Originally Posted by
Doge
Context is in racing (not clubs).
What is your experience with them?
Why are you on one / or not?
How does it work?
Who sacrifices for you and who you sacrifice for?
Who decides how the race will be?
Who decides the races you will go to.
I was unattached my first year of racing (2009), then found a local shop-based team in 2010. It was great mostly because we had a "team van" (sprinter model) that we often drove to races, and the shop/rides were a few minutes ride from my house.
On top of that, some actual team work came out of it, in the form of leadouts for me, which was great.
After moving to CA in 2013 I joined a series of new teams, and would never go back to being unattached; although I do sometimes go to races as the only one from my team.
Overall I enjoy being a part of something, even if the teams I've chosen/chosen me aren't super-serious, but not super club-ish either.
This year I'll be running the 1/2's squad for my team, which is nice. Some of it is management stuff (budget, roster), but the fun part is tactics.
At the amateur elite level, it's really hard to get someone to sacrifice their race for someone else - but I think we'll do a better job of that this year than last. Not because I'm helping run the team, but because we have way less people, and hopefully a more cohesive team. Time will tell.