The Life of a Runner Turned Cyclist Turned Triathlete

by Liz Shelton

Runners, just like our equipment, are fairly easy to understand. The only requirements needed to start are a decent pair of shoes, shorts, sports bra (optional for men), and at least a watch to log time or track splits. With runners, what you see is what you get. Depending on distance, we only need water, or at the most, a gel pack of our favorite flavor. And training for a 5K only takes a few weeks. (Well, at least according to every issue of Runner’s World.) We like our sleep. We like food. No, we LOVE food. Heck, sometimes I think my running is just a front so I can order the French toast with whipped cream at my favorite breakfast diner without guilt.

For the most part we get to bed early. Have you ever run 15 miles off of only four hours' sleep? We’ve all done it, but eventually we’ll learn the error of our ways. We like routine: our warm-ups, drills, even the way we tie our shoelaces. Creatures of habit, you could say. There’s not much that ruffles our feathers. We’ll talk to anybody on the trail who breathes, giving a friendly smile and wave of the hand to friends and strangers alike. Runners are a happy people. Our morning high stays long after the last mile ends, and gets us through the daily traffic grind and through endless work meetings. Life is good as a runner.

After my first charity ride, I began to dabble in cycling enough to join local group rides, but I wouldn’t consider myself a cyclist just yet. Cycling takes more effort and planning: load gear and bike in the backseat of the car (I refuse to get a rack), remove gear and bike from car, air up the tires, check fuel and water levels, helmet and shoes on, and then you’re finally ready to ride. I would say the biggest adjustment for me is riding with traffic. Runners can avoid traffic if we choose; winding trails and sidewalks offer some relief, but unless your idea of fun is repetitive loops on the Veloway chasing tricycles, then you have no choice but to ride roads. I will admit that I find myself riding the trainer more than I should during the week just to avoid speeding motorists. While my marathoner's endurance has carried over somewhat to my cycling, the speed from my track days does not. Not. One. Bit. It’s like starting over. But I knew it wouldn’t be easy, so like anything, you have to put in the time and keep at it.

I got into multisport the same way most do. Running…check. Cycling…check. Only one thing was standing between my exploring the triathlon world: swimming. While I practically grew up in my neighborhood pool, I never took formal lessons. I was naïve to think I could do my first tri without any. Danskin was a great experience. It was a women-only race, low-key, and I knew both the bike and run course at Decker from my running days. In other words, it was perfect. Except I spent the entire swim on my back, gasping for air and basically acting as a float for other girls to push off. I couldn’t swim more than 200 meters without stopping. I swallowed my pride and signed up for basic stroke and technique classes the very next day. I saw immediate results. Compared to my first tri, the second was smoother, and I bettered my swim by five minutes for the same distance (800m). Was I really that slow before?! Yes. Over time, I steadily improved and gained better overall conditioning. The bike is my weakest link and that will take time. The run leg feels most natural to me, so it’s a matter of staying relaxed, finding a quick rhythm right away, and focusing on turnover. 

Kerrville was my first Half Ironman. It was an amazing experience. While somewhat logistically complicated for a beginner not used to split transitions, the race was run beautifully (kudos to race organizers and sponsors!). I look forward to one day completing my first long-distance tri, but for now, I’ll continue on the journey to try new things and adjust to my new life as a multisport athlete. Life is still good.

Born and raised in Houston, Liz Shelton attended UT Austin on a Cross Country & Track Scholarship. While there, she was a seven-time conference champion and five-time All American in CC, Indoor & Outdoor Track, and she helped UT win four NCAA team titles in a row. Her accolades range from a Big 12 Indoor Athlete of the Year Award in 2000 to winning a title at the prestigious Penn Relays. In the 2000 Olympic trials, she placed seventh in the 800-meter finals. Currently she lives and trains in Austin with her husband, Jeff, and can frequently be spotted on ATC's  Wednesday run. 

Leadman Epic 250 Race Report

by Gray Skinner

Last weekend, Leah and I traveled to beautiful Bend, Oregon, for the Leadman Epic 250 and 125 put on by Lifetime Fitness. This was the second year for the Leadman 250 in Bend. The race would be twice as long as the longest race (Gray - Half iron, Leah - Olympic) either of us had ever done. Let me first say that this was an excellent venue and event. I highly recommend anyone up for a challenge to check out this race. Lifetime and the race director have done a really great job bringing together a unique and challenging course and one of the best race venues possible!

