Kindred Soul Races Washington, DC Nations Triathlon on RENTED Bike !

Melissa & Doug attending the Nation’s Triathlon Pre-Race Expo

And you thought the Triathlon Trial Lawyer was the only soul daft enough to try to race multisport on a RENTED bike ?!!?  Having raced in Duathlon in New York, Triathlon in Seattle and Chicago, and on borrowed bikes in Miami, Hollywood and Venice, Italy, I was heartened to see there was a kindred soul in Falls Church.  Jefferson Smith lugged a 40-pound Capital Bike Share rental to his first-ever triathlon! For that alone, he should get a special award.

Smith’s main motivation was to support the Washington, D.C. race’s beneficiary charity. The Nations Triathlon raised $1.3 million to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This DC multisport event is the only Triathlon in the United States dedicated to finding a cure for blood cancer. According to the Fairfax Times article, the rented bike weighed “more than twice as much as most racing bikes.”  Furthermore, taking a page out of my playbook, this intrepid Virginia triathlete rung his bicycle’s bell along the way !  The Olympic distance course took Smith more than four hours, but he passed some cyclists who had flat tires and received cheers of thrilled spectators along the way.  Kudos to the D.C. Department of Transportation, which refunded the athlete’s Bikeshare rental fees ($101.00) the next day.  The only race I can recall where there was a “rental division,” was the Huntington Disease Race on Key Biscayne.  In conjunction with the USAT Sprint Triathlon National Championships, I seem to recall that there was a “Fat Tire Rental” division, and plenty of “Beach Cruiser” you could rent at the host hotel.  However, my bride opted for a “real” racing bike, and the Race Director loaned my wife her own bicycle !  I think triathletes and triathlon race directors put new spin on being cool.