I don't know about the east coast, but around here we have few races that don't require a USCF (now USA cycling) license - a few TT's and a Tuesday night circuit race series are about what you can find, but beginners can almost always purchase a one day license at the race for $5, so it is not entirely necessary to be a member to race. It is definitely not mandatory to be on a team to race, but it is mandatory to have your team registered in order to race as a sponsored racer in any of the USA Cycling races. For a newbie that doesn't know any better and shows up in a pro replica shirt - no one is going to kick them out of the race, but we did have a club up here told they would be banned from racing if they didn't register - they had an official kit and sponsors.

A thought! - to make it easier to start up is there a men's or co-ed club that might be interested in having a women's division? My team started out as co-ed, but when the women started to outnumber the men it was decided to split off into two separate clubs.