starting a women's race team...need info

[velocity]

Hello everyone,

I've been giving serious thought to starting a women's race team next year, and need to find more info about doing so. I've never even been on a team at this point, mainly because the teams/clubs in my immediate area aren't really what I'm looking for. If any of you race on a team or have started one yourself, any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Take care...

[han-grrl]

having formed specific womens teams for specific races...here is what i have learned:

determine what your goals are as a team: is it to ride as individuals or to do team events? how competitive are you? do you want to win, or just finish? make sure that people who join your team agrees to some degree what your goals are. not everyone will have exactly the same goals, but make sure you are somewhere on the same page...

hope some of this helps

[velocity]

Thanks...it does. That's an excellent point.

Since you have experience in this area, let me ask this: what were some of the things that made you love (or not) being on your team?

[goddess1222]

hit www.velobella.org. e mail Sabine with questions, and she can probably hook you up. they are a bay area group of riders. very cool website too.

[velocity]

Thanks...I'll do that. I've heard of them and just saw some of their girls racing at Sea Otter. They have great looking jerseys.

Take care!

by the way, did you ever decide between steel or aluminum?

[goddess1222]

gonna definitely go steel. need the cash though. i am looking at the fuji marseille, and the lemond buenos aires.

i just wish the money tree would grow a little quicker.

[velocity]

Smart girl! I think that's a wise choice. Riding aluminum just kills me...my hands begin to hurt after about half an hour. I can understand where it's use would be favorable, like for a crit or time trail bike, but for anything longer than that, there's just no beating steel. In my opinion, of course .

Definately can relate to the money thing...have you thought of getting a job at a shop? Pro deals on bikes are a great perk.

[goddess1222]

i actually have thought about seeing if i can become a mechanic, maybe just a pipe dream right now. i don't see any female mechanics here in my area. maybe i need to change that.

i hear you about the hands hurting!!! after about 45 minutes, my wrists start to get really sore. i am now messing around with my seat position to see if that can help. i want so badly to ratchet up the miles, but i know this will hinder my goal. i'm thinking a pair of gel gloves might be in order very soon.

[han-grrl]

what i liked best about my all grrl team was that we all had the same goals: do our best. We all bonded well and helped each other. it was a very positive experience. The negatives? well, i find women tend to get catty when things get rough, and there were a few outbursts when a couple of my team mates hadn't slept for a bit.

[sempre]

Originally posted by goddess1222
i hear you about the hands hurting!!! after about 45 minutes, my wrists start to get really sore. i am now messing around with my seat position to see if that can help. i want so badly to ratchet up the miles, but i know this will hinder my goal. i'm thinking a pair of gel gloves might be in order very soon. [/B]

Goddess, I used to have a real problem with my wrists hurting on long rides, but recently bought a pair of specialized body geometry pro gloves and haven't had any problems yet. I came home from a tough 12 mile off road adventure yesterday and my husband had blisters and aching hands and I was fine! I can't recommend these gloves enough!

[velocity]

hey goddess,

I've been a mechanic for a couple of years now, and it's so much fun! If you need any info or anything, just drop me a line, and I'll try to help. I remember VERY vividly how hard it was for me to break into this aspect of the industry, which is still so male dominated it's not even funny. Any way I can help...

As far as your hands go, try examining your riding postion. Is your seat the correct height? Have you set your fore and aft position? Do you have the right amount os reach?

Then try looking at your riding technique, which is something a lot of people overlook when it comes to aches and pains on the bike. I know I did, and it took a friend looking at how I ride and pointing certain things out to me for me to realize it. First, don't ever lock your elbos when your ridning. Keep them at least a 45 degree angle - they serve as your shock absorbers. If your arms are rigid, the only place for the road shock to go is your wrists and shoulders (ouch!). Then look at your back. This was the reason my hands kept hurting on my steel bike. My fit on the bike was great, but when I rode I would arch my back as opposed to keeping my abs taught and my back straight. (Does that make sense?) The result was all this extra weight on my arms and hands, which became excrutiating after a couple of hours. Sometimes it became difficult to operate my brakes. Since somebody pointed out my bad posture, I've strated paying attention to it while I'm riding, and not only did it help my hands immensly, myu back also doesn't hurt anymore after a long ride.

Hope this helps...

han...yeah, that's what I'm looking for. A group of cool chicks to ride with, inspire each other, and maybe kick some ***. It's just not as easy to get up at 8 am on a Sunday and ride by yourself, you know? I think I'm going to drop the VeloBellas a line... even thought they're in Monteray and kind of far. I just found out that my boss sponsers them!

have a good weekend everyone...

[goddess1222]

thank you gals. sempre: i will definitely look at those gloves.

velocity: i think my seat may be too far back. i am going to reposition it today. yes, i do tend to put all my weight on my arms and wrists, my neck gets tired too. it never occurred to me about my back. i will try that tomorrow morning.

[MightyMitre]

I know this is slightly off the topic, but while we're talking about riding positions I seem to be having some discomfort with my saddle. I've lost at least half a stone since I bought it last year and now I'm a bit skinnier there's less padding! It's fine at the back but it's a bit unforgiving at the front - if you get my drift.

At the moment I've got a Fizik Vitesse road bike saddle, but does anyone have any recommendations. Before I think about forking out for a new one , any suggestions about positioning etc I could try first?

Also, how do you go about finding a saddle you like? I certainly don't have hundreds of pounds to blow going through loads of saddles till I find one I like. What would be cool would be if shops could lend saddles to take for a test ride, so you could try before you buy.

PS - bought a pair of the Specialised Body Geometry pro gloves a few weeks back and wore then over all the cobbles at the Tour of Flanders. Verdict: very comfortable and well worth the price.

[Veronica]

Well, I love my Brooks saddle. I've done a couple of long rides on it - 8 plus hours and it takes that long to get uncomfortable - and it's more of a butt cramp that I get at that point than anything else. Wallingford Bicycle carries them and they have a six month return policy. If you don't like it- you can return it no questions asked.


www.wallbike.com


Veronica

[goddess1222]

you might try the terry fly or the damselfly. both are a little more narrow in the nose than the butterfly.