I'm going to get a "real" tri bike this spring. So far I've done all but one of my tri's (3 Olys, 3 sprints) with my hybrid "city" bike. It's great for riding around the city, but I know a tri bike would be lighter and faster. My question is about training. I rode a friend's tri bike in the first tri I did. I didn't train on it though, because it so freaked me out to be bent over that far. It didn't feel very safe to ride on city streets because I couldn't see around me as well as I was used to.

So...where do you train? I'm guessing I'll ride the southern part of the lakefront path, which is less heavily travelled, or go out to the forest preserve on a weekday, where there's a nine mile loop with good visibility. It's a 45 min drive away, though, which is a pain. Do you just get used to being more bent over and develop the ability to see around you without having to lift up your head?