Newbie Triathlete - Help Needed!

Did anyone catch the inaugural Iron Girl Triathlon in Las Vegas show on NBC this weekend? I PVR'ed it and watched it Sunday evening. It definitely helped me to get excited for my upcoming first tri. Something I won't be attempting is the "undo my shoes while riding to attempt a flying dismount" thing. That just sounds like I'm asking for a definite opportunity to face plant.

So with that, I need your advice on this tri thing! I have a couple of questions that hopefully you guys can help me out with:

1. The swim is in a pool, then we run into the parking lot to the transition zone. Do I need a pan of water to rinse my feet, or will a good towelling off do the trick?
2. Okay, I have tri shorts and a tri top that I'm planning on wearing throughout the race. Um, do I really have to go commando under those shorts?
3. Nutrition - should I attempt some sort of gel consumption during the race? If so, when? Before I get on the bike, while on the bike, or just after I get off the bike? It is a sprint, so do I really need food?
4. What do I need to remember besides bike, bike shoes, helmet, and running shoes?

Time to Put Two Sports Together

I've been thinking about the world of duathlons for awhile now, and with the purchase of my fabulous new bike I've been itching to make completing that first du a reality. There's just one problem. Apparently du's aren't really all that popular here in Alberta. I've managed to find 4 in the nearby vicinity of Calgary - an off road one in Canmore, two the day after my half marathon in June, and one in Sylvan Lake this weekend.Sylvan Lake is about 2 hours away. The event is the 1st Annual KGH Sprint Triathlon that has a du event as well. It is a 3k run, 26k bike, 3k run which sounds pretty doable for a first race (sorry, no pun intended). I first found out about the race on Wednesday. I was actually going to try and convince a couple of folks to enter the tri as a relay team, but the more and more I thought about it, the more I wanted to enter the du on my own. I thought about it as I drove towards Rocky Mountain House and beyond on Thursday. When I got home I knew I really wanted to enter. After I hit the "submit" button I started to get nervous. So my blogging buddies, I'm asking for your help if you have experience in the multisport event circuit:

1. Bike check and packet pick up start at 7:30, but my race doesn't start until 8:45. How long do I need to allow for the bike check? Should I be there right at 7:30?
2. Transitions, what do I need to know? Obviously the helmet goes on first at T1, comes off last at T2. What other things should I look out for?
3. How does the whole mount/dismount line work?
4. I haven't put together my flat kit for my bike yet... I'm guessing I should do this before the race..?
5. Umm, anything else you can think of for advice?

There are 99 people and 2 relay teams signed up for the event - except I can't tell how many are in the tri or the du. The smallness of the event has me nervous. What if I come in last? Oh well, just as long as I have fun, right? Thanks in advance good readers!