The Epic 250 consists of a 5k swim in beautiful Cultus Lake; a 223k ride starting at the lake, climbing twice over Mt. Bachelor and ending in Bend (~140miles); and a civilized 22k run through Bend.

The motivation for choosing this race was really threefold: 1) see a new part of the country we had never seen before, 2) get a taste of what racing for nine hours feels like in preparation for my first Ironman on 12/1/13, and 3) do a race that was swim/bike heavy that I could reasonably prep for during the Austin summer.

We arrived in Bend late Thursday night after making the three-hour drive over from Portland. Friday morning we went to the expo, picked up our bikes from TriBikeTransport, went to the athlete meeting, and retrieved packets. Race staff was great, and the logistics went really smoothly. That afternoon, we caught up with the Picky Bars founders and new Bend residents Jesse Thomas and Lauren Fleshman. Jesse is a pro triathlete and Lauren is a pro runner, so it was good hearing about their business and their experience in Bend over the last year. Also, I was very excited to find out that Picky Bars would be on course as the race food! If you haven’t tried them, they are excellent!

In the afternoon, we also headed up to Cultus Lake to drop off bikes and pre-ride part of the course. I like to spin the legs for 30-45 minutes with some effort at race pace the day before the race. Bike felt great, and legs seemed rested and ready to go. Weather for the pre-ride was PERFECT! 70 degrees, sunny, light wind, crisp mountain air—it would have been ideal if only we could have raced Friday! It was an uneventful evening; we dropped off T2 bags, had a pre-race meal at home, and were early into bed dreaming that the rain and cold front would hold off!

On to race morning... It was up at 4, a breakfast of eggs/avocado tortillas, and onto T2 for bus pickup. Wasn’t raining when we woke up, which was a positive, but it was COLD. Having endured the Austin summer, 40 degrees felt more like 20! So I put on my ROKA Maverick Pro wetsuit for the bus ride to the swim start. I liked the drive to the start; you knew everything was taken care of the night before, and the race morning prep was more manageable. Arriving at the swim start, it was still cold and overcast. The water temp was around 60 degrees, which wasn’t so bad, but the cold air temp made it a lot worse. I started in the first wave and wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that it was going to be a long swim. I kept telling myself, “If you can just get out of the water, you have 8 hours to catch everyone.” The swim was two loops of an alleged 2.5k each. The course was a bit short, more like 4.6k, which was helpful, but after the first loop, things were falling apart. The second loop was really tough, and I came out of the water with a slow time of around 1:15, 12 minutes down on the leaders.

Overjoyed to be out of the water, I sprinted into the T1 changing tent. It was a steamy mess of triathletes. Time seemed to stop in the tent, and by the time I left T1, I had unknowingly spent seven minutes in T1! Putting on socks, arm warmers, etc., was really tough with numb hands. I ended up going with compression socks, arm warmers, jersey, light gloves, and toe covers, optimistically thinking that it would warm up. Bad idea!

I started out on the bike feeling very cold, but was passing people and feeling pretty good. I had set a power goal of riding between 230 and 240 watts for the entire bike. The first hour it was really hard to keep it under 240 on fresh legs. I ended up around 243 for first hour and felt good and was eating well, but continually getting colder. The next few hours passed uneventfully, and then came the first trip up Mt. Bachelor. This is a very deceptive climb; driving it at 50 mph, it seems very gradual, but it’s a really slow grinder. Again I felt good and kept passing people, making my way into fifth place by the top of the climb. Coming over the top at 6,000 feet, the sleet started. All the body heat I had generated in the last 45 min of climbing suddenly vanished as I plunged down to Sun River. It was a 10-mile descent in sleeting, gusting wind, with a disc wheel and my arms too tired to lean over the bars in super aero. I was actually pretty scared and could have gone a lot faster here in better conditions.

Onto the climb for the second time, I passed two more riders and was second on the road for a brief period. I started having problems around 5hr 15min into the bike. Nearing the top of climb for the second time, I was re-passed by third and fourth, and tried responding but was in a bad patch. Coming over the top, things got worse. My body started shutting down on the descent into town, not what you want when you are going 45mph! My heart rate dropped to around 80, and I couldn't feel my arms. I felt as if I were falling asleep on the bike, which was very strange. Normally I would be railing and pedaling hard on a long wide open descent like this, but not today. I was happy to get off the mountain. I was passed one more time just outside town and came into T2 in fifth overall.

