[SOC]

The tri-bash post I wrote at the beginning of the year continues to be the most popular post on this blog. If I ever forget this, I can read the comments that come to my feed reader or glance at the site stats. Just when I think it will fade out, others discover the post and put a link to it on another messageboard or blog.

The irony of that whole thing is that it is a very minor subject for me. My recurring themes are libertarianism, misogyny, blue collar work, and minimalism. You would think pissing off half of the population with the misogyny thing would have drawn something to me in terms of hate, but it hasn't. The tri-bash is it. Based on those stats, I should retool into a tri-bash website. Fuck that.

Triathletes are douchebags. They know it, and I know it. The reason why I know it is because I have met some in the flesh. I have never met a humble triathlete. I have met elite soldiers who are true bad asses who showed more humility than any triathlete I have ever met. The point of my article is that the nature of that sport selects out the humble and attracts the proud and the narcissistic. I find this to be a fascinating social phenomenon. The fact that I scored such a direct hit with that piece is also quite fascinating and supports my thesis completely. Narcissists cannot stand the sting of criticism.

I don't reply to the comments anymore on that piece because it has become tedious and boring to me. Most of the criticisms are that I am overgeneralizing, an envious fat ass, or that I got some fact wrong. Then, there are the pathetic beta males (and females) who tell their sob stories of how they are dirt fucking poor and pawned major appliances to buy some second hand Cannondale bike off Craigslist from some rich douchebag triathlete.

I can't think of any sport I revile as much as triathlon. I'm not a fan of golf, but that sport is so wide open now that I see rednecks with golf clubs in the back of their pick up trucks. It doesn't attract the sort of snobs that it did in the 1960s.

The one thing I have to say is that I'm not a fan of gear. I just see triathletes as runners who wanted to buy shit. The ones who don't want to buy shit just keep running and try to improve their times while others explore the ultra-distances mainly because they prefer trails to pavement. The ones who do want to buy shit turn to the Ironman for their aspirations. Runners are picking up on this division which explains some of the latest traffic I have been getting. Those folks take some special glee in finding pics of triathletes in the man bra and Speedo.

Gear lust is a big deal among the tri-set. The bulk of it is centered on the bike. Runners spend little time discussing gear because there is none except for the shoes which are affordable. Runners who become a bit big on gear end up being lampooned as "yuppie runners."

I am working on a post on minimalist fitness that I think addresses these issues and will change some minds on this shit. I like low gear/old school techniques and methods. It will surprise you what you can do with so little.

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