Get your bike out of the way as early as possible
Some people delay checking their bikes into transition the way some people hold on to their youngest child on the first day of college. This clinginess can really eat up time. You can get your bike in transition and have check-in addressed more than 24 hours before the race's start at large events. The larger the event, the better an idea this is. You can normally go back the next morning, make a final check on the bike and put the rest of your gear beside it.
If you wait to put your bike in place the morning of the event, you have to take it to transition while holding at least a backpack's worth of gear, a wetsuit, your bike shoes, your running shoes and your nutrition. It's just too cumbersome.
Make dinner reservations
If you're getting into a large race, or even if your event draws a good-sized crowd for its local area, local restaurants will be crowded the night before a race. That doubles for eating establishments that offer healthier and more endurance-friendly menus. Also keep in mind that you're probably going out to eat on an already busy night for most restaurants. If you don't want to waste 45 minutes waiting to get a table or driving around finding a place that can seat you, it's a great idea to decide where you want to eat in advance and make reservations. When you're getting this close to the race's start, you don't want to be losing sleep trying to get something to eat.
It's not a race until someone says 'go'
Remember, there are no bonus points for being the first person to body marking or the start line. You might actually do yourself more harm than good worrying about getting to the event on time and waking up an hour earlier than necessary. Definitely give yourself time to get dressed and eat the breakfast of your choice, but don't sweat it too much. No one is going to fire the start gun if they know there are still dozens of people at check-in.
Don't try to figure out your gear right before the race
Many people spend half an hour or more trying to determine the best place to put their helmet and sunglasses on their bike for the fastest possible transition. There's no right answer to this question. If there were, they'd already know it because they would have rehearsed transitions.
If you haven't rehearsed, you don't have any particular method, and there's no good place to put your items. It's then best to lay everything out in a fashion that looks orderly enough for you to find things without encroaching on your neighbor. After that, leave it behind and get to the start line. Now is not the time to worry.
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