Introductions - Hi from Old Town Alexandria, VA, USA

I'm 35 and ride a Seven Axiom that I got from Spokes, Etc. in Jan 2006. I ride periodically with the Potomac Pedalers in the DC Metro area, and I commute 1-4 days/week the 18.7 miles (according to my Garmin 301) between Old Town and Tysons Corner, Virginia, using my 13-year-old GT Pantera mountain bike with slicks for the commute. I just got my USA Cycling card, and have done one race as a Cat 5. I'd like to do some more racing, but it seems a bit difficult to get into. Any advice on getting more into racing here in the DC area would be appreciated.

I've been "lurking" on the forum for awhile now, and have found a wealth of extremely useful information. My favorite post that I ever read (had me in tears) was a picture of a guy in front of his bike wearing no shirt, and someone clipped out his picture and pasted in different cycling scenes...in front of Lance in the TdF, and other hilarious places. Thanks for the laughs and all the good advice...looking forward to more.

Welcome! I'm one of your neighbors.

Have you thought about joining one of the local teams out here? There are a few- head back to Spokes, Etc. They sponsor one of the teams!

In May, the Arlington Crits will be here- if you start training with a team now, you'll be ready for your first race. I believe they have a cat 5 race. :)

Koffee

Hello from old town, me!

Thanks, Koffee. I'd love to join one of the teams, but I'd like to go on some training rides with them first before joining just to see if I'm up for it. I've heard of NCVC, Artemis, and some others, but I'm not sure how to join them. Good advice to head back to Spokes and ask them, though I to the one in Belle Haven, Alexandria, and they seem to know a bit less about the racing scene.

I know I enjoy looking at the other bike pics on the forum, so here's a pic of my Seven (w/ my not-so-good Treo camera), plus a close-up of my favorite part...the cf Clavicula crank from Germany.

Hello Old Town Alexandria people. No where near racing shape. But I recently moved from DC to Alexandria. Just saying hello to the other Alexandria people.