New Rider Information
The Cal-Aggie cycling team is always eager to find new members, and we welcome you to join us for fun fitness rides or for serious, national-level racing. The best thing you can do if you want to join the team is to ask to include you on the team list serve. This email group will keep you apprised of all meetings, training rides, and team discussion throughout the year. We usually hold weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 7:30 in Kleiber 3, but feel free to contact any officer for details if you can't make it to a meeting.
Team Benefits and Dues
We have a two-tiered team structure. Our club members pay annual dues of $110 and receive a free Aggie jersey, significant discounts on gear, clothing, and other accessories from our equipment sponsors, and free entry at all collegiate races. But you don't have to race to join the team! Many of our teammates join just for the sponsorship deals and to find other cool people to ride with.
Our race team members pay $200 annual dues and receive all the benefits of club membership, but also receive personalized coaching from Judd Van Sickle Jr., M.S., of the UC Davis Sports Performance Laboratory. Judd also provides the race team with free fitness testing, bike fitting, and a number of skills clinics throughout the year. Judd's training plans and coaching techniques have helpes us win two Team Omnium titles, a women's TTT title, and a men's national road race title in the last 6 years.
Aggies also enjoy free membership in the Davis Bike Club race team, a great group of local community people we race with before and after the collegiate season. This membership also provides great sponsorship deals at local shops.
Mountain Bike
Aggies race a full season of collegiate mountain bike events, starting this year with Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo's legendary Parkfield Race. Next up is the Boggs Metal Madness, our own home mountain bike race. Check the WCCC Moutain Bike Page for a full schedule.
Races continue every weekend until conference championships in early November. These events can occupy your entire weekend; Aggies usually carpool to a race venue on Friday afternoon, camp out Friday night, race cross country on Saturday, camp Saturday night, and race downhill and short track events before heading back to Davis on Sunday. Not all riders race every event and not all riders choose to camp, but the dirt lovers tell us that the festival atmosphere of camping with other MTBikers is half the fun.
Oct 26-28 in Banner Elk, North Carolina We will also send a full squad to the National Championship in Banner Elk, North Carolina the week of October 26-28.
Road
Road training begins with slow, casual, social rides leaving the Bike Barn weekdays at 3:15 throughout most of the Fall quarter. These are friendly, easy rides that emphasize group riding skills such as drafting, pacelines, and rotations. If you've never ridden with a pack before, these rides offer newcomers an excellent opportunity to watch and learn from more experienced veterans. Don't worry about keeping up - anyone can enjoy these rides. All you need is a bike and a helmet.
We ramp up the training with fitness testing and bike fitting in November, then start logging serious base miles at the beginning of the winter quarter. We follow training plans provided by Coach Van Sickle, who tailors his programs to suit our individual goals and experience levels. Some Men's C or Women's B riders train 8 hours a week, other 'A' riders log 20 hours a week. The choice is up to you.
We will hold our annual training camp in Bodega Bay in January. All team members pay only room and board (less than $50) for this great weekend of riding and team building in the hills and coastal roads of Sonoma County.
