Triathlon has three sports and a secret fourth: transitions — the swim-to-bike and bike-to-run changeovers where minutes evaporate for the unpracticed and ‘free speed’ lives for the rehearsed. The beginner’s transition curriculum, practiced in a driveway.

The Layout System

Transition setup is mise-en-place: the small towel as home base, shoes open and ready, helmet upside-down on the bars with straps out, glasses in the helmet, race belt with the bib attached. Everything in USE ORDER, nothing extra — the cluttered transition spot is where race-morning minutes go to die.

The T1 Sequence

Swim-to-bike, choreographed: wetsuit unzipped and peeled to waist DURING the run in (the water-exit multitask), suit off with the step-on-and-pull, helmet ON before touching the bike (the rule officials actually enforce), then the mount line. Practice the wetsuit peel wet — dry rehearsals lie.

The T2 Simplicity

Bike-to-run’s shorter script: bike racked, helmet off (in that order — the reverse earns penalties), shoe swap (elastic laces earn their legend here — the guide’s one gear commandment), race belt spun to front, go. The jelly-legs stride off the bike is the brick training’s whole justification.

The Flying-Nothing Rule

The beginner’s doctrine: skip the advanced circus (flying mounts, shoes-clipped-in-already, sockless sprints) — the fancy moves save seconds and cost race-day chaos when unrehearsed. The beginner’s transition wins by calm: rehearsed sequence, tidy spot, walking pace where needed. Free speed comes from not fumbling, not from acrobatics.

Layout in use order, helmet before bike, elastic laces, calm over circus. The fourth discipline trains in driveways for free — and pays out in minutes on a day you’ll count them.