Road Bike Racing - Collegiate racing

I just started graduate school and have been developing an interest in road racing. I competed in my first race this year and didn't come in last which was nice. :D I was wondering if there is any advantages or disadvantages to joining a collegiate team over joining a city club? One of the reasons I have been shying away from the collegiate team is because the racing schedule (and all of the traveling) fall during the spring semester when it is very difficult to get a lot of time off due to teaching responsibilities. Any advice is appreciated.

A lot of collegiate racers in my area race both the collegiate circuit and OBRA or USAC sanctioned races. So it seems joining the collegiate team opens up the most potential for racing.

unfortunately the collegiate season is spring only, so if you can't really make those races...i wouldnt say the collegiate scene is the place to develop ur interest in road racing.

im sure you could still join though. i know plenty of ppl in my club who don't race. some just go for the group rides. some just goto the meetings to socialize as well.

Do it. You'll meet people, blah, blah. It's been one of my best experiences (thus far) while in school.

You can race road in the Spring, and MTB in the Fall! Plus, most schools will do USCF races to some extent as well.

I say go for it. I was a hanger-on with my school's team this past year as I finished the dissertation. Any thoughts of racing were killed by a knee problem (and near-zero WAF, Wife Approval Factor) but it was still fun to be involved with the team.

We had med students and law students (2L's) on our team.

I got into riding and racing (sort of) while in graduate school. If nothing else, it was nice to have a group on campus that would pull me away from my graduate studies for some much needed downtime. I found that it did not really interfere with teaching responsibilities, but then I worked hard to get as much of my teaching on T/R as I could.

I coach one of the collegaite teams. One of the aspects of collegiate cycling is that no one's there because of the money, scholarship, pro contracts, or fame. This means that you come when you can and are welcomed as a member of the team just the same as if you were there all the time. Our team has several members who made it to two races this season. Second, collegaite teams are really teams. The good ones use a range of team riding techniques that most USCF teams can't because they (generally) don't race or train together very often. Third, collegiate teams are uniquely emotionally connected. One woman on our team crashed hard in January, spent two months with her jaw wired shut, came back stronger than before and won her first race back. Every single person on our team was at the finish line to give her a hug and carry her back to the van on their shoulders. Fourth, I'm 36 and I think it's fun to drive hundreds of miles over 7 consecutive weekends, in a smelly van, where the discussion swings between the latest bike technology and farts.

Bottom line: I've had a blast doing this and I'm not even a rider.

My collegiate team was also a USCF team so we could race USCF races as a team, or individually and be listed as belonging to a USCF team just like any other.

Collegiate races almost never count as USCF upgrade points, other than that there's no disadvantage.

I coach one of the collegaite teams. One of the aspects of collegiate cycling is that no one's there because of the money, scholarship, pro contracts, or fame. This means that you come when you can and are welcomed as a member of the team just the same as if you were there all the time. Our team has several members who made it to two races this season. Second, collegaite teams are really teams. The good ones use a range of team riding techniques that most USCF teams can't because they (generally) don't race or train together very often. Third, collegiate teams are uniquely emotionally connected. One woman on our team crashed hard in January, spent two months with her jaw wired shut, came back stronger than before and won her first race back. Every single person on our team was at the finish line to give her a hug and carry her back to the van on their shoulders. Fourth, I'm 36 and I think it's fun to drive hundreds of miles over 7 consecutive weekends, in a smelly van, where the discussion swings between the latest bike technology and farts.
Bottom line: I've had a blast doing this and I'm not even a rider.

Huh?

Bob

Huh?

Bob

He coaches a college team. It's a blast, and he's not even a student athlete; ergo, being a student athlete must be more fun if being a coach, in itself, is a blast.

He coaches a college team. It's a blast, and he's not even a student athlete; ergo, being a student athlete must be more fun if being a coach, in itself, is a blast.

That's correct. I do ride but only for fitness. I don't race. I think that racing while you coach is a pretty big handicap because you often race against your athletes and you're really there for yourself, not them.