Arriving in T2, I was delirious. Luckily Leah had been waiting there for me since finishing her race (fifth female in her first half iron!), and was able to direct me! I don’t know how I managed to get shoes on, etc., and start the run, but the next thing I knew, I was on the course in survival mode. All hopes of a fast run abandoned, I was here to find out how my body dealt with running after 7.5 hrs of exercise. The first nine miles were ok, around 7:30 pace, but I hit the wall around mile 10 and limped in around 8:30 pace.

I ended up fifth place overall. Lots of fifths this year! (fifth overall amateur at Galveston 70.3 + State Pro/1 TT!) I’m hoping to graduate from the extended podium to the actual one at my first Ironman on Dec. 1 in Cozumel!

Thanks to ROKA Sports, Chris McDonald and Team BigSexyRacing, view-speed.com, Austin TriCyclist, Sol Frost and crew at Austinbikes, Noah Wright and Jack Cartwright for last-minute wheel support, Enlightened-Performance Coaching, and my amazing wife Leah for putting up with me!

www.pickybars.com

www.rokasports.com

leapdaysports.com

asklaurenfleshman.com

www.view-speed.com

www.austintricyclist.com

www.enlightened-performance.com

Tips to Avoid Flats

Psshhhhtttttttt... That all-too-familiar, hated sound, the last thing you want to hear on race day. The resulting wave of emotion comes in three stages: surprise, followed by denial, and then the inevitable, defeated acceptance as you slow to a stop and everyone else rides on without you.

While you'll never succeed in completely avoiding flats, you can stretch your luck out a little longer by following these tips:

1. Check the tire for excessive cuts, holes, and wear. A tire that has worn thin, or has too many cuts and holes in it will flat again and can be unsafe. Replace it, or at least put a patch on the inside of the tire.
2. Check for debris in the tire or the rim.  If you're changing a flat during a ride, take the time to do a quick feel with your finger and a visual inspection. It's very common to flat immediately after replacing a tube because the object that caused the flat is still in the tire. At home, especially if you've had a run of mystery flats, periodically take the tire off and pinch open any tiny cuts in the tire. Look inside carefully for debris and remove anything you find. Sometimes tiny shards of rock will be embedded inside and can wear a hole in a tube over a few days.
3. Check your rim tape. Rim tape should completely cover any spoke holes on the inside of the rim. Any tiny gaps exposing the edge of a spoke hole will eventually wear a hole in a tube. Make sure the rim tape itself is smooth; any ridges or sharp edges can cause flats.

   

   Tiny exposed spoke hole edge, will cause a flat eventually

4. Check for tube pinch. If you're not careful when installing a new tube, tubes will sometimes get stuck between the bead of the tire and the rim. This may work for a few days or only a few seconds, but eventually an explosive flat will occur. To ensure that the tube lies completely within the tire, pump a very small amount of air into the tire, and then pull the tire back along the entire perimeter of the wheel on both sides; look for any tube peeking out, and work it back into the tire with your thumbs. Gently press up on the tire's valve to be sure that area of the tube is pressed up into the tire as well.

   

   Latex tube peeking out ,this will cause a flat eventually.
5. Put the tire label where the valve is. Besides being a cosmetically "pro" thing to do, this has the added benefit of giving you an easy reference point to figure out where a flat is occurring, because the tire is always installed the same way. Got two flats in a week, in the same place? Check for a cut in the tire or a rim-tape problem where the tubes are failing.

   

   Pro

6. Use proper pressures. Too low of a pressure can cause the tire to "pinch flat," cutting the tube on the edge of the rim when it compresses too much on a nasty bump in the road. Optimum pressures vary based on tire size, rider weight, and road surface. This chart by Michelin is a handy guideline for most road tires.
   
7. Watch where you are going. This tip is simple and effective. Pay attention and don't run over things. If you can't avoid a patch of glass or debris, take your weight off the saddle and stay loose so that less force is put on the tires. Practice bunny hopping so you can hop over large debris that might cause pinch flats or a crash.
8. Use appropriate tires.  If you follow the tips above, you can actually use nice, fast tires and get very few flats in most areas. If you live somewhere with excessive debris or lots of rain, consider a durable but slow tire for training like the Continental Gatorskin. If you are a larger, heavier person, consider using a larger 25c tire instead of 23c.

New Bike, New Start

by Kat Hunter

The Boardman AiR 9.2S

When the Boardman line came to ATC in April, we posted the review Boardman Bikes: A British Powerhouse Arrives in Texas. My husband, Jack Mott, was its author and guinea pig, field testing the AiR 9.2S at the Veloway side by side against his Cervelo S5. Pregnant at the time, I hadn’t gotten a chance to ride the Boardman bike, but I knew that the frames had become popular over the summer. When ATC said they wanted to put me on an AiR 9.2S, I jumped at the opportunity.

