Biking Sockless

+ whatever.  The shoes smell really good too.

In a triathlon, and with almost all of my biking, I never wear socks. I never felt like I needed to.

I did an early season triathlon a few years back and the air temperature that morning was pretty brisk and cool. I put on socks in T1 and I didn't bother to dry my feet off (because, of course, that would take too long). My feet froze the entire ride from wearing cold, wet socks. In fact, ice may have even formed on them. I was sooo happy to take off my socks when I arrived in T2.

I bike sockless fine until about 70 miles, and then my shoes give me hot sports.  In shorter races, I prefer sockless because it lets my feet dry out and any dirt on my feet stays in my bike shoes.

Running, though, I just apply socks in T1.  If you roll them up like certain prophylactic devices, they are easy to roll on quickly.

x2.

x2, I did not even know it was a USCF rule-I broke that one hundreds of times I guess. I don't know about "maintaining the integrity of my shoes" that sounds strange to me. Running shoes perhaps but not cycling shoes.

+1

Just make sure you do at least SOME of your training runs/rides without the socks first! Like most, sockless on the bike is fine for me. BUT a split second time-saving decision in my second last tri saw me ditch the socks for the run also... two HUGE blisters - one excruciating through the run.

I'm sure that the 'try it in training' goes without saying for most - but it was an in-transition decision... I'm less impaired after a bottle of rum than I am in transition. That's my defence!