bmcphx

Yeah but Canada is weird, buddy!

All teams have to be associated with a club, and it's amazing how feel people realize that. You could have a club for the guys who want to be part of the crew and a team for guys who race pretty easily.

furiousferret

This is the format of my current club. The irony of it is we have 10-15 guys at crit training every week however no one actually does usac crits anymore. People would rather do the Saturday hammerfest instead.

Its not totally uncommon for people to be a member of the club and be on a team; a few of our riders moved up to domestic pro team or masters team that have benefits but they are still associated with the club.

The bike shop (Don's for those in the area) is specifically set up for racing. They don't do group rides, etc. Just meetings and racing. Not everyone races, but its encouraged since its set up for advertisement.

himespau 

A couple pages back someone was asking for book recommendations. I was just organizing my nonfiction shelves in our office/library and ran across Ten Points by Bill Strickland. Seem to remember enjoying that.

revchuck 

It's a good read, but it's more about his struggles growing up with an abusive father and then dealing with his own marriage and fatherhood than about cycling.

topflightpro

My wife has - and let me tell you, it felt like I was on there too. It was awful.

And I have a buddy whose been racing for thirty+ years. He refuses to join a team or club, as he says they only ruin cycling and take away the fun.

I'll also add that sometimes being on a team makes it harder to get results, especially if you have personal goals. If you're not the fastest guy or the guy with the strongest sprint or just not deemed the guy to support, that means you'll be doing a lot more work for the other riders. Your team will benefit, but your personal goals will be pushed aside.

mike868y

i'm racing unattached next year. the team i've been on is based too far away from where i live to make it worth it and i never really found a team around here. at least i'll get to choose my own overpriced cycling costume.

that sounds more interesting, tbh.

shovelhd

I was on a team that was one of the most successful teams in the Northeast. We spawned four pros and won just about every weekend. Over time it just wasn't fun anymore racing to a formula.

rkwaki

If I can get my ass into shape I will be racing with a new team but might as well say that I am unattached due to their location. The only times I would be racing with them would be at USA Crit/NRC stuff or other big races which is fine with me.

shovelhd

So get out of the gym and on your bike, big boy.

Gramercy

I saw this happen as well. I only have done 15 races and have not joined a team, but two guys I knew in the 5's joined a big team in NYC. One of them used to run 4 minute miles in high school and now 10 years later he picked up a bike and can ride really fast while keeping his heart rate at an insanely low rate. I know he can be a Cat 2 based off of physical abilities but in his first race with the team he took 4th, due to helping other teammates out. I guess he's sacrificing personal goals to be part of the team, which I admire but it was odd hearing that he didn't win, because I know he's one of the fastest guys around. His solo efforts are as high as the local pros around here.

rkwaki

- no comment

big john

Nope, but I have been a club member for 25 years. Our club is around 500 members and some do race, but the club doesn't support them. We did help send one of the women to Europe and some national races, but that was an exception.

gsteinb

sigh.

big john

A while back a local team was recruiting women from our club and several signed up, including the fastest one of them. She could smoke all of the 3s and most, if not all of the 2s but couldn't stand the structure of the team. It just wasn't fun for her, so she quit and came back to the club rides, where she can dish out punishment on her own terms.

carpediemracing 

Interesting on the club thing.

The club I belong to (and I think in USAC it's a club first, team second, based on the columns of data I see when I download the rider list) is pretty big, pretty involved in cycling, but there are virtually no Cat 3s. Some masters but the better riders, and they're very good, have split off into an elite team of sorts. Many are mtb or cross and don't do crits. We hold a TT series, a cross race, and help with other events (Keith Berger Crit, some charity rides).

In the 3s eight guys won't be with the team in 2015, leaving two worth mentioning and one that refuses to contribute to any kind of a team effort (you can tell who it is from my clips because he's the recently upgraded one that exhausts himself too much in the Tues races and therefore doesn't do well). A few have stopped racing, and really actually didn't race past Bethel this year, and a few are creating another team, instigated by the attitude of that one racer that refuses to work with the others. I understand because it was incredibly frustrating racing with that one person, and I've talked to him and he flat out doesn't want to contribute to any kind of team effort. This means he chases, really hard, breaks that get away, including ones with teammates in them. He also refuses to work with anyone in a sprint - I've actually tried to lead him out a couple times and he couldn't hold a very polite/kind/easy wheel, meaning my wheel. But he's strong enough to drag the field around at 25 mph.

I've been talking to one former-teammate guy that's going to this other team and we threw around some ideas of me racing with them as well. He didn't come out and recruit me but he'd love it if I raced with them. So that's another possibility, to race with a pretty committed group of Cat 3s (and 4s and a couple 5s). I'd help teach them about racing etc.

I have some potential sponsor money connections with my current club so it may literally cost me thousands of dollars to leave, plus new kit costs, etc. Question is mercenary or not? Two possibilities.

Finally, one potential job I'm considering would significantly reduce Carpe Diem Racing, aka CDR, my promotion-company/club, in terms of publicity so it would be nice to wear CDR stuff when I race, help remind people I'm still there. So a third club/team idea is that I race basically unattached for CDR, meaning I would be a one man club/team. It wouldn't be as separated as joining a newly formed rival club but it would allow me to get the promotion company out there. It may allow me to retain sponsorship but not race with this one frustrating rider. I'd feel a bit more free about promoting CDR on my own, through pictures on FB etc.

A corollary to that would be to bring CDR to this new club, do just the shorts for example, so that it's a modular kit. CDR sponsors the shorts, the tops are the rest of the team sponsors. I could buy the shorts, I'd have a few guys wearing them in races, and it would be better than if it was just me. However that would make the potential sponsorship revenue from the current club not possible (the thousands of dollars, potentially).

So choices for me are stay, new club, CDR club.

rkwaki

Just a comment on this. There is the effort that a pro puts out when training and the effort that a pro puts out when racing. It is dangerous for people to try to make the comparison between themselves and pro especially off Strava data. A Pro is a Pro for a reason...

carpediemracing 

I was wondering when this would happen. Best of luck with your racing.

echappist

I don't mind being a lone wolf as a cat-3. I've had decent results, and in certain situations it makes things easier. What i miss is the atmosphere of a collegiate team. That, however, is hard to duplicate.

mike868y

totally agree.

himespau 

Wouldn't it just be easier/better for everyone if somehow this dude's membership was "lost" or you found a way to ease him out of the club? If he doesn't want to work with anyone, why is he there anyway?

shovelhd

When I returned to racing I rode for a club I still belong to. They are the typical large cycling club, affiliated with many competing sponsors and supporting all forms of racing and recreational riding. They supported me very well, enough to buy a new bike every couple of years if I wanted it. Nobody racing in my fields was at my level so I was still a lone wolf.

valygrl

That's what I was thinking - if this guy is such a PITA, why not just kick him off?

shovelhd

Easier said than done. These are Cat3's, not pros with a manager. No sponsorship to speak of. He's a club member. He pays his dues, he buys his kit, he enters the races. What would you suggest, going to the Board and telling them that the guy races like a d*ck and you want him gone?

valygrl

I guess you could tell him right to his face that he's not wanted. But, in any case, you are going to have to race against him either on your team or someone else's team. maybe you just leave him on your team, but don't treat him like a team mate. that way he is racing solo but doesn't know it. eventually he will either cat up or figure out that he needs team mates so he should play nice.

what the heck do i know, though.

grolby

Come ride with us. You definitely have an opportunity to join a great team, but don't be so shy!