Raleigh Triathlon
I found out about triathlon in 1987. After a neighbour lent me some copies of Tri-Athlete magazine. I planned to do a race in 1988. But probably couldn’t find a local one that I was old enough to do. I was 15.
My first road bike was a 24” wheeled Halfords model. Great for getting around Cippenham. But I knew I needed something better if I was going to get into triathlon. So using saved up pocket money and birthday present credits I bought a Peugeot Elan at the end of 1987.
I think it cost £120. Again from Halfords. And I’d finally joined the world of 700C. Powder blue frame. Miche components. Shiny wheels. Gum-wall tyres. And totally did the job for increasing the distance of my rides in 1988. And then most of my first triathlon season in 1989.
Image: Tri-Athlete (UK). July 1987.
What I really wanted though was the Raleigh Triathlon. I used to visit the one they had in Stowes Cycles on my way to catch the bus home from school. 531 tubes. A Shimano 105 groupset with aero brakes. And a “triathlon specific” saddle. But at over £300. It was way out of my price range.
Here’s the other bikes that Raleigh were offering in 1987. Definitely more on those in a later blog post. And a peak inside my shed.
Images: 1987 Raleigh Catalogue
In 1989 I did find a race to do. The Wokingham Try-A-Tri. See TSP2. And by August I was so obsessed by the sport I’d used money earnt from a summer job to order a Dave Russell. See ad below. More on that later.
