Clubs near/north of Boston??

[FastforaSlowGuy]

I'm taking a break from triathlon to do some bike racing (I promise not to show up with aero bars), and I'm looking for thoughts on some local clubs. Does anyone have experience with ECV, CCB or BRC? I definitely want to race, but I'm past the point in my life where I want to hang out with a bunch of super aggressive guys who just want to hammer each other all the time. I'd prefer a group that is chilled out, open to helping develop new riders, but still a strong presence out there on the race circuit.

Thoughts?

[Climb01742]

you should PM bruce k. i'm pretty sure he's a member of ECV.

[bike22]

green line velo

[wc1934]

Charles River Wheelmen

[FastforaSlowGuy]

I don't think CRW have a racing team, just group rides.

I'm in the Merrimack valley area, so it would be great to find a team that rides near me or n the North Shore.

[572cv]

..... Ok the green mountain bike club is way north and way west of Boston, but the thread guidelines are weak on geography so we qualify, and to borrow from Calvin and Hobbes, what a great club! ( shameless plug). Seriously, hope you can find a good club and come and ride the Green Mountain Stage Race next September. :beer:

[FastforaSlowGuy]

That's a bit far for a home club (I'm closer to Andover that VT), but many thanks for the heads up on the race. I will check it out!

[rice rocket]

I thought this thread would be about glowsticks and ecstasy. :help:

[Bruce K]

Eric;

You have a PM re: ECV.

I hadn't read the thread yet so I see you are on the North Shore.

Besides ECV, which has a couple of group rides each week, there are group rides out of Riverside Cycles (Newburyport), and Pinnacle Bicycles (Beverly).

There is also a local group that I ride with (there is a Masters race group involved with that one) that goes almost every day somewhere. The rides start in Manchester-by-the-Sea or Hamilton. If this interests you then PM me your e-mail and I'll get you on the e-mail list.

BK

[wc1934]

I don't think CRW have a racing team, just group rides.

I'm in the Merrimack valley area, so it would be great to find a team that rides near me or n the North Shore.

sorry - misread your post - you are right -

[topher]

Quad Cycles in Arlington - great shop, great club team with riders of all abilities, including a large racing contingent. If you've never raced before, its a good place to learn.

[Ti Designs]

Quad Cycles in Arlington - great shop, great club team with riders of all abilities, including a large racing contingent. If you've never raced before, its a good place to learn.

I'm pretty sure Arlington isn't on the north shore - I could be wrong there...

[jamesutiopia]

Haven't ridden with them in awhile, but surprised nobody has mentioned NEBC (http://nebc.us/) yet

[Hardlyrob]

I see the CCB guys around here all the time, in all kinds of weather. They also run a circuit race in the fall that is pretty demanding and competitive - and goes right by my house :)

I haven't been a member, but both ECV and CCB seem to have strong racing programs.

Cheers!

Rob

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Anybody know why CCB's web site is down? I see them on the road a lot, but can't get any info. I'm hoping the club didn't go bust.

[Bruce K]

Not bust so far as I know

Ask around. Racing for CCB is very intense. Nice folks but VERY serious

BK

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Good to know. That's probably more than I'm looking for. Fast and chill is great. Fast and uber-serious is not a great fit.

[1centaur]

Let's put it this way: The racing guys least likely to wave back and the most likely to paceline even in twos are CCBers. But they span ages and genders and over the years I've encountered a few less intense ones out on the road.

I've talked to more ECV members because they're associated with my LBS and I've been on charity rides with them - everyone of them was nice.

[JayBay]

I do a group ride in the early mornings out of Andover in the summer. We ride at 5:30am out of the Boston Sports Club on Rte 133. Not real racers, but a couple guys in the group race cross. Mostly we "train" for longer events, some centuries, and a few of us do the Mt. Washington hillclimb.

It's a fun ride, and usually pretty fast, if you're local and can get up in the morning you should join us ;)

PM me if you want to hear more. I'm in Haverhill and work in Andover, if you're ever looking for a ride.

[Ti Designs]

The trick is to find people to ride with. Clubs are made up of all sorts of members, while they do tend to have certain types of rides (and on road rules, some of which are top secret), I've never found a whole team with a certain type of riding personality. There are plenty of rides going out, I can think of a half dozen good Saturday morning rides just in my area, mostly from local shops. There are also weekday morning rides - these tend to be the very dedicated individuals who know their friends are going to be out there in the dark waiting for them, so they have to show. In my opinion, if you're going to race and need the base mileage, this is the sort of group you need to be in with.

[Pinky]

Grew up and learned to race on the Northshore. ECV sounds like the club for you, though I'm a generation or two past the current racers. Good group for the intro racer, low key but competitive. Only issue is there aren't a lot of super experienced guys who can teach the nuances of racing a bike.
CCB is where the experienced guys end up, and the younger guys who end up there tend go places. They don't suffer a lot of beginner mistakes, but you can learn a lot. Definitely an intense bunch, but I generally like that about them.
There are others but they aren't Northshore-based.

[Bruce K]

I beg to differ on the level of experience in ECV

Former pros like Phil Wong and current pros like Shawn Milne are members of ECV

Then throw in Jesse Anthony (when he's around) and many experienced snd talented road racers, not to mention the huge number of cross racers and there are plenty of folks to learn from

BK