That's correct. I do ride but only for fitness. I don't race. I think that racing while you coach is a pretty big handicap because you often race against your athletes and you're really there for yourself, not them.

Sorry. I was confused. I read your post to say you coach a racing team, but you don't ride a bike.

Bob

Not sure how the rest of the US is but the northeast collegiate racing scene was dominated by grad students for quite a while - Mike Barton was untouchable for my entire sophomore season, he was 30 something won D2 nats and everything...

A grad student on my team won the d1 nat collegiate crit this year.

We had med students and law students (2L's) on our team.

Incorrect. There were also 1Ls, 3Ls, and an LLM.

A lot of our consistent race-goers were graduate students this year.

Collegiate racing gives you a few more categories to play with than USCF to get started. If you're lucky, your school pays a lot of your expenses. The overall license fee for collegiate + USCF is still $60 (same as just buying USCF alone). You potentially have a smaller group to train with, depending on the club you're thinking of joining. The collegiate season is over pretty early, giving you plenty of time to do USCF races after school if you don't have time to race during the semester. If you don't join a club, having your collegiate membership keeps you from paying unattached fees in the USCF races. No harm in staying with your team.

you're alive! I ran into a GW alum on one of the club rides out here who loves the summer kit design... i think he's gonna order some stuffs.

Yep. I've been down in Georgia for a while. Coming back to DC on Wed. for a brief time, if my car gets fixed. Tell him to order ASAP. The Bikereg thing closes tonight. I'm not sure we can meet the minimums on most of the accessories (socks, hats, shoe covers, etc.), so tell anyone you see to order lots of stuff if they want those things.

How is the club-hunting going? I'll be looking for a ride on Saturday before I head off to Charlottesville again (through the 4th or 5th). Time for me to get back to hills. These flat rides are more painful than they look.

collegiate racing is awesome, and you don't have to go to every weekend if you dont' want to... just join up and meet some great people.

another +1 for collegiate racing....


ECCC, 1 out of every 8 riders is an undergrad...makes for fun competition and more incentive to go to grad school haha.

Most of the folk on our uni team over here are grads...

I managed to fit in Grad school and racing. The downside is that the weather is often foul. That suits me though. I ride year round, apart from snow, if I can help it.

aicabsolut: doing any riding in Charlottesville?

For those who are grad students. How hard was it to find time for training with classes, research/TA position?

I managed to fit in Grad school and racing. The downside is that the weather is often foul. That suits me though. I ride year round, apart from snow, if I can help it.

aicabsolut: doing any riding in Charlottesville?
I'll be back in C-ville from around June 30-July 4 or 5. I have some family stuff to do on the 1st and 4th, but I'll be out for some rides on the other days. I may be riding on the 4th anyway, but up in Middlebrook (near Staunton). Are you there? Let me know if you want to meet up.

Considering that I'm taking summer classes in Germany in a few weeks and am probably looking at December for my thesis, I can't comment on the school / bike racing balance too much. :o But to be honest, I'd probably be in the same boat due to other scheduling issues and general burnout if I hadn't done anything with the cycling team--maybe more so, because training for something tends to keep me more sane.

And if I hadn't joined the team, I never would have had the opportunity to design the best kit ever. ;)

I'm in Charlottesville. PM me closer to the date!

The time management thing was worst during the season. It's hard to get much work done during the race weekends. I TA's a class of 30 chemists (and took it seriously), took three classes and didn't get much research done. I made up for racing by skipping some of the races that were furthest away or sounded dull. Concentrate on the ones you think may be best. In the ACCC, the Jeff cup is cool because there is a very good rolling road closure. WVU has the best courses. Worth the drive :D

Racing and going to grad school is just the same as working and racing. You have to schedule your rides around your work schedule.

Actually, It's probably easier than if you have a job, b/c for me at least, I can go on a long ride in the morning, come in late, and then just work later than usual.