Boardman Bikes may be new to the States, but the company has plenty of street cred. Named for cycling legend Chris Boardman, who is also director of the company’s R&D department, Boardman Bikes sponsors a host of uber-talented athletes. The Brownlee brothers, British ITU triathletes, took Olympic gold and bronze on the AiR 9.8S.

The shape and weight of Boardman’s AiR frames are the same, with models differing in price and paint job according to their gruppo. The AiR 9.2S, the median option with Ultegra Di2, has personality. Matte black with yellow and white accents, she’s a mean girl. Internal electric cable routing and a carbon fiber frame make her sleek and light, and from fork to seat post, she’s wind-tunnel tested and aero. The brand lettering on the flat, airfoil down tube is prominent without being cartoonish. My favorite subtle detail: the inside of the fork and seat stays are a bright, solid yellow, a design element that seems mildly racy, as if the AiR 9.2S is sporting red garters beneath an otherwise staid business suit. Online specs say that she comes in at 17.1 pounds with training wheels.

I fell in love on the first ride.

Cinderella
In early August, I was in a slump. My return to bike racing post-baby had gotten off to a discouraging start. Progress was slow, and then a little over a month into training, I’d had a crash that took me off the bike for two weeks. I felt like a much larger and slower shadow of the bike racer I had been before my son was born, and I feared I’d never make a full comeback.

The Boardman bike was a good kick in the pants. I’m no Alistair Brownlee, but I’m a decent Cat 1. The bike rekindled the competitive spirit in my heart and legs, despite their diminished state. From that first ride on, I felt like I was back on track; I would be fast again...or no, even faster.

Typically, I don’t like change. I tend to hold on to my equipment until it’s dead or dying, but the day I got fit on the Boardman, the new pair of Giro road shoes I’d ordered had come in. I’d also recently replaced the helmet that had cracked in the crash with a shiny new LG Course. I thought of something I’d seen in an IKEA catalogue—a prescription that “even new towels make a big difference.” Maybe I’d started with that idea, but in the end, I’d gutted the whole house.

My nervousness about the top-to-bottom makeover was eased by the fact that I was getting a professional fit. Stefan Rothe of Rothe Training fit me on the Boardman, checking my saddle setback, seat height, reach, and drop to the bars. New bike or no, I knew it was something I needed. Jack and I had changed the setup of my old bike so many times since my last fit that nothing felt quite right anymore, though I couldn’t say which individual thing or combination of things needed to be fixed. With the new fit on the Boardman, I felt less constricted, and I could shift and brake more easily in the drops.

We made some other modifications to match my old setup. I’ve always ridden 170mm cranks, so we put on the FSA SL-K Light compact crankset, and we swapped out the bars for a narrower size. The AiR 9.2S is shipped with very nice training wheels and race tires—the Mavic Ksyrium wheelset with Vittoria Open Corsa CX tires. The saddle, the Fizik Arione Titanium is good, too, but I’ve used the Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow since the start of my pregnancy with zero problems, and I’m not ready to give up my security blanket just yet. Even if it does make weight-conscious roadies cringe.
  
I think of all the reasons to get a fit—saddle sores, back pain, knee pain, comfort, better efficiency—perhaps the most important is peace of mind. The new setup felt good immediately, and, confident in Stefan’s expertise, I knew I wouldn’t want to touch a thing for a long time.

On the inaugural ride back home from ATC, I felt like I’d been given new legs. The Boardman seemed bigger (I think we’d raised the saddle height), yet at the same time noticeably lighter, almost delicate. My new carbon fiber glass slipper.

Apart from the raised saddle, the biggest difference was the Di2. I’d never had electronic shifting before, nor ever imagined I would want it. I preferred having the control, feeling the gears click into place...or so I’d thought. The Di2 was amazing. Click a button and with a soft mechanical rasp it shifts smoothly every time. Several people had told me that with Di2 you could change gears no matter how hard you are pedaling, and while I haven’t found that to be true, I like the fact that I don’t have to worry about dropping my chain.

