Bicycle Teams in Bay Area?

[BalaRoja]

Hello.

I am hoping to hear from some of you who have raced with bicycle teams here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Can you share your experience and opinion on this? Any specific teams you recommend (or do not recommend?!)?

I am giving serious thought to trying my hand at racing next season. I know this season is mostly over so it makes sense to wait till next year.

In the meantime I've been doing plenty of very structured training and feel good about my progress.

In the general bike forum I asked about whether it is better to start racing with or without a team. Hopefully I can hear from those of you who do race with teams and get some insight from you

[Eden]

I'd definitely suggest getting in contact with Lorri (VeloGirl) and checking out their web site http://www.velogirls.com/

[spokewench]

I second Eden's suggestion

[parity]

The best thing to do is in January go do the Early Birds series. They will teach you the skills you need to race plus you will get to do some practice races. You can join a team at any time but its best to join a team before December. The reason for this is because most clubs get their clothing orders in around December. And then they don't get their clothes until like February or March. Pick a club that is close to where you live and there are many in this area. This way you can join the group rides without having to drive very far or at all. Some clubs have days were anyone who is a non-member can join the club for a group ride or others welcome non-members anytime. This way you can "try out" the club to see if you like them or not. This web site lists all the clubs in California:

http://www.usacycling.org/clubs/index.php?state=CA

You can narrow your search down based on city.

[BalaRoja]

The best thing to do is in January go do the Early Birds series. They will teach you the skills you need to race plus you will get to do some practice races. You can join a team at any time but its best to join a team before December. The reason for this is because most clubs get their clothing orders in around December. And then they don't get their clothes until like February or March. Pick a club that is close to where you live and there are many in this area. This way you can join the group rides without having to drive very far or at all. Some clubs have days were anyone who is a non-member can join the club for a group ride or others welcome non-members anytime. This way you can "try out" the club to see if you like them or not. This web site lists all the clubs in California:

http://www.usacycling.org/clubs/index.php?state=CA

You can narrow your search down based on city.

Hi Parity - thanks for the links. I looked them up and found quite a bit of events as part of the early bird series and a team also.

[velogirl]

Hi BalaRoja! I've been racing and coaching women racers and race team since 2002. I'm happy to share some info with you. There are many women's teams in Northern CA (not the case in 2002 when I started Velo Girls). Each team is a little different, so I would encourage you to chat with lots of teams. Some teams are invitation-only and some have open membership. Some focus on one specific level of racer (pros, development, masters, etc) and some focus on one specific area of cycling (road, track, mountain bike cyclocross).

Most teams are recruiting (accepting members) NOW for 2010. While it's possible to join some teams at any time during the season, many teams put their rosters together in the fall to aid with planning.

Here's a listing of the local (Northern CA) clubs:

http://www.ncnca.org/docs/clubs/

In addition to dedicated women's clubs, there are also some co-ed clubs with a good women's program.

While I agree that the Early Bird training series is a good experience, I would recommend that you participate in the clinics ONLY -- not the training races. The training races tend to be a bit dangerous and I do not recommend them to my clients or my team. For one thing, they're so early in the year that most folks don't have race fitness yet. Also, because the fields are comprised of almost entirely new racers, they tend to be a lot sketchier than other races. In my opinion, it's just not worth risking a serious injury (from a crash) that would put a damper on a good part of your early season racing + training.

Velo Girls also has a fabulous 6-week learn-to-race program designed for women just like you. The next program starts on January 11th. This is a small-group, team-oriented program (no more than 10 women) and includes a day-by-day training program, expert coaching, mentoring from Team Velo Girls members, and two group work-outs each week. I've been teaching women how to race their bikes since 2002 and I take all the "pain" out of the racing process. The culmination of the program is the Snelling Road Race where you'll get to race with the coach, Team Velo Girls members, and the other development racers.

Please, don't hesitate to ask questions, either here on the forum or in a personal email. I'm happy to share information with you, whether it's about one of my programs or about other specific teams.

Lorri