roundabout

Hey Nor Cal,

After being bitten by the cycling bug over the summer, I proceeded to join my university's race team and began training/racing. I'm in love with the sport, and have decided that buying bike parts... err I mean racing bikes is the greatest thing since sandwiches. This summer, I'll be living in East Bay (Lafayette/Pleasant Hill), and won't be training/racing with my collegiate squad until fall. I figured it would probably be a good idea to try and find a race team or race-oriented club in the area so I can continue to ride with guys much faster than I am. I know I train much harder when I'm in a group of riders better than I am, and as such I'd like to continue that in the summertime. However, I was wondering what the best way of finding such a group would be. For those of you who have joined a team/club, how did it happen? As far as I can tell, my best bet currently would be to show up to racer-oriented rides (House of Pain?) and go hard. Are there any other ways you can suggest for getting in contact with organizations? I've been able to find a bunch of clubs in the area, but I'm struggling to find a lot of info about who's more race-oriented, how to get in contact, that sort of thing. A lot of the teams I found seem to have very limited, select squads, surely above my ability level. Ideally, I'd be looking for a group that is aimed at developing riders, who aren't yet at high levels (I just squeeked out my cat 4 upgrade) but who are willing to put in the work and want to improve. And so I turn to you, Nor Cal, to help me in my quest to getting dropped by collegiate racers to getting dropped by domestic ones! Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Beaker

Disclaimer - I've not joined a club...yet. But I'd try reaching out to some of the local teams and seeing if they might be a good match, off the top of my head I'd consider:

Taleo Racing

https://taleoracing.com/


Berkeley Bike Club

https://berkeleybike.org/


Team Fremont/FFBC

https://fremontraceteam.org/


There are several members of these clubs on these boards who could provide first hand experiences. There are quite a lot of organized rides in the area too. Consider doing the port of oakland (POO) ride that's on Tuesday evenings. Also I've found the grizzly peak tuesday hammerfest (30-40 hilly miles, fast pace) a great workout (speaking as an erstwhile cat 5). I can just about hang with that, they seem a good pace for 4's or 5's.

ericm979

There's also the Davis club.

I've joined clubs by meeting their members on rides and deciding that they are the kind of people I want to ride with.

roundabout

Thanks for all the info beaker! Any information is more than welcome, and it seems like you've done your research! The Grizzly Peak ride sounds like a good ride, my health issues should clear up (hopefully) by the start of summer, so I should be back to full form by then and hopefully can keep up.


I've looked into the DBC race team, and while it seems like a viable option, I guess I was hoping for a group based in the East Bay that I could ride with on a more regular basis.

Ygduf

Has worked for me.

Do some group rides in the area and talk to guys. Join up with whichever group seems friendly and has the fanciest looking kit.

obiwan kenobi

Tri Valley Velo has a good team, know a few of the riders all friendly types, they have a nice kit, usually have a large group show up to race, then there is Alto Velo/Webcor, large team with 5's to P/1/2 and womens racing.

These are clubs open to anyone who wants to join, once you get better then there are chances to be invited to a race team which is typically invitation only.

Beaker

This is a link to the Tuesday ride

https://www.grizz.org/series/berk-tue.html

It'll be too early for me to catch them until they push back to the 5:30 start, even then I normally have to hop on at Sibley, but hope to catch you in the summer.

milliron

Most clubs seem to have weekly public rides. Start doing the ones in your area.

pelikan

They do have a nice kit, one of my favorites. They are also sponsored by a great shop (Endless).

+1 Just doing rides and seeing whom you like & fit with best.

roundabout

Wow, thanks for all the info guys/gals! As always, Nor Cal comes through big!

I figure once summer hits I'll make a list of all the rides within a 30mi radius, and then start coming out and see what happens.