Even glass slippers don’t fit perfectly right away, though. Roughly a month later, I’m still getting used to the Boardman. Jack loves the science behind the bike, the yaw angles and training graphs and various components. I can appreciate the technical side of things, but for me, a large part of the attraction is a kind of physical escapism. Most days, I just like to feel my legs going around in circles, the harder the better. The newness of the Boardman is nice in its own way, making each training ride exciting, but I also like it when my bike feels like a second skin, when the “old hat” is old enough that I forget I’m wearing it. I think that’s beginning to happen; the Boardman and I are developing a relationship of trust, one where we can go around a corner together at something approaching top speed...though I have a sneaking suspicion she still thinks me unworthy.

Links
AiR 9.2S specs
Previous ATC Boardman Bikes review, Boardman Bikes: A British Powerhouse Arrives in Texas
AiR 9.2S at ATC

ATC Team Race Reports: Chappell Hill Road Race, Sept. 8, 2013

Missy Ruthven

Chappell Hill is the first road race I did when I started “bike racing” in 2010. It was a pretty brutal first race. I was a Cat 4…which means we started at noon in 100 degree heat for 38 miles. I led the race until I got dropped, and bonked, and overheated, and crawled across the finish line solo. I have learned quite a bit since then and have a team to race with now.

This year’s women’s race was the first time that the women (cat 1,2,3) had a start time of our own; often the women’s race is combined with a men’s masters race. Thank you race directors! We had four (strong!) ATC women racing together for the first time in months. The goal for our team was to have an ATC person in any break that happened. Which meant…chase down anything that goes off the front.

Marla and I took most of the attacks in the first half, saving Allison and Kat, since our best chance of a podium finish was with Allison and Kat. The race also contained Jen McRae (pro), Mandy (just moved up to cat 1), and another full team (Jubilee) of five riders. Pretty solid line up…only 18 started, but they were all good. So the whole group stayed together through the finish.

We had some unfortunate timing when the women’s race had to be neutralized while the men’s 40+ group passed with three miles to go. I doubt it would have changed any results, but I would have felt better about the finishing miles if we hadn’t had to deal with that. And the fact that I messed up the mileage. The race flyer said 50 miles, so that is what I programmed in my head. I knew they had moved the finish line up a mile, but I did not account for that in the final mileage of the race. Just as I am planning my one last effort (no chance of getting away, but wanted to increase the overall pace of the group), I saw the 200 meter to go sign. UGH! On a good note…Kat was paying attention and got herself near the front (finishing sixth), and Marla was getting herself to the front for her “one mile to go” attack. Unfortunately, I had Allison in the back with me (we were discussing final mile strategy!!), and when Marla moved up for her attack, she crossed the yellow line, so she was “relegated” to 17th place. So our finishing places round out the second half of the field nicely. Not really indicative of our talent or what went on during the 49 miles. But that is what results show…who gets to the line first. I am proud of our team and how we worked together out there. I like to think we affected how the race was ridden, chased every break, and kept the overall pace pretty high; we weren’t satisfied with “sitting in” and waiting for the sprint.

Marla Briley – “coming out of my tri-shell”

When I told my friends I was going to race my bike in Chappell Hill, they all asked “Chapel Hill, North Carolina”? No, Chappell Hill, TX, which is about two hours east of Austin. I was excited because this was to be the first road race back for my teammate Kat Hunter and the first road race where there would be more than two ATC Racing teammates racing at one time. A real team effort!

ATC owner and teammate Missy Ruthven and I drove up to Chappell Hill that morning, leaving at the a$$-crack of dawn. We were both nervous going into the race, as we both come from a triathlon background. Come race morning, for triathletes, you are mostly concerned with – Will I make it out of the swim in a decent time? Hope I don’t flat on my bike. I hope I don’t cramp on the run. On the morning of a bike race, I am mostly concerned with my personal well-being. In the first lap of the first race this year, I was taken out in a huge pileup of women. I joke that I met my insurance deductible that day so all crashes, henceforth, are free. Most of the women I know in racing have crashed at least once this year. This is a dangerous sport, and I am not a danger-seeking kind of girl.

“If you think it is so dangerous, then why not just stick to triathlon,” you ask? I love the team aspect of bike racing. Nothing makes me happier or more proud than to see my teammates do well and know I had some part in helping them.

For any of my tri-friends who are reading this, I want to point out anther difference between racing your bike and triathlon. In a triathlon, in the water before the race begins, the ladies will express words of encouragement, such as “have a great race” and “everyone be safe and have fun.” This never happens in road racing. You must be sure to have your game face on, and you would totally be shunned if you told anyone to “have a good time.”

