How can I join the UCSD Cycling Team?
How much are dues?
How do I pay dues?
Are there tryouts to get on the team? Â Is Cycling NCAA?
What kind of races does the team compete in?
Do I have to race to be on the team?
What are the benefits of club membership?
Whatâs so special about collegiate cycling?
How often do I need to ride to be competitive?
What kind of bike do I need? How expensive is a race-worthy bike?
What do I need to race, besides equipment?
How can I join the UCSD Cycling Team?
There will be an informational meeting at the beginning of fall quarter in October. You will meet the officers, receive information about paying dues, and sign up for email groups at the meeting. Sign up for the open Google group to stay up to date with team news. After you pay dues, you will be added to the dues paying Google group for information about practices, races, and all the other fun stuff we do.
How much are dues?
Dues are $90 to join the Cycling club. You can also get joint membership to the Cycling and Triathlon clubs for $225. (You can either pay the Cycling team $75 and the Tri team $150, or $225 to one club and weâll take care of the transfer.)
How do I pay dues?
Paypal: [email protected]
Check: Addressed to UCSD Cycling Team (Please put name (as it appears on the roster) in the memo)
For the 2016/2017 season, dues should be paid by October 26th, 2016
Are there tryouts to get on the team? Â Is Cycling NCAA?
Collegiate cycling is not an NCAA sport.  It is a club sport.  This means that practices and racing are not mandatory.  It also makes cycling much more conductive for student-athletes looking for anything from fitness to competition without having to give up 30+ hours a week to training and travel.  UCSD being top ranked for academics, most are here to get a degree (canât speak for all collegesâŚ) and cycling is a great outlet for physical fitness and stress relief.  In fact, several current members of the team used to compete in other sports as NCAA athletes and took up cycling for the aforementioned reasons.
What kind of races does the team compete in?
UCSD is part of the West Coast Collegiate Cycling Conference. Mountain bike season is in the fall, road cycling season is in the spring, and track cycling season is in the summer. Historically UCSD has taken teams to the national championships in road and track cycling.
Do I have to race to be on the team?
No. Â Racing is not mandatory. Â Though both racing and practices are encouraged (and a lot of fun). Â Academics always come first and it is completely acceptable to miss team engagements for academic ones.
What are the benefits of club membership?
30% off most items as the UCSD Bike Shop
Race fees and travel expenses covered
A UCSD cycling team jersey
Reduced pricing on team athletic apparel
Reduced pricing on a wide array of cycling gear
Physical fitness and social networking (the real kind)
Being able to represent your alma mater
An excuse to eat donuts every day
Whatâs so special about collegiate cycling?
Collegiate bike racing is a great way to become introduced into the sport. Unlike public races, youâre only racing against athletes from other schools. Itâs more laid back and you make lots of new friends. Â Collegiate racing is generally more inclusive than public racing, and team tactics and strategy often play a larger role. Â If youâre still thinking about racing, donât hesitate to contact the officers.
How often do I need to ride to be competitive?
While this can be a highly personalized question, a simple answer is that for racing in categories other than the âAâsâ, riding 3x a week with at least one group ride (more than 50 people) should suffice. Â UCSD Cycling is completely made up of student athletes, and it is our team policy that academics come before athletics. Â Specific training and tactical practice is often required to move up in categories, but the 3x a week baseline should be at a high enough level to compete and have fun. Â Feel free to contact Coach Pat Jak for more questions regarding training.
What kind of bike do I need? How Expensive is a race-worthy bike?
While you do not need to buy the latest and greatest (and most expensive), the Wal*Mart special mom bought for you wonât cut it. You can race on a $150 bike you got on craigslist but generally, we recommend aluminum frames and Shimano 105 / SRAM rival components.  Bikes can be expensive, but here at UCSD Cycling we usually do a good job at securing very, very good pricing on entry level race-worthy road bikes.  Plus, there are other options for used bikes.  The $500-$1000 range is a good approximation for the equipment buy in for someone completely new to the sport.  But, even that can be mitigated by attention to detail and a little research.  Feel free to ask the officers.
What do I need to race, besides equipment?
All collegiate races come under the USA Cycling domain. To race in their races youâll need a license, which can be purchased day-of-race or yearly. If you plan on racing more that just a few times, youâll want a yearly license to save money. More information can be had at the above link.