cold weather race clothing

I am usually fine with those temps in arm warmers but if the wind is blowing that makes a difference I may throw on a long sleeve dri fit over race top but with a sprint depending on the distance I would probably stick with the arm warmers and maybe knee warmers.

Are you doing the tri in Sioux City this Saturday?  I'm doing the same one and have wondered about the weather as well.

As I was riding my bike to work this morning I passed a sign that said the temp was 40 degrees. The thought ran through my head, "why the heck am I doing a race in October?"

Hopefully the adrenaline will compensate for the low temps.

I assume you'll be wet getting onto the bike - right?  Unless you're planning a full change in T1, I would not recommend trying to struggle with arm or leg warmers.  They are hard enough to get on dry and not in a race.

I would towel off very quickly and wear a wind-breaker bike jacket.  I did a race in pretty close temps to that in June (50s and rain) and I put on my jacket fairly easily.  Barelegs will be okay, although it will hurt a little.  If this were a longer race I would think differently.

By the time you get to the run, you'll probably want to take off a jacket and will be warm enough for regular clothes.