Emerald Velo Bicycle Club is a bicycle racing club, members are encouraged to, but are not required to race. We sponsor the OBRA Time Trial Championship as the primary revenue-generating event for the club. We also provide volunteer support to one of our sponsors (River City Bicycles), as necessary. We (members of the team) lead training rides (with the emphasis on race preparation & conditioning) on days in which there are no conflicting races.

Currently, there are organized "training for racing" Saturday team rides and sometimes a Sunday team ride. On occasion, we have mid-week rides (when daylight allows). Attending some of these rides will enable you to get to know the individual members who are in your category, which in turn may provide opportunities to arrange for training-rides at times other than the weekends. If the team philosophies correspond with your goals, then you might wish to consider joining the team. Note: any team member is encouraged to lead a ride, so as a member, you could set-up times for other than weekends, if that better fits into your riding & training schedule.

As a team, we support each other in training and racing. Often team racing tactics can determine the outcome of a race and thus it is not necessarily the strongest rider who would win, making it easier to be competitive when racing as part of a team, as opposed to competitors who are riding unattached. When possible, competitors also communicate in advance of events to organize ride-sharing to out-of-town races. This provides a two-fold benefit: cost savings plus emergency support in the instance of an accident.

There is also a "training camp" available in early season for a greater degree of race season preparation.

Potential members are encouraged to come out to one of the team rides, as posted on the Emerald Velo web-site, to see if they are a good "fit" (i.e., goals, attitude, etc.) for the team.

The race re-imbursement program allows for 50% of the entry fee to be returned (this goes into effect after new members have been on the team for one year). The pre-requisite for re-imbursement is that the team member be available for support at the OBRA Time Trial Championship event (noted below).

What is the make-up of the team membership?

The team membership is dynamic, but over the past couple of years we have had upwards of 40 team-mates. We currently have 25 members:
Cat 5: 1
Cat 4: 10
Cat 3: 11
Cat 2: 2
Cat 1: 1

What kind of group rides are available?

We have team rides usually every Saturday and sometimes on Sunday. Check out the website (http://www.emeraldvelo.org) and join the group for a ride to see if the team is a good fit for you.

Is EVC (EVBC: Emerald Velo Bicycle Club) separate from United Finance etc., or is it all one team?

EVC or EVBC is the team name; United Finance is the current sponsor's name under which we sign-in at races. The team has its primary sponsors of United Finance, although there are other second level sponsors.

Are there any requirements for membership (number of races entered, etc.)?

The primary requirement is support (this means providing course monitoring, traffic control, etc.) for the event EVC promotes: the one-day OBRA Time Trial Championship event in August.

Team members also agree to provide volunteers to support River City's summer ride (Barlow Trail Century) as well. River City is our sponsor, and it is one of the few requirements that River City asks of us. It is not mandatory that you support the River City ride, but if you do, it can count toward your "team volunteer requirement commitment" instead of for the State TT; but only if there are enough other volunteers for the TT and with Board Of Director approval.

Emerald Velo Cycling Team, Inc. (EVC) was founded in Eugene, Oregon by Paul Schwyhart, Larry Smith and Peter Kukula in the mid 1980's. Our three founding members wanted a club that focused on team riding and tactics, and that would concentrate on developing Junior riders. Over the last 10 years, most of the membership has moved to the Portland area.

The club incorporated in 1998 and is now called Emerald Velo Cycling Team, Inc. Club decisions are made by our Board of Directors who are elected by the club membership.

Our club also promotes races throughout the year. From 1998 through 2000, we promoted or sponsored:

The Tour of Willamette, a stage race in the Willamette Valley around Eugene.

Columbia Plateau, a stage race.

Oregon Time Trial Championships