The Journey to a Texas IronMan

Hello Everyone,

One sentence kept repeating through my head during the long ride today. “The wind is my friend.” I figured if I keep telling myself the wind is my friend, maybe…just maybe I will believe it. After 5.5 hours of head wind, I determined the wind was not my friend.

Initially, the goal was to head out from the house, swing by and pick up Dr. Crane and cycle over to the DFW airport for a flat and fast ride. Anticipating sun with some wind, we embarked on another cycling adventure. To our dismay, Mother Nature had a sense of humor and slapped down clouds along with 20 mile an hour head winds which conveniently managed to change direction and remain blowing in our face the majority of the mornings ride. Naturally, as we were rolling back to the house, the sun appeared, the winds became calm and a beautiful day began. Annoying to say the least however we did keep tradition and have our quick coffee stop.

In thinking about the wind, it really isn’t so bad after all….just not my friend. Humans devised high speed wind tunnels to further research how to achieve the best aerodynamics from cars to tri bikes. The low down on the wind tunnel is it helps determine complex interactions between high-speed, velocity-controlled stream of air and the forces exerted on a solid object.

The next time you have on your triathlon gear, remember the wind. Thanks to wind tunnels with a ton of data as a result, we have the ability to create some of the fastest bikes, the most aerodynamic helmets and fabrics offering the least amount of drag. In fact, there are now skin suits proving better aerodynamics than shaved skin. By the way, you are free to use that statement the next time you look down and realize you forgot to shave your legs. ;)

Finally, tomorrow is the Fort Worth CowTown half, full and ultra marathon distance. After my training run, we will be out there cheering on the participants with cowbells in hand. Good luck to the participants and may the wind be at your back bringing you right to the finish line!

Have a great week everyone and as always – talk to ya next week!
Janet