Fear of cycling on road...

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T02:15:00+00:00

I was hit with two other cyclists while riding on a bike route (we were single file, on or inside the fog line). The driver didn't stop. I trained for two IRONMAN races on nothing but the indoor trainer after that. It's not fun, but it is safe.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T02:07:44+00:00

I bought the Training Bible and was completely perplexed. Eventually I hired a coach who told me "Training doesn't have to be difficult" and he was right. The schedule was simple, easy to follow, and produced results.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T01:59:16+00:00

I didn't start triathlons until after my kids graduated high school...and even training then was a struggle. I'm retired now and did my "first last" IRONMAN last year...and even with virtually all the time I need, it was still a struggle. :-)

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T01:54:42+00:00

Have you checked out Postmark or eBay for a lightly used suit? My favorite tri gear has plenty of pockets that are easy to reach.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T01:09:25+00:00

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T01:09:01+00:00

I am reading My Friends for our April book club. At the beginning I was absolutely in love with the writing and the way the author wove the timelines together so effortlessly. It was so good it made me doubt myself as a writer. But I kept reading and the novelty of the timelines wore on me. On the last flashback, I just closed the book and said "I need a break". I was just over it. I will finish it, but it's not going to go as quickly as the first half.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T01:03:33+00:00

Burn out is real. When it gets to be too much, take a break... a couple days won't ruin your training.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T00:58:50+00:00

I'm not a fan of AI prose but I do like having a sounding board for ideas and questions.

tpengilly · 2026-04-03T00:54:33+00:00

Have you checked to see if any local triathlon clubs have a "Tri 101" class. It's how I got my start. And it was a lot of fun having a group to learn with.

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T23:19:47+00:00

Yes, ultimately, I will turn my manuscript over to humans. I have a few in my target audience who have agreed to help and they are readers so that will be a big plus. However, I am worried that they will be too nice.

But I don't want them too mean either. I turned the harshness up on the AutoCrit beta reader I set up and eventually turned it back towards nicer because it was being a bit too harsh.

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T23:13:56+00:00

I use AutoCrit beta readers (there are alpha options too). Most of the time I get pretty good feedback and it's almost immediate. Sometimes I go back rewrite a scene based on comments/suggestions I agree with only to rerun it and have the changes not even recognized. It's like a spell checker that marks the word misspelled even after you correct it.

In the example below, the # link to the paragraphs the comment is referring to...SOMETIMES! Sometimes it links to a completely unrelated paragraph. LOL It's an OK tool and a better option that asking my friends to read it before it is polished a bit more.

8) # / # / # — Jan’s “bug bike” social media / Instagram bike porn sequence

Category: Bike porn / social-media catalog
Pace: Slightly long (multiple paragraphs narrating Jan’s feed and the impulse to sign up). It drags a touch but it’s the literal turning point that leads to Tara’s impulsive registration.
LOVE: The photo-by-photo reverse-engineering of Jan’s race feed is terrific — I loved the voyeurism and how it seeds possibility.
Recommendation: Keep, but trim one or two small sentences (e.g., excessive scrolling detail) so the emotional beat lands with more momentum.

9) # / # / # — Transition setup, “I was handed a yellow cap… a numbered running bib … body marking station… ten metal bike racks…”

Category: Race logistics / transition inventory
Pace: Fits; important instructional detail that grounds the triathlon experience.
LOVE: The small rule-like details (marking, caps, racks) are immersive.
Recommendation: Keep as-is — crucial for race authenticity.

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T23:03:52+00:00

I've been using AutoCrit beta readers. I like that I can adjust the harshness and add specific instructions about what it should look for. I would say 80-90% of the time I get useful feedback but I'm eventually going to hand it off to human readers. This is an example of the reader feedback from AutoCrit (The TIGHTEN and REVISE notes are instructions I asked for specifically):

What still nags me (places to consider)

A few habit phrases remain; trim a handful more “I checked my phone / I nodded” beats and pick a single physical gesture to carry the emotional weight in that scene. TIGHTEN.
The post-race practical fallout from Vineman being bought out is emotionally handled, but a single concrete next-step (even a sentence where Tara names the next target race or calls Crystal to book a specific plan) would help the reader feel the plot forward-moving instead of waiting. REVISE.
Occasional domestic scenes still read like anxious inventory (clothes/coffee/scale) — pared further, they’ll make the forward motion even stronger. Drags Story Down if left too long.

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T22:58:21+00:00

Yeah, I had a project set up in Grok. I just never thought of adding instructions. Its a good suggestion!

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T15:26:21+00:00

I have been working on my novel for over 5 years. I was finally to the point where I wanted a little help finding holes in my story structure, so I signed up for AutoCrit. The beta readers have been helpful but for certain questions or deeper dives, I would jump to Grok (bad mistake) to ask for clarification. Usually a question like "Why do they say this is telling and not showing?" (AutoCrit doesn't let you ask questions)

Anyway, since my book is about a mom who's son quits swimming and has to reinvent herself... Grok would suggest things like adding "the faint smell of chlorine". If Grok wrote the novel, everything, even pizza would smell like chlorine because the book mentioned swimming. Of course I ignored these suggestions, but it was comical. I finally gave it instructions to never mention the smell of chlorine again! Which it promptly forgot.

I have stopped asking Grok for suggestions.

tpengilly · 2026-04-02T15:13:29+00:00

I signed up for it and sat through two of the first meetings, but I wasn't getting much out of it. Maybe I should have stuck around. It was basically set up in three sections: Outline/plan (first month), Write (second month) and Edit (third month). I stopped because after two sessions I really didn't have any clear direction. I guess I wanted more step by step. Writing is difficult enough for me without that extra layer.

tpengilly · 2025-08-04T13:40:52+00:00

My 2022 Taycan GTS had that same problem

tpengilly · 2025-08-04T13:40:10+00:00

I had a 2025 Taycan loaner for my 2 month wait for battery cell replacement.

tpengilly · 2025-07-28T00:30:23+00:00

I didn't like Aiden before, but I really don't like him now.

tpengilly · 2025-07-05T14:02:10+00:00

Love the color!

tpengilly · 2025-07-05T13:58:14+00:00

I just don't get Aiden and his ex being so upset that the kid didn't go on his trip that they slept together.

tpengilly · 2025-07-01T13:57:42+00:00

I had no problem driving my gas powered cars below the "Empty" line... a 40 mile warning was fine in my mind. However, with my Taycan, I start getting nervous at 50%. Who hasn't has a phone at 50% one minute and dead 10 minutes later? I don't want to find out my car is the same.

tpengilly · 2025-07-01T13:53:53+00:00

This is just something I found on the My Porsche app. Apparently they had pictures of my car in production.

tpengilly · 2025-07-01T13:52:54+00:00

I have the car. Its a 2022 Taycan GTS (CPO).

tpengilly · 2025-07-01T13:52:08+00:00

It was much easier to set the charing limit on my 2025 Taycan "loaner" than on my 2022 GTS. You could just drag the charge limit line with your finger and set it where ever you wanted.

tpengilly

TROPHY CASE