(NOTE: This is the second installment of a three-part recap of my experience at the 2026 SuperTri Chicago – Olympic race. Catch up on Part 1: The Swim .)
After a consistent swim and finishing nine minutes before my estimate, I rode that high through all 40k (24+miles) of the bike leg with the BIGGEST grin on my face.
It took riding right into my fear (aka crashing) in order to get over it and find a true love in cycling. Throughout all of training, I kept one perspective everytime Stark, my bike, and I headed out the door on a ride: this is like playtime.
Playing Tourist in Your Own City
That feeling of playtime carried itself through every mile of the bike course during this race.
“Cycling in Chicago is so awesome!” I thought and said this outloud multiple times on Sunday.
I passed people, chatted with a few, and soaked up every mile of Lakeshore Drive, the Upper Wacker darkness, and each U turn that tested my bike handling.
Seeing Chicago from a bike is a whole different experience than doing so on-foot or via a car. To have a chance to ride on streets normally off limits to cyclist only made that playtime fun even better.
Before I knew it, the “slow” signs started appearing and the dismount line had appeared.
“It’s over already? Ok, now we run. I got this part.”
I jogged Starkback to his place in transition, grabbed my hat, sunglasses, more fuel and headed out on the run course.
Keep reading how I close it out in Part 3: The Run.
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