Northern California - Bay area Road Club/Team

Hello all, I am new to the board...
I will be moving from Europe to the SF Bay area in the coming spring and would like to connect with some roadies over there. Actually, I would like to join a club or just a team and race in California next season (starting out as a CAT V, I guess).
I will probably (hopefully) end up in the East Bay, Danville/Dublin/Livermore area. Is anybody here in a club or team in that area?
Would be great if someone could tell me a little bit about the cycling community and about the general riding landscape in the area...

You could start with the Valley Spokesmen - they have a racing team affiliated with them. I'm not a member, so don't know any of the details other than their website: www.valleyspokesmen.org and www.vsrt.net (for the race team).

JB

I will probably (hopefully) end up in the East Bay, Danville/Dublin/Livermore area. It
Would be great if someone could tell me a little bit about the cycling community and about the general riding landscape in the area...

Welcome bas2205,

You will love Danville/Dublin/Livermore as a cycling home base. It has everything.
Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton and Sierra Rd are great climbs. Livermore and nearby Sunol have gorgeous low traffic rural roads. Pleasanton has Cyclepath Bicycles and Danville has Pegasus Bicycles. Both are serious shops for roadies.

I know you will find some great folks to ride with here on the forums.

I call dibs on wheel sucking on you! :)

http://www.berkeleybike.org/index.html

You can also try the Fremont Freewheelers Bike Club race team.
http://www.fremontfreewheelers.org/RaceTeam/index.html

Thanks for the links guys, I will definitely check them out! Which one is Mt.Diablo, I read a bit about that one on here already...Is that the back-road version of the Altamont Pass? For the last two years, my main riding area has included a couple real fun climbs (everything from mad steap to cobbles). So definitely looking forward to finding some new "torture trails"...

@Lanceoldstrong: alright you'll get one free ride in my draft - especially smaller rider seem to enjoy that, I am 6'8'' so I provide a fairly large draft-pocket...

Keep the links coming though, I really appreciate it!

Which one is Mt.Diablo, I read a bit about that one on here already...Is that the back-road version of the Altamont Pass?


Uh, no. Mt. Diablo is the big hill that kind of dominates the East Bay. the climb from the south gate, near Danville, is about 3,200 feet to the summit. The annual Mt. Diablo Challenge is run every October - with a special award to those who can do that in under an hour. The climb from North Gate in Walnut Creek.has a little more elevation gain and is generally considered a bit tougher

Altamont Pass itself isn't particularly challenging, but head a little further south to Patterson Pass and it gets more interesting!

JB

Yesh list more teams please. I will now expound my links to teams.

I know of Contra Costa Cycling Club (C4 for short) who is sponsored by Wells Fargo and based out of Lafayette. These guys usually blow past me on climbs.

Contra Costa Cycling Club -- C4 Racing Home Page (http://www.c4racing.org/www/)

Valley Spokesmen does a lot of really good group rides as well as having their racing team... except I have yet to be contacted by the person I met at the meeting ><

Valley Spokesmen Bicycle Touring Club (http://www.valleyspokesmen.org/)

I can't speak to the Duros as I haven't ridden with them yet, but they came at the recommendation of a person I think highly of as a cyclist.

strada sempre duro (http://www.duro.org/)

Have not ridden with Diablo Cyclists either.

Diablo Cyclists (http://www.diablocyclists.org/)

geebux 6'8!! I w ould throw elbows to keep that wheel haha


i race for BBC

http://www.berkeleybike.org/racing/index.html great team, also am friends with many of the FFBC team (Fremont)

I believe InfoVista is out of Livermore. Have done a few of there weekend shop rides but thats about the extent of my knowledge.

im out of Hayward and ride the East Bay hills quit a bit so feel free to shoot me an email if interested in riding.