FIRST RACE ON THE FP60S!

I call myself a bicycle racer. I ride for a team called Setanta in New York, a member of the Century Road Club Association, the oldest bicycle racing club in America. Occasionally, I compete in duathlons for "fun."

For me, the primary difference between mass-start bicycle races and duathlons has nothing to do with the actual events. It's the Monday-morning analysis. In a bike race, you can either hang with the leaders or you are pack fodder. Or, worse, spit out the back of the group. You don't need a $3,000 power meter to measure whether or not you are having a good day or a crappy day. But duathlons, at least the ones run by the excellent New York Triathlon, are electronically timed, leading to all sorts of problems.

In 2006, I competed in the Brooklyn Biathlon in Prospect Park. For someone who hates to run and refuses to train on my feet, I did OK. The event is run 2, bike 10, run 2, and I finished 25th overall and fourth out of 19 in my age group on standard, box-section aluminum wheels. A few weeks ago, I was excited to try the new Flash-Point FP60s at the 2007 event.

The fun began on the ride to the park, an 8-mile jaunt from Manhattan to Brooklyn over some sketchy roads. Again, I did not miss the carbon tubulars that my Flash-Point wheels replaced; no way would I ride tubies to a race, because if I flatted, I'm going home. So riding through Park Slope, I hit a pothole. BAM! I stop, get off the bike, spin the wheel… it is as true as ever.

Finally, I get to the race. Simply because I know the course better, my run improves. I know where I can take it easy and where to push the envelope. On the first 2-mile run, my time improves by 2:45. On the second 2-mile run, my time improves by 52 seconds. And I'm using the same Saucony kicks I used in 2006.

And on the 10-mile bike with the flashy new Flash-Points, my time improves by...exactly 7 seconds. What's worse, there are 11 more guys in my age group this year, so I finish 8th in my age group (31st overall).