first tri - basic bike advice...

[transplant]

pretty simple situation: i'm doing the bike portion of a triathlon and was wondering if there's anything i need to know ahead of time. rules? etiquette?

[TriBob]

The two biggest rules are your helmet must be on and buckled if you are on your bike. Even for a warm up ride before the race. No drafting. You must stay 3 bike lengths behind the person in front of you. You are allowed 15 seconds to pass someone. When passed you must drop out the back of the draft zone before trying to repass.

Good luck and have fun.

[transplant]

i'm guessing not, but are ipods allowed?

[Fivetenfrank]

Ipods? NO. I have never done a tri where the promoter allowed it. Whether they enforce it is another matter. Its very dangerous. Even if they were allowed, I wouldnt advise it. Most of the tris and du's I have done are on roads open to traffic. Not a good idea. Besides, you wont be able to hear the guy behind pleading with you to move right so he can pass.

Most of the races I have done, theres usually a guy on a motorcycle riding the course telling you if your too close to the guy in front of you. Odds are, if you cant hear him because your rocking oout to your Brittany Spears mix, you're going to get DQ'd.

I run religiously with an Ipod. On race day, I have so much adrenaline, I dont need the music to pump me up.

I call out my passes if the fella in front of me is in the middle of the road and I dont feel comfortable trying to squeeze through. Give warning if your going to do this; dont wait until your so close you can squeeze his butt before you blast out a "PASSING LEFT" in his ear. You'll probably scare the poor SOB so bad he wipe out and take you with him.

Regarding the helmet: it has to be buckled BEFORE you leave the transition and when you ENTER the transition. I saw, only once, a DQ because a guy jumped off his bike with the helmet undone. The official happened to be right at the chip matt, wrote his number down, and when the guy went to leave the transition for the run, he was told not to bother. The promoter made three announcements in the pre-race meeting about helmets, so it was a sore spot. The mp3 player is something I see being addressed as well lately; I have seen mentions made on the race flyer and alot of the promoters mention it in the pre-race meeting.

Some promoters wil DQ you, no questions asked. Some will warn. Some will dock time. Dont take chances.

Dont throw your empty gel wrappers on the road. Its littering. Stuff the wrapper in your back pocket.

Lastly, dont ride up to another rider and ask him to pull your finger.

[cjbruin]

Two things to remember when you're on the bike leg.

1) Stay to the right when you're not passing someone.
2) Stay to the right when you're not passing someone.

This is the most abused rule in triathlons (especially sprints) and it creates danger.

[caloso]

There's a line at the transition area before which you have to dismount. Someone will warn you when you're getting close I'm sure, but it's an automatic DQ if you ride over the line. And as a general rule, be mellow in the transition area. Be quick and smooth, but don't start hammering or getting on your aerobars until you're out on the open road.

[evanatorx]

Simple.

Don't draft
Don't Block
Don't swirve
No Music
Ride to the right
Go hard
Have fun
Race Well

[TysonB]

Transplant,

After a few tri's you will know yourself better than on this first one. Nonetheless, reasonable advice for a beginner is to ease up a bit on the bike a mile or so before the transition. Try to get your legs back while still coasting in a bit. Unless you've trained bricks a lot, you will be shocked at your running style (or lack thereof) the first half maile after the bike.

Tyson