What do you carry on race day?

You carried WAY too much for an Olympic. You should be able to get away with one tube and a CO2 (I don't, if I flat in an Olympic, my race is over) and one bottle of hydration. A gel or 2 in your back pocket is fine.

sprints. a a half bottle of water.
oly-bottle of sports drink, or a bottle of water and a gel.

Half IM: 6 gels, 1 bottle (switch at aid stations)
1 spare tire (tubular)
1 razor blade
Co2 canister

OK, for a Half I do bring a spare, but like Newbz above, I race on tubulars, so I carry a spare tubular, one CO2, razor blade, one bottle, and gels in gel flask. If aid stations are few and far between, I might bring one more bottle on the bike and never bother with an aid station.

For an oly:
aero bottle (sometimes, not always)
one gu, taped to bike

That's it.

For Oly:
1 bottle w/ about 8 oz. sports drink in downtube cage
1 gel, electrical taped to top tube
1 tube, CO2, levers, mini patch kit in hardshell/aero saddle bag

for an oly just my aerobottle. 

for a 70.3 a tube and co2 plus my aerobottle and some gels

for a im a ton of nutrition

what the hell is the razorblade for?

Cut the lines of coke.....

In case my tubular tire is glued on too much and I can't pry it off, I can simply cut it and rip it off.

*Double Post*

Edited by bryancd 2010-02-08 1:24 PM

i carry mine for when bryan catches up with me on the bike.

wouldnt the wind blow your coke off the bars?

im switching to tubs for races this year.  do you ever use vittoria pit stop?  i was thinking of carrying some in case i get a flat and not carrying an extra tire.  at least for anything less than a 70.3 then i will carry an extra tire.

Sprints-nothing
Olympic- One bottle and 2 gels
HIM      - Three bottles, 3 gels
Never carry tubes, If i flat then I am out.

Have only done sprints and only carried gel once becauxe the bike portion was 20 miles.  Otheriwse, one or two bottles on the bike, one with watered-down gatorade.  If I flat - race over for me.

I get the whole flat and you're out thing, but you still have to get back...  Is carrying an extra tube/CO2 really so heavy that you'd rather walk back 10 miles than fix a flat?

I carry PitStop for Ironman. I am not 100% convinced I could even get it imnto my tires with the valve extensions on my front 404 or 606, I have a feeling it would just spray all over the place, but I figure better safe than sorry. I did flat in my first IM in 2007, my rear disc tubular, but managed to change that out with no problems pretty quickly.

All the Olympics i do are loop courses, you're never more than a few miles from Tranistion. Walk of shame.

I don't get why everyone gives up if they get a flat. Chrissie Wellington flatted and still won Kona.
Personally, I practice changing the tube quickly so I can keep going. If I pay the money to enter the race, I'm going to finish, darn it!
Is it just that if you aren't going to win/place, then you don't care?

For me, I think one of the most awesome things I've seen watching Kona coverage was a pro who had some foot problem and walked the marathon with the age groupers. I just don't understand the mentality of dropping out, unless you have a broken bone or a non-fixable mechanical issue.

not its not like that for me at least  but carrying the extra weight for a shorter race isnt worth it.  comparing wellington changing a flat in an ironman is a world of difference compared to changing a flat in a sprint or olympic.

Well said.

Where did you get that impression? I only would do that in an Olympic. I did flat in an Ironman and fixed it.

It's a personal choice.  Not everone races for the same reasons.

Have you ever used the pitstop? I have one, but I've never tried it.

Kona's a lot longer race, for one. Seconds don't typically matter quite as much.

In a long race like a half, or a race that was a "goal" race that takes months of training and prep...then yea, I'd bother to fix it. For example, I carried a couple of tubes on my MTB when I do a long  race.

But for sprints and olys? It's just not worth it to me. I race so often that dropping out of one, while annoying, isn't the end of the world. Plus, if you're really bored, you can always walk the bike in and still do the run legally (I've known folks to run in the last couple of miles then do the run...personally, not my thing, but whatever). And, even if you get the SAG wagon in...you can still go out on the run for your own personal benefit.

For me, if I flat, race's over. That's just the way it is.

Edited by mmrocker13 2010-02-08 3:17 PM

In the sprints I've done, a single 24oz bottle of water, a tube, levers and co2 is all I've taken.

I shot the gu before the race, and that was all she wrote. I figured if I flatted, I was then at the back of the mix, but at least I could finish and get home.

Seems to work so far...