It’s now just three days until IRONMAN 70.3 Arizona in Tempe, AZ, where Ragen claims she will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles, all in under 8-1/2 hours. She is currently preparing for a speaking engagement this afternoon at Castleton University in Vermont. The excitement kicks off on Friday with a hectic schedule of coordinated travel plans, check-ins, and finally the big day this Sunday.

Ragen likes to assign names and genders to inanimate objects. For instance, her car is male and named “Morpheus”, and her previous bike (of bike jail fame) was named “Clyde”. When she finally managed to locate a bike shop willing to mutilate her road bike to her specifications, the next order of business was of course choosing a name.

After a number of ideas (KITT, after the car in Knight Rider, was in serious contention) I had named the bike Phyxius. It’s Greek for “taking to flight” and is named after the boat owned by Keanu Reeves’ character (Shane Falco) in the movie The Replacements […]

Phyxius or Phyxios is the “god of flight”, one of the minor cult surnames of Zeus in Greek mythology. Ragen thinks this means “flight” as in flying or moving at great speed, somewhat appropriate for a bike. In reality, the name has nothing to do with flying, and everything to do with evading the law. Phyxius is indeed the god of flight… in the sense of escape. He is commonly referred to as the helper or protector of fugitives. “Taking to flight” is all about escape, banishment, and evading responsibility. Phyxios (φύξιος) literally means “of banishment”.

There are a number of boats registered under the name Phyxius, just like the movie example Ragen’s bike name comes from. This is a clever play on the idea of a boat being an escape from everyday life. There are also some good examples of companies and individuals misinterpreting the name and using it to comedic effect in areas like the aviation industry. It’s pretty clear Ragen’s bike falls into the latter camp.

In our opinion, Ragen could not have chosen a better name for her bike. IronFat is one great big flight from reality.