Transition road to Tri BIke

I'd really say to stay out of aero until you get used to the quick turning of the bike. Go to a huge parking lot or park and ride on the grass.  I'd say it took me about 2-3 rides before I started to feel comfortable. 

definitely always be cautious about riding aero in traffic.

I tend to pop up on the horns the instant it looks risky..buses, obstacles...whatever..

practice your aero when it's safe..only then.

Yea it's a little twitchy at first.  But it didn't take that long to get used to it.  Like others have said, go out to a parking lot when the stores are closed and ride away!

Duane

Ride outside.  Then ride outside again.  Then again.  Repeat.

The thing is you are scared of riding outside, and you will be till you do it enough that you are not scared.  The unknown of the tri bike is just making that worse.

So the question is what are you scared of?  Falling? Cars? Being embarassed?

Since you mentioned being hit perhaps you would be better starting out on a MUP or closed road/parking lot area.  But find a time of day when there are not a lot of pedestrians either. 

One issue in being comfortable is that it is natural to want to go slow to be safe, but realy that slow < 5 mph speed is less stable than a decent 10 - 15 mph.  So take a bold step and take a ride outside, or 2, or 20, or... just ride.

Depending upon what your tri bike is built with, it may be helpful to try riding your tri bike with shallower section wheels (perhaps those on your road bike) until you're used to the handling - I've found a noticeable difference in crosswinds between my open pro and AC 420 wheelsets when on the aero bars.

SYJ