Multisport: Bigger bang for your bucks - Saving for a Sunny Day

Written by: Stefan Timms

Everybody has his or her vices in life. For some it is booze, for others it is gambling. For a lot of you it happens to be triathlon gear. Now I can understand how one might feel a little guilty about self-indulgence, but I don't think we should feel guilty about our fascination with new gear. We work hard all year and it is nice to treat ourselves at Christmas time.

So what do you have your Christmas nest egg ear-marked for? For many the answer is a flashy new frame, one of those new one-piece handlebars, or perhaps the group that has one more gear than your training partner. Those would all be nice, but is that the best way to spend your money? Let's consider all the options.

When the day's workouts are done, the bike is put in the garage, the wetsuit is hung in the shower, and the running flats get aired out on the back porch. Then, when you finally get a chance to sit down with your family and friends, and you enviably chitchat and reminisce, inevitably some part of the conversation eventually falls on triathlon. In these conversations how often you do wax intellectual about your bike? Not much? What we really hold close to us are our experiences of racing and events that we participated in. It is funny how it can take 6 to 8 hours to tell how a 2-hour race unfolded. And then there is the guy at work that didn't hear you tell the story the first time and we all know that the story gets better every time you tell it. Well, don't disappoint your fans; make sure you keep your arsenal of stories topped up. Take that nest egg and invest it in an exotic race; like one of those triathlons you read in IT. Go out and experience Mrs.T's, St. Croix, St.Kitts, or Escape from Alcatraz first hand, not to mention all the Ironman races that are available these days. Bikes will come and go but the memories of races are yours forever. So book a ticket today, a few bucks for a lifetime of memories is money well spent.

But if traveling is not your cup of herbal tea, and you are more of a tangible, get your hands on it type of person; I have a few more ideas about how to spend those savings. Believe it or not triathlon consists of three sports! A lot of people remember the biking and running but look past the swimming when they think of gear to buy themselves.

I find it funny that a person will spend $1000 for a set of race wheels that might save them 30 seconds over a 40km bike, and yet they forget to consider a wetsuit that can save them 2-3 times that for half to a third the price. On top of that, a wetsuit is something that will last you several years, maybe your entire triathlon career. That is a great bang for your buck! I understand swimming might not be your favorite event, but that is the reason to get a good wetsuit. A high-grade suit will be more buoyant and flexible. It will stretch where you stretch and tuck where you tuck. All of this will allow you to be more efficient and minimize the energy spent in the water. The energy saved in the early going will be there for you in the closing miles. A good wetsuit can even make you want to swim more. There are several great manufacturers out there, ORCA, QR, Aquaman, being the leading three, so try all of them on before to find the best fit before you spend your dough.

Of course if you are a hard core, you already have a good wetsuit. In fact you already have it all. You have probably done the Hawaii thing. What are you still missing? May suggestion for a "one of a kind" item is a custom paint job for your bike. A custom bike paint job is a great way to set you apart from everyone else. Sure there maybe be other Cervelo P3s in transition. There may even be one next to yours, but have they ever seen one painted like a leopard? Or painted with a design of your own creation with your signature on the top tube? A cool paint job turns your bike in to a work of art. It truly will become the new love of your life. In fact you will never want to get rid of it. You might even pass over a new bike for next year, thus saving you more funds. Sometimes it is hard to filter all the advertisements that we take in. Do we need the new product of the month or is it that the ad campaign is so good that we just think we do.

It does not have to be all about the "toys" that we collect. If we focus on what we can gain from races, and let races be the doorway to new worlds and experiences. When the time comes to spend money on our equipment, we can purchase what we need to go faster as opposed to what the industry wants us to buy. It is your money; make sure you spend it wisely...but make it fun, that's what this sport is all about.