Start of a triathlon

Start of a women's bike race

There were 17 girls who lined up, Sunday morning, game faces on. The course consisted of a 13-mile road out, then a 12-mile loop that we would do twice, then 13 miles back into town. The course was not incredibly hilly by Austin standards, but enough so that we would need to be careful to not let anyone get away on the climbs. Our marching orders were simple. Do not let anything get up the road without someone from ATC being in it.

At the start, the official explained the rules of the race, no crossing the yellow line till the last 200 meters, no littering, feed zone water hand-ups, and the first two miles are neutral. With no further ado, (no countdown or cheering like in triathlon) we were off. Within the first two miles of the race, still in the neutral zone, I dropped my nutrition. Amateur! The triathlete in me wanted to go back, but the cyclist in me knew if I lost the pack, now, the race would be done for me. Once we got past the neutral zone, the attacks began. I am happy to say that the team did their job of covering and attacking. If someone was up the road, one of our girls was with them. I covered as often as I could and even attacked a couple of times. I’m pretty sure my two solo breaks were viewed as “what does she think she is doing”? I figure you never know when it might stick, so you gotta give it a try.

The roads, in some areas, were treacherous. The girls all did a good job of pointing out the gaping fissures. I saw some of the more talented bike handlers bunny-hopping small chasms. I felt like I was in a third-world country. Where is all that gas tax money going? The small peleton made it around the course, no crashes (yay), but all together (boo). Our best chance at a podium position would have been if one of us could have gotten in a break. In the last moments of the race, I started to move forward, planning on trying a leadout for my teammate Kat. Missy and Allison were at the back, planning on following up on my leadout. We were all shocked when we saw the 200 meters to go sign. So much for my leadout. I was not in a bad position, but I’m no sprinter. I just did my best to stay out of the way as the pack surged past me.

Kat got 6th place. Great job after just having had a baby three months ago. I would have been next in line around 13th place, but got a penalty. Not for drafting, my silly tri-friends, but for crossing the yellow line. “No crossing the yellow line till the 200-meter mark” does not mean you can cross the yellow line when you see the 200-meter mark.

Overall it was a good day. No broken bones and no stitches! I am still learning how to race, but with my super awesome teammates and the other wonderful women who I ride and race with to help me, I think I’ll become more of a cyclist and less of a triathlete yet.

LG Course Road Helmet Stealth Aero!

by Jack Mott

Aero road helmets are all the rage, and previously we covered the slick Giro Air Attack. Some riders, however, are unwilling to defy fashion trends, or are worried about the Texas heat in a helmet with so little ventilation. The LG Course aero road helmet comes to the rescue!

Based on appearance alone, it's hard to believe the Course could be as aero as Louis Garneau claims in their white paper, given that it looks very much like a normal road helmet. But some very good aero testing results have been coming in from ERO Sports. The helmet has tested fast on multiple riders; they report it consistently tested about 2% less drag (over the entire rider-bike system) than the Air Attack, and never slower. This included both aero positions and road bike positions. So we decided to check the helmet out.

We picked up a size Medium from ATC, and on close inspection you can see the trick with this helmet seems to be that it is basically letting the air pass straight through over your head and out the back again. Interestingly, this seems to make ventilation better than most normal road helmets, as both my wife and I noticed we could feel the breeze through our hair more with this helmet as compared to our usual ones. This, combined with carefully controlled frontal area, probably explains the surprising aero goodness. At 250g, the weight is also low, and it fits us both very comfortably. A really neat bonus feature is an included rear light that velcros onto the back of the helmet.

Integrated Rear Light Included

So we have a helmet that is light, aero, ventilated, and includes integrated safety features, but is there any catch? It is a bit more expensive than the Giro Air Attack and doesn't have the cool shield feature as an option. Also, both the white paper from LG and the testing at ERO Sports are lacking any high yaw data, so it is possible that the Course doesn't fare as well in crosswind situations as the Attack's smooth shape does. Overall, though, the Course is an amazing helmet that we recommend highly. ATC has them in stock now, so try it out yourself. The helmet is available in three sizes and in red, white, or black.

CFD Designed, Wind Tunnel Tested

Labor Day & Tri-Rock Sale!

All in-stock Newton Shoes 15% off Saturday through Monday. Last Year's Zoot Running Shoes - 50% off. Last Year's Wheelsets - 20% off Check out our clothing clearance rack, plus oh so much more! Still a few awesome deals left. Road, Triathlon, Mountain, and Cruiser Bikes are 15-25% off! Check out our 2013 closeouts. 16g Co2 Cartridges will be $2 for Saturday through Monday only!  Stock up.