What have I gotten myself into? Bicycle.net’s owner and my friend, VeloGuy, has shamed me into considering doing my first triathlon. How bad is this? I’ll be 44 next month, I’m 6 feet tall and hover in the low 270 poind range. I’ve chosen the handle bfntg — short for Big Fat New Tri Guy — and am not yet willing to use my real name in order not to needlessly humiliate my wife and six children. I am trusting my health into this maniac’s hands.

Due to previous work and family committments, I really can’t start training until three weeks from today. After that, my calendar is clear. In the meantime, I’ll be blogging about equipment and will be writing a triathlon diary. I’ll post a few “before” and “after” shots, too.

I live in Los Angeles, where there are lots of triathlons. VeloGuy wants to get me to aim for my first in January or February. Of course, my first will be of the shortest variety. But being a bit of a maniac in my own rights, I predict that if VeloGuy succeeds in getting me over my first finish line, I’ll be hooked and doing more.

If you’ve got tips or would like to banter with VeloGuy as he trains me, please use the comments in his posts or mine.