Gotta get my bike on.

A while back, I talked about my tri necessities for swimming.  Let's pretend that I'm doing awesome with my training and not completely overwhelmed with work.  Learning how to ride a bike again biking is probably my favorite part of tri training.  It sucks that D's been in town, but his new bike has been out of commission.  Nonetheless, there are some really important necessities for biking long distances around town.

Step 1:  Find some sweet wheels.  I didn't have much any money to spend on a bike.  D was such a wonderful husband to help me out, but I couldn't break his bank either.  I found this beauty used on Craigslist for half the price!  She's categorized as a road bike which is perfect for what I'll be doing while training.  We did install a water bottle holder as well.  It's an adjustment getting used to the handle bars, but I love this bike for greenway riding.

Step 2:  Prepare for road collisions.  Yep, no chance I'm having another black-out experience after flying over my handle bars (true story)...not to mention any car that hits me will be a hell of a lot faster than my brother was on his bike.  I was not take the bike for a road spin without a helmet.  Sadly, helmets are expensive (again, thank you D).  You can get a pretty cool Schwinn for $20 on Amazon, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.  The Nishiki runs a bit more expensive.

Step 3:  Find a way to carry your inhaler pepper spray cell phone.  I have yet to get a good bike bag, but it's a necessity for long rides.  D got this one, which is surprisingly a perfect fit for the bike and everything I need.

Less necessities for biking than swimming, but more expensive.  I'm no pro so don't look to me for clip in cycle shoes or padded shorts (although I am totally considering this).

Any other biking accessories I'm missing?