On sprint distances I'll go barefoot for the bike and the run. Anything greater I like to have a towel or two laid out ready to dry my feet.

Many Tri shoes will have a drain for wet feet, they may or may not be functional though...I wear a pair of pearl izumis that I train in without socks, often on 3+ hour rides. I suppose its also a matter of preference

Same thing with me. Cycling without socks isnt that big of a deal, but if i'm doing a run over 10k, i'll put a pair of socks on in T2. My first triathlon i put socks on in T1 and my transition times were 2:02 and 1:59. My second one (i didnt put socks on ever), my times were 33 and 35 seconds. But i got a huge bloodblister that popped halfway into the 10k. Ill probably wear socks from now on haha.

I dont wear socks for anything Olympic or below. In all reality if you are wearing a wetsuit and the T area isnt too far from the water exit a 1:30 is a really good T1 time, without a wetsuit a minute is very realistic, both of these pending if you have your shoes on your pedals prior to the start and also how transition is set up. Pros and Elite can drop that time significantly but for the AG'ers these are great times. Just takes practice, thats what living rooms are for =)

for my first tri, I did this and hung the bit of toe left on my grips, had a towel on the groud, and an extra draped on my handlebars.

in T1, I stepped on the towel, grabbed the socks and other towel while reaching down, gave the top of my feet a quick rub, and rolled on the socks. and, the transition area was in sand and dirt. still, this method worked well.

In transition I have a small bucket with water and a foot towel.
I run up to my spot step in the water and step on the towel.
I am not completely dry but I put on my socks which are rolled up.
They are going to wick the moisture off my feet anyway.
I put my bike shoes on and run out off transition with my bike.

First of all, if yu train without socks prior to your A competition, you can compete without them. For anything above olympic distance, put socks on. For the others, train before hand and you will be fine. socks are TRASINTION killers. hahaha.

Daniel

Here's my classic rookie mistake: My first race a couple years ago, I used Injinji toe socks in T1. If you're not familiar with them, they have little pockets for each of your five toes. While these socks are fantastic for running, I was a complete moron for trying to use them with wet feet. It took FOREVER.

If it helps, I held a contest a while back where readers submitted their favorite T1 & T2 tips. You can look at them here:

http://theoutdoorjourney.com/journey/2007/07/30/top-triathlon-transition... (WS/FS)

I just started a little over a year ago and have found running without socks works best for me. I'm pretty competative in my division and seconds count.