New toys worthy of a little adventure

Every triathlete needs a few new toys to start the year, right?!?!? I am pretty stoked to welcome a few new fancy pants toys to my training artillery. The first new addition, which shouldn't be surprising, deals with a change in my cycling footwear. For years I thought this ankle issue was from running, but no matter what I change with running (including time off) it doesn't go away. In fact if I keep running high volume but back off on cycling it gets way better. Hmmmmm! I'm slowly working through a few things, but the first necessary change was in my cycling shoes.
BONT welcome to my world! This isn't just a cycling shoe, but a speed enhancer. The second I put the shoes on I felt like I had a small turbo buster on my rear hub. Also the lower profile of the heal/ankle is ideal. There is plenty of support from this part of the shoe, without any necessary pressure or rubbing around my ankle. LOVE THEM!

They will certainly be put to the test this weekend. What better way to celebrate MLK weekend than riding from San Francisco to Santa Barbara- 3 days of 125+miles.
If you're going to do this kind of ride in January you need to pack an array of clothing (head to toe!). We might really luck out with sunny "warm" weather, but if this isn't the case I should be covered. TYR's new transition back is a work of art. There are a million zippered pockets, and ways to section out your gear for easy retrieval. I knew their new luggage line would be awesome, but the usability of each piece is killer.

And the latest, and quite necessary, change to my bike is the new Garmin 500! I can't wait to couple this with another equally awesome toy -soon.... The majority of the guys I ride with have been sporting the Garmin 500 for the past year and I just had to have one. I mean, this could turn me into a fast cyclist like them, right?!?!? Simply ride, and download all the information you could ever need. 

So I'm geeked out and ready to ride! Hell, I better be, because right now I'm in San Francisco and my only mode of transportation back is my bike. This will be my first long ride of the year, and second, and third! Riding the CA coast has been something I've wanted to do for quite some time, and this was my chance.
I'll try to get out a few blog updates along the way. But here's to a sunny, safe, spectacular ride!
Cheers