UCLA Cycling Team

University of California, Los Angeles

Beginners welcome!

2) Find a bike

3) Ride with us!

The Google Group is a vital part of the club's organization. Rides/races/meetings/everything are organized via email. If you wish to take part be sure to join.

For the beginners: Don't be intimidated to show up to an easy ride like the marina. Unless otherwise stated all rides have a no-drop policy, so we won't ditch you lost somewhere in PV, no worries. Plus many rides, especially in the fall, are mellow and by drafting, are well within a novice rider's level. If you don't know how to draft, ask for help--it only takes 10 seconds to learn. Just be sure to bring water and enough food that you keep youself comfortable.

Rides meet at one of two places:

- JJ: This is a Jamba Juice on the corner of San Vicente and Montana. There is some outdoor furniture to wait on for less punctual riders.

- The Bear: Just like it sounds--the giant brass bruin in front of wooden.

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"Letter to a Prospective Cyclist"

by Joseph Patterson

Dear nub,

As someone who began riding not very long ago, I know that the decision to enter the world of recreational and competitive cycling can be rather daunting. I completely understand your concerns with regard to your current physical ability, your schedule, and most of all the retail pricing of so-called "racing bikes." I, too, agonized over the decision to get into cycling for these reasons. In fact, I was so worried that I might not physicially be up to par, or might not even like cycling, that I bought a dirt-cheap 1980's steel road bike with downtube shifters and 'trained' alone for a few weeks before I built up the courage to come out and ride with the team.

Feeling bold, I rolled up to the Bear in Bruin Plaza for my first ride with the UCLA cycling team in cotton clothes and tennis shoes. Despite my preparation I couldn't breath much less carry on a conversation with Sara, and Anton accidentally crushed me up what I thought was a super-steep hill on my very first group ride to the Marina and back. The ugly truth is, if you don't ride already, you will probably discover that you, how shall we say, suck at bikes, the first time that you ride with a group of semi-serious cyclists. If not, you will probably still be obliterated in your first race. You will be dropped by the group accidentally, you may be demoralized, and you may curse the day that you watched US Postal or Astana dominate the Tour de France and thought, "Damn, that looks sweet!"

However, if you know or discover that you in fact like pain and frustration (I know I do and I suspect this goes for the rest of us), you may return to the bicycle, doggedly determined to hang with the group. In a matter of weeks your muscles will (a) atrophy to cyclist proportions and (b) adapt to pedaling. You will propably improve very rapidly during the first few months of riding. If all goes well, you will be hooked. You will get clipless pedals and fall over at a stoplight and look like a fool, you will gently crash for no apparent reason at some point, you will be seduced by integrated shift levers and carbon fiber, you will discover that you descend like a grandmother (as I still do), you will blissfully change a flat by completely removing the tire, you will begin to wake up at the crack of dawn to ride in pouring rain, you will start to say things like, "Hey, check out my tanlines," and "Euro? That is clearly in violation of Rule #83," and your fat roommate will sit on your latest piece of ridicuously stylish eyewear when he comes home at 10:30 pm after you've already gone to sleep.

Despite all this you, will ultimately conclude that, "Damn, this is sweet!" Why? Because no matter how you slice it, going really freaking fast in the wee hours of the morning on near-empty streets with a posse of identically-shrink-wrapped homies is pretty damn fun. Racing with said spandex-coated hooligans, doubly so. Crushing old men on local club rides, triply so. Then there's MTB season. And Cross. And Track. And Time Trials. And nationals. And glory. And partying with people who will all be asleep before midnight, because they have souls to crush tomorrow.

I encourage - no, challenge - you and anyone else interested in competitive cycling to grab some water, hop on the crappiest bike available in whatever sporty-ish clothing you have, and come and join us the next time some one posts an "easy spin" or "recovery" ride. If I wake up in time, I and hopefully others will warmly welcome you to wonderfully painful world of cycling.

Cheers,

Joe

P.S.: Proposed curriculum for the Cycling minor (required viewing). All materials have been approved by Hippolyte Goux as required by the natural order of things.

(Course 100) Fundamentals

Risk/Reward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC5I4bWGJ4g [the dog was fine]

Handling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E544BcanO4 [skip first few minutes]

Mindset: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EpattQUwyM&feature=related

Cadence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNIFfypHdmU&feature=related

Feeding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dA2zy0hLbs

Braking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O5d94P6JGo

Folding T-shirts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcojlAmHMzk

Chamois Cream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtZv6Z53lFE

(Course 110) Cycling Disciplines

BMX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzcaWX6_kj0&feature=fvw

Criterium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Pxqoslq_E