question: are you looking for the athletes to compete against them or just wondering where they are or are you saying that you are the only athlete out there? LOL! Just yankin your chain!
Yeah, you’re right. Chrissie Wellington is not an athlete.
I think Lance proved fixing flats isn’t part of being good on the bike 
.
Why the need to judge and label people?
athletes (and competitiveness) went the way of our diet, our ever-body’s-a-winner culture, our dont-step-on-anyones-toes culture, our sense of entitlement. Check out any road running club…and roady club team (cat 1-5 really… cuz even the 5’s if they arent skilled are still out for a race) or any real masters squad where they are drilling it and sending peeps to masters nats.
Should I link to the Mike Singletary rant on YouTube now?
I have a totally different perspective. The last tri that I did was Lake Logan Oly. The run is an out & back. Since I am a BOPer, I saw 80% of the field as they were heading to the finish. I was impressed by the athleticism of the front runners as well as the MOPers. These people were in tremendous condition and pushing hard. Admittedly, I have not participated in any sprints, so I have no perspective on that crowd.
I think I’m going to put that in my personals ad: “Must be able to fix a flat.”
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the athletes are at group rides were people go fast, not the slow one you went to so you could feel fast.
I am not sure but the last time I turned up at a triathlon it was not made up significantly by athletes. The last time I turned up at a group ride there were many people that could not change their tire or fix a flat. I have not been around here long (florida 2000 first tri) but it sems that there are not many real triathletes round that are real men or women. Please fill in the blanks… must start with can fix a flat!
I’m seeing a mix, everything from elite level athletes at the front to brand new just off the couch athletes at the rear.
So…the measure of a true triathlete is simply the ability to change a flat??? Allow me to expand your theory to other areas:
-I see plenty of people drive every day and I bet they all don’t know how to change a flat or change their oil.
-I know people who wear dress shoes to work, but don’t shine them themselves or know how to do so.
-I also know people who wear shirts with buttons, but would rather throw the shirt away than learn how to iron or how to sew buttons when they come off.
-I know people who REALLY like to eat, but don’t know how to cook.
I could go on with more examples, but my point is that people involve themselves with activities sometimes without knowing everything about them. Should a cyclist know how to change a flat? Sure! However, I don’t know if that doesn’t make them an athlete.
I am not sure but it sems that there are not many real triathletes round that are real men or women. Please fill in the blanks… must start with can fix a flat!
Can you post a pic of yourself changing a flat? Just for subjectivity and curiosity sake…
I’m seeing a mix, everything from elite level athletes at the front to brand new just off the couch athletes at the rear.
I’m not sure exactly where the line is drawn, but these days most endurance races can be divided into athletes and participants. IMO, anyone that proclaims a goal of simply finishing without having an unspoken performance goal in mind is purely a participant. But triathlon is an individual sport. No one should care what the competition’s athletic (or non-athletic) background is. I’m certainly not going to stop and ask while I’m going past them.
They're at the mtb races, racing sport level or higher. The std 2hr type of race requires a decent amount of training and brutal effort on race day. The group that does these races is generally very fit, and all capable of at least basic mech work on their bikes, as they're used to having to be self sufficient on the trail. No athletes in tri, just various levels of of hearts/lungs and training discipline. ;)
“…not many real triathletes round that are real men or women” (?)
Care to elaborate on what you consider to be a “real” man or woman? I’m guessing this could be amusing.
This thread will likely get out of control really fast. However, you do adress a couple of points and trends that I have noticed. Years ago, you would never show up for a long group ride un-prepared and unable to fix a flat or other minor equipment or gear issues that might come up during the ride. These days I note that more than a few people show up for group rides that fall into that latter group. What changed?