gear question

You won't find them in you everyday sports store, but you should be able to find a tri suit. They fit tight, like lycra bike shorts, but have a little less padding. They are normally a little shorter then bike shorts, or you can go with the brief style. Either way you end up with tan lines. Some bike specialty stores, or run specialty stores will have them. You can also go on-line.
If you can't find any, cheap bike shorts, or bike shorts with a little less padding will work.

Tri shorts are designed to be worn for swimming, biking and running. The pad in a tri short is a lighter chamois pad and doesn't retain water like a regular bike short pad. The shorts provide compression similar to that of the bike shorts. Depending on the brand, you can find tri shorts in a variety of lengths ranging from a 5" to a 9" inseam.

Nik