Thrilled to win Wiggle Competition to Enter the London Triathlon

I've been doing quite a bit of triathlon training this year but have not entered any events yet.

I was buying some Aqua Seal googles for open water swimming from Wiggle recently and noticed they had a competition with entry to the London Triathlon as a prize. All you had to do was tell them why they should give it to you.

Here's what I wrote:

I think I should win the entry because the last event I did in London was the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR). Cycling down Oxford Street naked has left an indelible scar on my memory which I would like to erase by participating in a fully clothed event. I'm just kidding really though because the WNBR was a great fun bike event and protest against indecent exposure to CO2 and car culture. OK, naked cyclists don't buy much from Wiggle but how about it?

I'm thrilled that the folks at Wiggle have a sense of humour and have given me a prize entry to the Sprint Tri on 9th August. Of course what I wrote is not true - I'm not scarred by the WNBR at all. I think it was an excellent event, well organised, well received by the public and well policed (the Police joined us on bikes). I'm not a naturist by any means but I am an environmentalist and strongly believe that bicycles provide part of a solution to the rising cost of Oil, the coming of Peak Oil and our need to get about. The government are even supporting this (albeit not cycling naked) with their excellent Bike to Work scheme, providing an excellent way to buy a top quality bike cheaply.

So, it's not true, I was not scarred but I was indeed naked. Here is some proof, for those and for the people at Wiggle who have a sense of humour. There were about 1,000 naked people riding around London that day in June but I think only one was on a Bike Friday Tikit with a Mohican.

(picture from http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/benlovejoy/temp/lnbr/ )

My club, Cambridge Triathlon Club, has enjoyed much success this year with numerous members completing Ironman Germany, Juliet and Barbara winning the World Champs in Vancouver and with Will Clarke going to the Olympics (and he just won the Elite National Champions too). I'm not sure what they will make of me winning a triathlon entry by riding around London naked but some have suggested that proof might be required (though nobody has yet mentioned me doing an event without the team kit on!).

I was only 40 last week but have already made the Cambridge Tri Club COGS Team (Cambridge Old Gits) for the national relays this weekend. This should be a good warm up for the London Tri sprint.

I'd better do some training.

Step 1 - 10 mile time trial with Team Cambridge tonight. I reckon I'll use my Garmin GPS to try to keep my average over 22mph. I'd like to make my bike faster and get a solid back wheel and aero-dynamic helmet and all but my mate Chris tells me I just need to pedal harder. This is the fastest course I have ever done so let's see what I can do on it tonight.

Huge thanks again Wiggle folks. I hope you are not expecting a win from me - that will not happen but I'm sure to enjoy it!