VERY new - looking for a bike to rent for a few races or buy

i've heard of renting wheels and wetsuits, i'm sure you can rent a bike too.

bigwheelbikes.com was the first that came up on google.  ouch.  very spendy.  between $50-$100 per day and 1.5x that for a weekend.  a month is out of the question because you could buy a very nice bike for a month's worth of those prices.  you are better off buying a used bike and have something consistant to train on. 

Thanks so much for looking into it for me! I hadn't been able to find anything through my local bike shops...other than (what seemed to me to be) expensive used bikes for sale.

Katie

If you're near a college or university, around this time of year, some college kids (like international ones) will sell their bikes for pretty cheap.  Post a want to buy ad in Craigs list and you may find a used bike. 
I also wanted to get into this sport for pretty cheap.  I went the bikesdirect.com route and was pretty happy w/ what I got.  I would like to upgrade to a real tri bike at some point, but this was a good compromise.  And better than racing my MTB for the next couple years.

The guy next to me in transition at last year's Philly Tri had a rented Cervelo, I think he said he got it from Cadence in Manayunk.