INTRODUCTION
Now that the autumn Ironman season is upon us we thought it a good time to talk about Ironman readiness. By readiness I'm not talking about training. I'm assuming you've done all that. What I have in mind is that you're about to get on the plane, realizing you've done all you can do, and that your fate is now in the hands of the gods. Except ...
There are still some things over which you can exercise some influence -- meaning you are able exercise influence, but in actuality you frequently don't. I offer as Exhibit One the service department at B&L Bike in Kona. I've been there every year save one since the 1980s. The same mechanics work on the same number of bikes -- the week prior to the race -- every year, and it is an astounding number. It often seems to me they must work on every competitor's bike ... twice. How can so many bikes be in need of repair?
The problems encountered by these mechanics are legion, but the complaints usually boil down to two ...
1. Just Riding Along: Or, as this phenomenon is commonly known, "JRA." The complainant always describes the genesis of his bike's problem with, "I was just riding along, and [fill in the blank]." This is a common bike shop joke because bicycles do not suck chains; wrap dropouts around seatstays; buckle down- or top- tubes; taco rims; and so forth, without cause. Here is a hint: If you don't want to be the cause of knee-slapping cackles the minute you walk out the door of the shop, do not ever use those three words. Conversely, if you have some spare time and want to kick back someplace entertaining before the race, you might want to spend a half-hour loitering about the service department, and watch the mechanics try to stifle their giggles as others with broken bikes blurt out, "I was just riding along ... "
2. It worked fine when I left: This accounts for at least 50% of all complaints in Kona. The gremlins who inhabit the cargo hold of all airlines jump out from behind their hiding places like cockroaches in the dark and fiddle with bike componentry during the ride over. They make their way from one bike box to the next, exercising mischief. Meanwhile, up above in business class, you're asking for extra mixed nuts and complaining that United has stopped stocking margarita mix on international flights, unaware that your bike is being "worked on" 30-feet beneath you. More on this later.
As Exhibit Two I'll bring up the neutral support vehicles on the course. I monitor the radios on these vans every year, and interview the drivers and mechanics afterward, and I estimate at least 60 "races" are saved each year because of these vans driving up and down the Kona Coast. So, in addition to all the work the mechanics do pre-race, there is an astounding number of bikes that can't make it 112-miles without the help of an outside mechanic and his tools and spare parts.
Over the next several days Slowtwitch is proud to present an exhaustive list (it's exhausting us, at least) of the sorts of things you need once you finish all the training and prepare to go to your ironrace of choice. We're going to cover both mechanical issues (having to do with your bike) and biomechanical issues (having to do with your bike's motor).
