Road Bike Racing - what should i do?!?!?

I want to be part of a team, but there really aren't any good teams from my area. The only team from my area is the team i speak of in this post CLICK ME (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=123146)

There are several teams in nearby states (all about 3 - 5 hour drives)

what should i do?

start my own and recruit some racers? keeping it small and allowing it to grow by the year.

or should i seek out teams from nearby states?

thanks.

***EDIT***
I live in Mississippi (Madison)

anyone?!?!

anyone?!?!If you can't help no need to stop... But if you have no respect for the team why would you want to join them?

You can start your own team - the main thing will be getting sponsorship to help offset parts, travel expenses, entry fees etc. Around here we have a number of teams sponsored by bike shops, a brewery, and insurance carriers... You might want to look into the insurance carrier route as you could do bike rodeos and hold safety clinics to offset the financial aid they give you...

My two cents...

Start your own team but go for the Brewery, better perks.

Jokes aside, most likely there are two or three guys who feel the same way about the local team (they may even ride for that team). You may not start with the same level of racer (think Cutters VRS the Frat Boys) but you can build a good crew over time and exact your revenge in the long run with results as well as drawing from "their" tallent pool. Again the Brewery factor would help here.

Some of you place a lot of importance on sponsorship. I belong to a racing club but I still have to somewhat pay for my uniform, travel expenses, and racing fees. My racing budget won't decrease just because I race for a team. The benefit is that you will gain a little more respect from other riders. You and other riders can work togather in a race or trying out some tactics during training ride.

thanks guys...yeah i've really thought about putting my own team together. but it wouldn't be MY team...it would be OUR team (you know what i mean). any ideas how i should go about looking for racers to join, etc, etc. basically how do i start this process? I think i might go to the shop i use and throw the idea around and see what they have to say about it.

Some of you place a lot of importance on sponsorship. I belong to a racing club but I still have to somewhat pay for my uniform, travel expenses, and racing fees. My racing budget won't decrease just because I race for a team. The benefit is that you will gain a little more respect from other riders. You and other riders can work togather in a race or trying out some tactics during training ride.

Locally, team support varies from buying bikes, team kit, etc in full to lower levels of support such as discount parts pricing... My mentioning of sponsorship was more of a practical matter as your putting in a miles and there is wear and tear on your bike (to show better for your sponsor) and it nice to help offset the cost you incur while working/training for your team. Sponsorship definitely is not needed but it's nice to have (I hear).

As for starting a team, are there local group rides in your area? Bike club, Saturday morning latte rides, other? If so, you could sit in on these and see if there is interest. My guess is that without sponsorship you probably won't pull any talent from the other team as it will "cost" them money to switch teams.

The training races I ride in have numerous "independent/non team affiliated" riders. If this is true for you, you could also chat with them and strike up some informal working relationships that will benefit both of you. Two nights ago I chased a breakaway with a couple guys from a team but before I went I asked the nearest rider if the guys in the break were on their team as I wasn't going to exert the effort just to drag someone with no incentive to ride along. Try striking up a conversation with a rider of similar or better skill level before your next race and suggest working together on a break, if you can work together others will see your success and want to work with you...

Good luck,