As of today CRCA has a record 721 racing members.
Below are the counts from the CRCA database. The CRCA database has been active since 2005. While the 2006 number might be high and 2005 low as we adapted to the new system, 2010 is clearly the highpoint in the 112 year
history of the club.

It’s not clear why membership has grown so much this year. The gain was made up of a large increase in new members but also better retention of existing members. The gain occurred after losing members for three years.

While not conclusive, the changes in membership correlate to the retirement and comeback of Lance Armstrong. USA Cycling also reports that increases in membership correlate with Lance’s tour wins and his comeback. Unlike in the late 1990’s this might be due more to the attention he’s brought to the sport than a growth in Lance fans.
The growth of triathlon is another cause. Tri has gotten a lot of people riding and we have witnessed the increased numbers of triathletes training in Central Park. Evelyn Stevens’ emergence as a world class cyclist also brought some attention to CRCA.

Better than guessing, it would be good to hear from new members on why they joined the club and how they like CRCA and bike racing. Send emails to president[at]crca.net. While I wish we could be doing more, CRCA provides a good path for new racers to get started in the sport.

The men’s C races have been full this year. We’ve been having 2-3 coaches in each race. Feedback on how effective this is will also be appreciated. While the C race got a little too overheated several weeks ago, the field is turning in some very fast sub 14 minute laps.

While the new men racers get to learn by racing against other new racers, new women have to go up against Cat 1 and 2 women right away. This is not ideal for anyone. For new riders it’s like getting thrown into the deep end of the pool after your first swimming lesson. Experienced riders need to keep an eye out for unexpected beginner mistakes which can make things a little hairy. It would be nice to have more fields but we can’t run more than 4 fields in a race.

New riders and more experienced riders too, should check out the CRCA coaching sessions. Check out the coaching schedule on the website and get messages from the coaches on the crcanet yahoo group.
The crcanet yahoo group is an excellent source of info and a good way to find rides to races and all sorts of things.
For more info about joining the crcanet yahoo group

Year by year membership

Year Count Total
2010 721 59502.00
2009 615 54909.19
2008 632 56200.00
2007 664 56110.00
2006 716 59830.00
2005 598 51519.00

New Members

2005 193
2006 256
2007 194
2008 164
2009 159
2010 216