Oh, good lord. Poverty rate? Really? You quote the poverty rate, and refer to the average american in the same paragraph. Those are NOT the same two people. The people below (or anywhere near) the poverty line aren't doing endurance sports---at all. Yeah, they might play a pickup game of some ball-sport....but, they aren't going for a long run on Saturday, or to the pool to swim 2500scy....let alone doing a brick or signing up for a Du/Tri---that fact has nothing to do with money, if they had the money they still wouldn't give a shit about tri. That's just a straw man.

The average american DOES spend disposable income on some leasure activity, which could be spent on tri. So, the AVERAGE american CAN affort to participate in tri. Some of these average americans even participate in the local fun run/walks, and might go for a family bike ride on Sunday.

There are many, many, many more people out there who CAN affort tri...who are generally interested in endurance sports...who choose not to participate in triathlon. Why? My contention is because its a logistical cluster-fuck of planning, and constant exercise, and most people hate swimming.

Maybe you exist in a bubble. I'm exposed both personally and professionally to a wide swath of demographics...from low-wage, union, hourly employees missing half their teeth because they can't affort to go to a dentist (even though they might own two jetskis)....to VPs. NO ONE ever says, "man that triathlon looks expensive!" They might whistle at a 50mi ride, or a 15mi run. But, you mention 1000y of swimming, and the response is universally "Oh, HELL TO THE NO!"

So, yeah....maybe they can't afford it, maybe they can. But, it never enters the conversation...because they'd never even attempt it.

For my first triathlon (a sprint with a half mile swim) I wore swim trunks, did the breaststroke the whole way and rode my crappy mountain bike. I was hooked. Probably 2 years later, I bought an entry level road bike and used that. Then, finally, a few years later, I got a legit "mid-level" tri bike. By then I was doing the crawl, picked up a used wetsuit and was racing 70.3's. My point is that ideally, it should be a slow, building process. When I see folks out there on crappy bikes and no wetsuits, plodding along, I applaud them, because that used to be me. How wealthy are triathletes? Well, there are some with spaceship bikes and high end gear, their own personal trainers who race all around the world. But there are also schmucks like me, who started with basically nothing and slowly acquired gear over time, that only race locally a few times a year. I guess I'm middle class, but I don't consider myself wealthy. I've been using the same stuff for years.

You are the exception. Most people that want to be competitive want gear that puts them on a level playing field. I give you credit for this approach and your patience, but it's uncommon in this sport. I see buttloads of people paying $500 for Wattie Tri Suits. The sport caters to the wealthy.

For my first triathlon (a sprint with a half mile swim) I wore swim trunks, did the breaststroke the whole way and rode my crappy mountain bike. I was hooked. Probably 2 years later, I bought an entry level road bike and used that. Then, finally, a few years later, I got a legit "mid-level" tri bike. By then I was doing the crawl, picked up a used wetsuit and was racing 70.3's. My point is that ideally, it should be a slow, building process. When I see folks out there on crappy bikes and no wetsuits, plodding along, I applaud them, because that used to be me. How wealthy are triathletes? Well, there are some with spaceship bikes and high end gear, their own personal trainers who race all around the world. But there are also schmucks like me, who started with basically nothing and slowly acquired gear over time, that only race locally a few times a year. I guess I'm middle class, but I don't consider myself wealthy. I've been using the same stuff for years.

You are the exception. Most people that want to be competitive want gear that puts them on a level playing field. I give you credit for this approach and your patience, but it's uncommon in this sport. I see buttloads of people paying $500 for Wattie Tri Suits. The sport caters to the wealthy.