$ 3K Which bike

There are lots of bikes that fit your price range.

My suggestion is to visit all the big bike stores in your area, pick their brains, see how they operate, ask them about bike fitting, talk to other triathletes in your area, get a bike fit, test ride as many bikes as you can. Living in CA there are lots of bike shops geared towards triathletes I think many many in San Diego area...may be worth a drive.

Buy the bike that fits you best that you can afford.

The rub comes in if you like a bike at one store, but have your fit done someplace else. Give 10 folks measurements to set up a bike you'll have 10 different set ups...atleast that is what happened to me. I have a bike fit guy that has a little shop and didn't want to buy any of the bike brands he sells. But he is an awesome fitter. I ended up buying my bike at the shop that supports my tri club as I get a nice discount. They set up the bike supposed to be like my other one, bought the bike, brought it to the bike fit guy...seat height isn't even right. I need a new stem & seat post to get it close. Now that I ride it in road position it is to long and low for me. $1800 on a bike that doesn't fit and I should have known better. 

Shoes/ pedals you can buy later. I had one pair of pedals for awhile and just left them on the bike I rode all the time. I found a nice deal and picked them up then within a couple months. Performance Bike has them inexpensive and usually has a coupon plus if you are a member you get 10% rebate back for future purchases.

At $3k, you will get a nice bike.  Like others said, invest the time to find a good fitter that can help you narrow your choices down.

No need to get fancy with the pedals.  Pick the platform you like (look, speedplay, etc.) and choose a mid-line set.  And shoes just need to fit.

P2SL's are about $1700 at my local Trek shop.  That would seem to fit your budget quite nicely. There are deals to be had out there!

~B

Yikes man. I got all that stuff with my P2C for $2800 out the door. can you compare with other shops to make sure that's THE BEST deal you can get?

But... you DID get a sweet bike! there's no question about that.

~B

how do you like your hydrotail? Has it ejected any of your water bottles yet?  I'm having trouble with the device i got on the back of my saddle.

haha... looks like you two had a great "first time" together.

love it!

~B