"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Moving but staying with the same team

Have any of you guys moved to a different geographical area from your team's home base but decided to still ride for them? What was your experience like? Did it work out or did you end up joining another team? How was group training rides, carpooling to races, and other team logistical things impacted? I really like my team and the perks/sponsorships I get, but I'm finally faced with having to move 500 miles away after delaying it for a couple of years... :(

Change teams, IMO. You'll surely be accepted into the new location's racing culture, but you're not going to get any love in races.

i think 500 miles is a little too far. switch teams

Does your team want you to stay on? Most of my team sponsors are local so it would be kind of useless to have someone very far away as an active member (as far as sponsor name awareness).

If I moved 500 miles away, I would race independent and figure out what are good and bad teams in the area. Then see if they would want me as a member. Worrying about sponsorship before everything else is in place is bad form (IMO).

500 miles seems waaayyyyy too much to keep up with your team. Would you ever ride with them in the same race?

A two hour drive you could probably manage, but you'd have to fly 500 miles, presumably. The whole 'team' thing sort of loses its point if you never race or even ride with them.

Then again, I'll be moving soon and have considered keeping up a local team membership because the kit is so cheap...

You guys make some good points...

I guess I had some romantic notion that I'll come back for some of the important races (Fitchburg, GMSR, etc.) but I suppose the vast majority of the time it'll just be me at the races... I guess I just got so attached to my teammates (many who are good friends now) after all these years...

...And yeah my primary sponsors are a small LBS and a small frame maker, so it's not like I'll be helping them out much...

Yeah, it sucks, but 500 miles leaves you with zero teammates for 99% of the races.

Tell the guys you appreciate it, look them up for rides when you come back, but I think it's time to find a more local team.

Not sure if you know the teams where you're moving to or at what category you race. If it were me, and I was not familiar with the racing culture in the new locale, I'd stay in my current kit for a while until I got to know a few folks, figured out which team/club I'd best fit in with, and then make the switch - might be more difficult if you race 1/2 where the teams are more defined than in 3/4/5 where team members move around more due to mid season upgrades, etc.

I tried racing for a team about 200 miles away this year. They are a bunch of great people and a great team but honestly being on the team did not benefit me at all except for the one race I did with them. I didn't get to do the team training, the team meetings, or anything of the other benefits. I only had the benefit of having a team at one race. The only thing I ended up really getting was a cheap team kit.

Oh, and I got to meet and hang out with some really nice people at the one race I did with them. I really wish I did live closer to them, I would love to be an active member of that team.

If it were me, and I was not familiar with the racing culture in the new locale, I'd stay in my current kit for a while until I got to know a few folks, figured out which team/club I'd best fit in with, and then make the switch

+1

Nothing wrong with racing for a distant team. A good friend of mine in NY state races for TriState Velo, an outfit based somewhere in PA. He supports them because they sponsor a strong women's and junior program. In fact, my race series has sponsored them for a number of years now. I eventually got a kit out of the deal, but that pair of shorts, the jersey, gloves, and socks cost something like $5000 :)

The point is that if you like your team, your teammates, and they have a good charter/program, wear the kit. Eventually you'll find a local team but I wouldn't go jumping in until I got an idea of how things were. You can always be like Sean Kelly at Worlds - ride off the Italians (insert name of large local team), trade some work, and be an anonymous guy who isn't tied down to team tactics but can still be involved if he wants to be.

cdr

I have two teammates that live out of town. They still have ties in the area and are back from time to time. The good thing for the rest of us is, they moved to the mountains. One lives in South Carolina and the other is outside of Vegas. So we have nice places for winter training camps. The guy in S.C. has an 8 mile climb at 10-12% very near his home.