After reading another thread about dropping or being dropped by roadies, I thought I'd add my experience.

A key difference was that it was an actual race, - a triathlon to be exact. When you think about it, a triathlon is sort of like commuting under ideal circumstances. The large triathlon I participated in earlier this summer had nearly 4,000 participants and the roads were closed to motorized traffic.

You can blow through all the stop signs and traffic lights you want. You can drop roadies and have it actually mean something. Of course hopping off your bike and having to run a few miles on legs like rubber can be a drag but you get used to it.

So anyway, traditional speedos have pretty much fallen from favor in modern triathlons but there was a guy wearing one during my last tri. He was out of the water slightly ahead of me but then blew me away on the bike segment. A speedo, - sort of turns the regular clothes vs. padded shorts argument on its head.

Commuting has worked well for me as part of my training. In the two triathlons I did this summer, I finished 7th and 9th respectively in my age group.

The nice thing about a tri is that you don't need any special racing skills. There are no pace lines and no drafting, - just hard riding. Anybody who enjoys a little race during their commute should give one a shot.

Fitness trumps clothing/gear 8 days a week. I drop `serious` riders everyday. A fat guy on a $5000 bike is still fat guy. A fit `fred` in flip flops, a tee shirt, and cargo shorts is still a fit guy. Welcome to Reality 101.

Money buys cool gear. Not fitness.

True enough, but I'd bet I could jump up a spot or two just by dropping a few grand on tri-specific bike.

One of my joys commuting is dropping people on really expensive bikes.

The problem with triathlons is the running and swimming. Besides that they are great.
Duathlons have issues with the running.

Yeah, there is that, but many triathlons have relays where you can have different people doing different parts of the race.

I don't run, but I swim and bike. I'd love to see those two events in a single race. I don't competitively bike, but I do competitively swim. I race sail boats too, but somehow that just doesn't seem to fit the theme.

Ah, you mean Aquabike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquabike
I came across that yesteday while perusing the Wiki article on triathlons. Running brings me no joy, but I learned to swim shortly after learning to walk (or so family legend goes).

What they really need is to introduce skill sports into tri's. Bike an obstacle course section somewhere on the bike part, basketball shooting sections on the running portion, and end it all with a swim through icy waters capping it off with a shootout against an NHL goalie.

I like that idea. Hmmm.... but then I would need to find a team.

On the 4th of July, I caught the end of a triathlon on the beach...it was run, swim, chug a 6 pack of beer. Chugging beer is definitely a skill sport.

Runners are a dime a dozen and unless you're talking about an Ironman or something the run portion of a triathlon is relatively short.

Finding someone to swim about a mile in open water can be more challenging. I have to say though that the swim is my favorite part even though I was never a competitive swimmer. The start can get a little wild but once you're in some clear water and can get into a rhythm, it can be pretty enjoyable. It's the only part of the race that I'm fresh.

Indeed

Didn't even know they existed... now if I sailed to the event... I'd have it all covered.

Reality for me at these events is that I'm not dropping many people on really expensive bikes, -at least not people on tri-bikes. There was only one guy on a tri-bike that I was able to pass and it wasn't that nice of one.

I don't do all that bad at these things but match me up against a serious guy on serious bike and I'm in serious trouble. So if on my commute I fly by some guy in full kit riding on a Trek Madone, what does it mean? In my opinion, not much. He's either a poseur or uninterested.

Right on but.........fat floats better!

Being an old, fat, sandal wearing, fred type, cyclist and still a fairly good sprinter, I regularly blow past decked out road riders on my commute, riding my single speed. But my commute is essentially a 8.5 mile time trial. Give me some hills and I slow to a crawl. I have managed a 10 mile rolling hill ride in exactly 30 minutes so maybe there is hope for me yet. Just gotta stop eating so much. I suppose they have age categories for these events? It might be a good goal for me to train for one in order to motivate a life change.

Events are an awesome motivator. Go for it!
I came back from being hit by a car and training for a 120 mile bike ride with 10,000 feet of climbing. Great motivation. Knocked that one out of the park (so to speak). I basically had 2 months to get most of my fitness back and actually improved it.

On my short 9.5 mile version of my commute my average speed goes up 2 mph. There is nothing quite like riding a single speed at 19-21 mph. Wonderful workout.
The longer versions I have to pace myself and my speed drops accordingly.

Yes, they have age categories but the top few guys in my category (40 to 44, soon to be 45 - 49) are still often among the top overall finishers.

For me it is an especially good motivator as I have an ongoing rivalry with my younger brother who last year I snuck by at the finish to beat by 1/100th of a second. This year he was injured but I know next year he'll be back and gunning for me ;-)

I wish I would have had my camera with me this year, it would have made a great bike porn thread to have a picture of 3,000+ bikes racked up in the transition area.

There are about 100 guys on the planet that can get away with wearing a Speedo, and they're all in Beijing right now. I'm glad that most folks have moved to tri suits.

At the local pool, there's a guy in his 60's (at least), who weighs 200+....who wears....a thong. I just don't need that sort of visual input.

We have the same problem here. Well, it's a problem for me. In my last tri I finished 9th in the 40-44 group. It would have been good for 3d in the 20-24 group.

I used to be one of those Speedo guys back in the 80s. Thank God there are no surviving photos.

I would do anything within my power to not be behind anyone wearing a speedo on their bicycle

I finished 7th in my group on a flat course and 9th on a hilly course. There was a huge difference between the top 3 guys and me. The 4th and 5th place finishers in the group were also a cut above.

The young guys often don't do as well. I think endurance sports are something you get more into as you age and there's not many 20-24 year olds who can afford a bike good enough for them to compete at the top levels.

I'm also guilty of wearing a speedo during a triathlon a number of years ago but I was only doing the swim leg.

Well the guy was fast and he wasn't in my field of vision for all that long. In any case it's not something I really care about, I just knew the title of thread would get some attention ;-)

However, perhaps I should start riding my bike in a Borat-style bib speedo - I bet I'd look even faster!!

In all honesty, I couldn't care less what other people wear riding (as long as I get the same courtesy lol) I just got this terrible image of me in a speedo on a bike and how terrifying THAT would be