Today was my first ride since my biking accident last weekend.  I can describe the ride in one word:  shaky.  My coach would likely describe it as trying. Poor Lloyd had to suffer through 2 hours of me refusing to drop down into aero position for more than 5 seconds at a time.  I’m sure he also loved the snail’s pace I kept.  He’s training for Ironman China, and he uses our long rides as a way of tacking on some extra mileage for himself.  Today was probably not what he had in mind.

As you know, I recently upgraded from a road bike to a tri bike.  It never crossed my mind that it would be so difficult to make the switch. Honestly it feels as though I’m learning how to ride a bike all over again.  Moving into the aero position isn’t as easy as Mirinda Cafre makes it look.

This morning during our long, slow ride, Lloyd gave me several exercises to do in an attempt to make me more comfortable with the tri bike set up.  And these exercises were very similar to the advice my cyber friend Nicole gave me earlier in the week.

First we practiced releasing my death grip on the “horns.”  Literally, I would release my grip from one handlebar for 5 seconds and then switch to the other hand.

Next, we worked on moving one arm into aero position.  I was pretty comfortable riding with my left arm down, but moving the right arm is going to take some more practice.

Lastly Lloyd wanted me to get into full aero position at least 3 times during our last 5 miles, but I just did not have the confidence to do it.  Yes, I know, major triathlete fail.

For the next few weeks, the game plan is to schedule time to simply practice the following:

• Moving in and out of the aero position smoothly
• Shifting gears
• Mounting and dismounting

So fellow triathletes, did you have trouble transitioning from a road bike to a tri bike?  Any training tips for becoming more comfortable in the aero position?