transition - t2 how to not loose bike spot?

A brightly colored towel hanging on the rack works for me.

practice your T2 transition four and a half times before your race..... i always do it. 

I always bring sidewalk chalk and draw a big star or my name on the pavement near the aisle I will be coming through. Draw it big so if it gets smudged or wet you can still see something on the ground to use as a cue.

 this helps the best for me. I'll do a couple of walk throughs coming in to count the racks, which side, etc.

I don't usually bring a ballon or towel since there are enough people that do I just use them as land marks.  {one rack past the taco bueno flag}

or just big a huge bucket so you can see it from miles away

This, plus landmarks. A tree, a port-a-potty, anything that is unlikely to move. I get tow or three and sort of triangulate my position. It's not enough to know that you are here, you need to know where here is in relation to all transition entrances and exits.

1) Practice. Get to the race early, setup your equipment, then walk the route from the water to your bike and from the bike entrance back to your rack several times.
2) Use markers. I tie a small (1-foot) American Flag on a short pole to the rack, out of the way of any other bikes. Some folks use balloons, I like the towel and chalk ideas, but use whatever it takes to help you find your aisle. In races where transition is in the grass/dirt, chalk won't work.
3) Practice. You want to have a landmark of some sort, and envision running to your bike before the race starts.

The reason we train so hard is so that on race day, during the event, we don't have to think about what we are doing. Thinking is slow. I come out of the swim, rip off my swim cap and goggles, run full speed to my bike, put on my helmet, grab my bike and run like H out of transition. Everything else is a blur.

I'll sometimes choose a spot that is easy to find without thinking, even if its not a particurly good spot.

The other thing which is better, is to prepare well mentally before during the race.  Before the race, walk from the swim-in to the bike a few times to make sure you find your bike in T1 easily.  Walk from bike-in to your spot a few times to get used to finding your spot.  And during the race, just before entering T1 and T2, picture in your mind where your bike is (three racks down, turn right, about half way up on the right...). 

Worse than not finding your spot in T2 is setting up in someone else's spot and not realizing you did so until you can't find your running shoes.  Ask me how I know!

Brian 

I don't bring anything to mark my rack, since other people tend to do it...  But look for landmarks...

Such as "the second rack after the one with the balloon" or the "rack just before the one that someone marked the big chalk arrow.", etc.

As for my particular spot, I remember if I'm in near, middle, or far side of the rack, then use a brightly colored beach towel to spot it quickly.

In Escape from Alcatraz, it was such a huge transition area, that I actually looked across the street and found wich house I was opposit.  They also had the flags of the nations of the world on the fencing, so took note of that.  I ran to the house, then looked for my flag, etc..

Bottom line, use landmarks that are around you.  ALSO, make note about how it looks coming from the water/bike.  If you set up looking at the water and get used to finding it that way, you may be disoriented looking at it coming OUT of the water or off the bike...  (if that makes sense)

Edited by Aikidoman 2009-10-01 11:44 AM

M y big-a$$ neon-colored five-gallon bucket calls to me like a T2 siren...

I just had a thought...  If I could get my hands on one of those old cop lights they had for unmarked cars in the old TV shows, they would stick out the window and on the roof.  THAT would be cool!

Oh yeah, I also have a bright yellow Adamo saddle and my bike is HUGE, so it sticks up higher than most.  That helps too!

Dont write on the ground-Thats rude...what if we all did that?

Just practice and maybe even count the racks and then count along as you come out of the swim-Even at Hyvee this year there were only 30 racks so its not that hard!

Count racks from the bike in/out to your transition spot.

Besides what others said about practicing coming in/leaving the T area a few times so you have a visual of what it looks like approaching your area.  Get a unique transition mat/towel.  Something loud and bright that would catch your eye against all the other gear around there.... tie-dye a white towel or something if you have to.  Put that under the front wheel of your bike when setting up the transition area. 

It works well for me for a few reasons... When I'm coming into T1 working on getting the suit down, am still half stumbling from having just gone from horizontal to vertical, and thinking about how much it sucks to run on pavement with bare feet... I'm typically looking down more than ahead and up.  So I never notice other people's balloons, I know what area of the transition area to run towards.  Once I'm in the area I start looking for my towel.  It can stick out a little into the aisle since it's not going to impede anyone from running past it.... it's flat.  When I come back into T2, the towel is still there, sticking a little further out than all the other bike tires, so it's easy to pick out again

You know...I just had a thought...It would be nice if the race directors used colored chalk or paint and actually color coded the rows for us....Just take 10 colors and then repeat...So I could look and say I am in the first blue row or the second red....that would be easy and cheap...does any event do this?

oh...and thats my idea now so if any races want to do it they have to pay me 100 bucks first...

i have a pic of me looking for the bike spot its the funniest thing ever and i look absolutely pissed....my dad was yelling from outside transition....

i don't want to bring a balloon but maybe a bright towel would ba  good idea...can i tie a tie from rack?

It is a very simple and commonly overlooked solution. 

Walk from the dismount line to your bike rack.  Figure out the most direct route.  Repeat.  On the second time, walk through what you will be doing at each step.  How quick do you have your helmet off.  My is off well before I reach my rack.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  I always look for my shoes. 

It is really a mental thing.  For the first time in my racing career, I missed my rack this year.  I was so pissed off after the race and couldn't figure out how I managed to go down the wrong rack.  The solution was simple.  I got to the race really late and didn't do a transition walkthrough.  Doh! 

X2. Walk from bike in to your rack at least once. Count racks, and note any landmarks near your rack (a tree, bush, street sign, utility pole, etc.) that will help you remember where your rack is.

Just do what I do, swim in the last wave, then swim slow... by the time you get into transition, your bike is the only one left!  ok, quite the problem on t2, but at least t1 is taken care of...

I've been lucky so far, and have done small races... I have a bright beach towel, and I use landmarks to find my rack, I've been successful on my 2 races so far... but love all of the tips

Of course the easiest way for me to find it in T1 is that I suck so bad in the water that my bike is the only one left on my rack most of the time.  Then again, when I get back from the bike there are only a handful there as well.

well maybe someday....for now a balloon i guess....? 

j/k

the whole counting and numbering of the racks has been done in fact i swear i remember at my first tri. they had it broke down into rows then sorted by race number and that was your spot. so yeah it made it extremely easy to find my bike. the other races there were only two racks not to hard to find my bike in a group of 40 even easier when half were already gone.