argh... what to wear for COLD tri

[VeloVT]

QUOTE: mass bike start after the swim? That's interesting.

I know... it's being organized by the (student) tri club at the local University, there are a number of "interesting" features and I worry a bit about the level of organization. Hoping it won't be mayhem . It's my first attempt at a tri.

Pool is open for swimmers at 7am (locker rooms open at 6:40), first come first swim, and bike start is at 9am. I've heard there are usually 50-100 ppl, so I'm thinking as long as I get there at 6:30, I should have enough time to change, even if everyone else gets there early too (which likely will not be the case, since it's sort of a "community race" and I gather lots of people participate fairly casually).

[KSH]

That does sound like a different kind of tri. First come first swim? New one to me. And a mass bike start. Interesting as well.

I did a tri last year... where it was 35-40 degrees with winds blowing up to 30 mph. We didn't have the luxery of changing into dry clothes.

I basically put a towel by the exit... dried off on the way to T1... then in T1 I put on cycling pants (not tights), a jacket, a hat and full gloves. I raced like that for the entire race. Oh, and I had the most clothes on of ANYONE out there. There were guys and gal in just their tri shorts and tops racing. Bbbuuuurrrrr.... no thanks!

So, the fact that you can actually dry off and change... you are lucky. I say just pick something warm and easy to put on.

Good luck!