Great Lakes - New To Road Racing - MN

Hoping to get a few suggestions...

I am really interested in getting in road bike racing and possible track racing.
However, I have never raced before and I am completely new to both.
I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for team or clubs in the Twin Cities(Minnesota) area that I could join and would be okay with teaching/training a newbie?
Also, something geared towards teens or younger people would be great.
I have looked at a few clubs in my area, but most are for adults and people who have raced before, being that I'm young (16) I figured these would be a little intimidating and they wouldn't want to deal with someone just learning.

My brother is racing on the UM gopher team I think. I've heard they have a practice race series. I'll try to find out more.

In the meantime, are you comfortable/experienced with group rides? If not, you'll probably want to start there.

A good way to start is just stop in at the local bike shop near you that looks like they might have someone racing there, perhaps Gear West or Grumpys. Tell them just what you told us. "I'm 16 and I want to race!" They'll have you riding with someone in no time!

I like this web page for the MSP area: http://www.bikethrow.com/

I like listening to their podcasts. :)

The Minnesota Cycling Federation offers a number of different teams, including -- I believe -- a junior team.
http://www.mnjrc.com/

MCF seems to be a good organization with good people and a road, track and CX events from April to December. The offer some decent on-line resources as well:
http://www.mcf.net/newrider/maininfopage.html

http://mcf.net/

If you're looking for some racing in western Wisconsin, check out some of the WiSport events, there are a few withing driving distance of the Twin Cities and/or Duluth, for example.
www.wisport.org (http://www.wisport.org).

Good luck this season, and have some fun.

Thank You!
I will definitely be looking at MNJRC, seems like that would be the best fit.

Don't forget to check out Grand performance in St. Paul. They have a beginner's team/training opportunity through St. Paul Bike Racing Club. Check out their web site. http://www.spbrc.org/ :)

did grand performance ever clean up the team?

dukenukem, what part of mpls are you in? youve a point, there are a lot of clubs, but not too many geared towards young riders. i remember being a 16yo junior with not much help. ill see if i can dig some more information or the best club for juniors. a fellow really doesnt need a club, but id guess itd be nice to help in the beginning.

Don't worry about being 16. If you're serious about learning, you'll be welcomed. The bike teams I know around here (Chicago area) either reduce their fees or don't charge fees for junior riders. That's how you keep a team growing.