First post-why Team BNB?

This is the first post in what I hope to be a narrative of Team BNB's exploits. Team BNB is the loosely formed "team" we founded a year or so ago. The name comes from just a simple observation by our small group of cycling/triathlete buddies, that every time we went out for a ride together, someone had a flat, or forgot their shoes, or dropped a water bottle, or broke a part, etc. We called it the "Bad News Bears" ride. So the name stuck. I ordered some Euro-style decals with BNB on them, Team Bad News Bears below. We have about 8-10 steady members of the "team". Most of the guys who have applied the decal to their bike have had an increase in luck. The others? Not so much...

You'll see the decal prominently displayed near the cranks on my '06 Felt in the picture. That's my oldest son helping out in transition prior to one of my 2007 races.


The purpose of this blog is to share some of the ups and downs of an amateur triathlete's season.

A little about me-I've been doing triathlons since 2005 (well, my first was in late 2004, but it was a relay). I've done about 3 races per year, mostly sprints, with my first international distance race in 2007. Also in 2007, I did my first half-marathon (1:37:45), and almost broke 20 in a hilly 5k (20:28). But, I'm not a runner. Yet.

I prefer cycling. I have two bikes; a 2000 Giant OCR3, and a 2006 Felt S32. I prefer the Felt for 80% of my riding. It's blue, but it's fast (common knowledge that red bikes are fast, right?) I'm getting faster every year, and the cycling has been my strong suit in all my previous triathlons.

For 2008, I have a fairly ambitious (for me) race plan:
March 8 Umstead Trail Marathon (yes, my first marathon will be entirely within the confines of Umstead State Park in Raleigh, NC.
April 26 Skirtchaser 5k; Raleigh, NC
May 3 White Lake Half Ironman triathlon; White Lake, NC
August 9 Bandit's Challenge International distance triathlon; Wilkesboro, NC
October 4 Pinehurst International distance triathlon; Pinehurst, NC
November 2 City of Oaks Marathon; Raleigh, NC

That's probably enough for now. More to come later.