Triathlon at Retirement

I recently heard about another bike crash with broken bones involved.  Crashing on the bike is too common, biking is dangerous. I admit I brake on some downhills and tight turns, I know as a late comer to triathlon, that my biking skills are not the best. As much as I want to gain a few seconds, I rather be safe and bike another day. I often get left behind on downhills but so far, I have not had any crashes and I am trying to keep it that way. A few times I have fallen in slow motion with some scrapes as a result and once I tipped over in my own driveway, but no damage! Turning up is half the battle and you need to stay healthy and injury free. Think long term, never take risks on the bike or train with illness or pain. Yes, you may loose a little fitness, but you will actually be on the start line on race day. It is depressing to not be able to participate in a planned race, maybe a championship. Not to talk about potential long term harm to your health.                             

If you are not driving to a far away event, it is a problem to bring the bike. Here are your options:  1. Rent a bike at location  2. Fly with your bike as luggage  3. Transport your bike with a commercial triathlon bike transporter  4. Drive anyway  5. Not go  1. I have tried renting in Sweden which resulted in a summer with no competitions at all. Basically, there are not that many competitive bikes to rent and I am not a common size. I have given up on that solution. On big events, local rentals run out quickly. 2. I have flown with my bike on several occasions and it works, but includes a lot of preparations. First you have to make sure that the plane you are boarding accept packed bicycles. Small planes do not, and popular routes can have black out dates for oversized luggage during peak season. For example, flying to Europe during the summer months with a bicycle is not allowed on many airlines. Cost for the bicycle is around $150-200 per leg. Clearing those hurdles, you have to