need advice on picking a new team!

[ehirsch83]

alright ladies, everyone-racers and non racers, I need your input!

Since I have moved back to South Florida, I need a new team, no use staying attached to a team in New Mexico. So I have had offers to join two different teams(no idea why, I am sooo slow racing here b/c I have to race with the men(they avg 25-27mph per crit- I get lapped!!) But I really want to be with a team down here so I can have that team feeling at the races.

So team A is a new team that is attached to a LBS. They are placing well at all of the crits but don't have many guys. They have a huge race season planned, and good sponsorship + the backing of the LBS. I also live in the same county as most of these guys.

Team B is a group of strong guys(probably around 8 at the moment) who all came from other teams to form their own. They range in age and where they live, but I would be the farthest north(I live in Ft.Lauderdale, which is north of Miami, and they all range from Miami south to the Keys). But they offer an extensive race season, training trips up to sugarloaf mountain(it is around Orlando, the only real climbing in Florida), access to a coach, and work on bike handling skills(so different types of turning,etc.)


I watched both of them at the crit last weekend, and I actually got a better feel from the guys from team B. They have a few more guys at the moment and they are really working on tactics while in crits, they have one guy sending other guys out to block, up to the guy in the lead to tell him info,etc. While team A, I feel is still working on being out there with teammates, but not really putting any real teamwork into play.

I am going to get detailed info from both teams- what is included, any entry fees, kits,etc and then go on from there, but some outside advice would be great!
To me the access to the coach is outweighing the support from the LBS, but maybe I am wrong to think this??

[han-grrl]

I think you are answering your own questions...

find out what is important for you when joining a team - is it the comraderie, the access to LBS services or or or?
of course what it costs to YOU as well...i remember i was looking into one team, and it was going to cost me the fee to join the team (300$ and i also would have to pay for my own license and racing fees) plus i had to buy a bike from their bike sponsor . i just bought a new bike, so i really didn't want to buy another one. not to mention because of my size, the bikes of that company (at the time) probably wouldn't have worked for me. anyway, i turned that one down.

I am a member of my bike shops team right now, mainly because i like the store and the guys there, i think they are the BEST. Up until now there were no costs to me, but this year we have to pay for our uniforms (i think a small price to pay)

Anyway i hope some of my thoughts might help you a bit

Happy racing!
Han

[aliwishus]

Greetings everyone! :D

I'm new to the forum (introduced myself in the members sticky), and somewhat new to cycling (3 years or so - Who knew that having a bike that fit would make riding fun?:p ). I also would like to join a team here in Seattle, so thought I'd revive this thread.

I'm planning on going to the "meet the teams" rides (one team per weekend). I've never been on a team, and I'm looking to learn and have fun. I am pretty busy, and I have maybe 8-12 hours per week I can ride.

From this, I suspect I'm not looking for a super competitive team. What should I look for? What questions should I ask?

Thanks!

[Eden]

8 to 12 hours per week is plenty for a beginner! My workout weeks for this year rarely went over 9 hours and I've been a very competitve racer this year. The secret is making the workouts targeted, rather than longer.

If you have weekends free any of the area teams that appeals to you should work out fine. Some of us (including my team) do ask that if you join you do 1 team ride/weekend during the winter training season (if you intend to race road, people who will do exclusively cross or mt. bike, can be excused from this). We believe that it not only lets you get to know your teammates, it give us the opportuntity to teach you and makes you a safer, stronger more confident racer when the season starts up.

Go to as many of the women's rides and meet the team rides as you can. You'll get to know the personality of each team - yes there definitely are different overall feelings and you'll find a team that feels like a good match.

[velogirl]

Emily, have you considered starting a team for women? Are there so few women racers in FL that you always race with the men?

[ehirsch83]

Velo,
Down where I am there are usually only a handful of other women(on average 3 or 4 show up, sometimes it is only 2) and they all race for national teams(they are all really strong, they have been racing for 3+ years and riding with the boys that whole time).
So it is a hard place to start out, at the crits the women either race 45+ or cat4,5. All choose the 45+ because,even though faster sometimes, they are much safer racers then the 4,5s.
And as you might guess, racing with the stronger guys has then discouraged women newly interested in racing from coming out to race.

[velogirl]

Emily, maybe you could talk to the promoters and convince a few of the races to have a dedicated women's race? for many women, it only takes a race or two to get hooked.

[cwodiva]

Hey Emily, I don't know if you checked out this website:

http://www.floridacycling.com/

It lists races all over Florida. I race cat 4 here. Sometimes they group us with cat 1-3 women, sometimes with 45+ men, sometimes with 55+ men. A few have separate cat 4 women's fields which is great. It just depends on the race. I came from Georgia and the fields are much much harder here in my opinion. I've been a bit frustrated getting dropped in every race, but I am getting faster, and soon they aren't going to drop me. Just keep with it and don't give up. I'm hoping they'll start doing more cat 4 women only fields, the few they did have had at least 12 girls.

I'm debating if I'm even going to Stuart next weekend, just because they'll be racing us with the pro women's field. ugh! We might still go since dh might race, and if races, that means I"ll probably race and try my best to stay with them.

Steph

[Andrea]

First off, I want to say it's awesome that you're racing with the guys (whatever the reason for that may be)! I'm the only woman on my team who races, and I'm planning on racing in at least one men's crit before the end of my season just to get a feel for a larger, more agressive field than what I'm used to in most women's races.

It sounds like team B would be a good choice. Personally, I am on a team where I've watched the men race each other into the ground during a crit rather than help each other out. It's pretty pathetic to see them lose races because even though they're strong, another team was able to work together to control & beat them!

[spokewench]

I would pick the team where you are most comfortable with the guys and their demeanor. It is of the utmost importance to get the right mix of guys that will accept you as part of their team. Team camraderi (Sp?) will be the most important if you are the only woman on the team.

I can attest to that since I have been the only woman on a man's team (mountain biking) quite a few times.

spoke

[velogirl]

or you could just pick the team with the best-looking kit!

[ehirsch83]

Haha, I ended up joining the guys from miami(so I am racing for Miami-Mortgage Pro.Com(which races for club close the gap racing). I am the only female on the team, and they are super nice guys!

There is also a big crit down here on Labor Day, and it turns out there is going to be a women's race!! And it is at 3:15, which means it won't be combined with the men(a lot of times, they have the women go first and if only a few show then they combine them with the 45+, or at the Miami series, there just isn't a women's group).

So I am going to go race on monday, I hope I don't get embarassed to much:-) hehe