Team Choices in the NOVA/DC area...
 

can anyone give some cycling teams in the Northern VA area that accept new CAT 5 racers? also, what teams are there in the NOVA/DC area that do not accept CAT 5 or beginner racers and are considered elite or invite only teams? thank you

I'm going to move this to racing, where you'll almost certainly get more responses--at least good ones.

I'll also add my former team, Route 1 Velo, to the list of great teams for a new Cat 5.

yeah, sorry about that...i realized that it should have been in racing as soon as i sent it, sorry...

The Bike Rack
NCVC
DC Velo
Squadra Coppi

Though those are all DC-centric, rather than Northern VA.

is Route 1 Velo the same as the Capitol Hill Bikes team? I see them in pictures all over the website...thanks

the DC Velo website has nothing about membership...do they even accept CAT 5 racers?

evolution
the bike lane
whole wheel velo
coppi

those are teams based in nova

the best thing to do is find some local group rides to do and see what racers are there and who you get along with. where in alexandria are you?

Whole Wheel Velo is in VA...

http://wwvc.org/

you should check out the dcvelo group rides listed on their home page to find one of the biggest racer rides in the area. Just about every team can be represented on those rides.

395 and King

Do you mean the goon rides?

no i mean the 7 and 10 am saturday rides that start on beach drive in silver spring

LOL, please humor me and explain the "Goon Rides"...what did you mean by that?

the goon ride is just the name of a ride that goes off on some weekdays up near the north end of beach drive. I believe its not really an official ride of any particular team.

They're actually Route 1 Velo/Arrow Bicycles. A couple of (great, awesome) guys from CHB splintered off and started their own shop, and took over sponsorship of the team in the process.

www.route1velo.com

It's the name given to a Tues/Thurs night ride starting at the Rockville, MD end of Beach Dr. It's pretty short, intense, and not for the faint of heart. It's unofficial.

Evolution mostly rides out of the Reston / Herndon Area; They're a great club (I'm with them), but the commute can add 20-25 miles (if your doing it by bike from N. Arlington) to any of the training rides. Coppi is Much closer. One other team (that I've only started to see) is V-Day, but I'm thinking they are invite-only.

so there is no Capitol Hill Bike team anymore?

there are some good group rides that start out near wakefield on week nights that have a bunch of nova team participation. there used to be some ncvc ride that started on eisenhower ave out in alexandria on weekdays. coppi has a ride that starts in arlington on weekends. you should check all those out.

technically, i think, there never was a capital hill bikes team. The team was route 1 velo sponsored by chb

And Saturdays at 10 from the south end of Beach Drive...? Is that technically a goon ride? I've heard it referred to as such. Quite the hammerfest that one too - especially when the stoplights become involved.

oh, so you mean that Route 1 Velo changed kits? because I see them in red and black with the Capitol Hill Logo, then in the same site, they are in white and green with the Arrow Route 1 Logo...is it one team with 2 kits or two teams?

the 7 and 10 am rides on the dc velo site are not the goon ride. They both start at beach drive and east west highway and head out to the potomac area. those rides are the major hammerfest rides in the dc area on saturday.

Same team, new kit and sponsor.

its the same team. they just changed sponsors from chb to arrow as Pete said. The team changed kits 3 years in a row so I imagine some members just cant afford to keep up with the latest colors.