This website contains a host of information for potential, new and existing members. Some of the more important information for those new to cycling is located here for a quick read:


Board

The PACC Board makes decisions regarding the direction of the Club, manages its finances, and decides on the club’s racing program. The official positions within the committee include: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and two additional elected members.

Any member may nominate, or be nominated, to be a part of the Board. Normally, this occurs as part of the Annual General Meeting, which is held between 1 April and 31 May each year.

Members that are not on the Boardare invited to attend and contribute to meetings, normally held on the second Monday of each month in the cbd. Further information is available here. Meeting dates are included on our Events page.


Membership

Port Adelaide Cycling Club is affiliated with AusCycling  which is responsible for coordinating cycling race activities in Australia.  AusCycling in turn, is affiliated with Union Cycliste International (UCI).

A PACC AusCycling membership means you become a member of AusCycling and Port Adelaide CC. Membership permi 
For more details visit:

Current fees and links to join are available on our "Membership" page.


Riding / Training

You will need a certain level of fitness to keep up in racing, and winning is another matter entirely! The good news is that there is usually a grade to cater for all abilities, especially in club level racing.

Your group riding and handling skills are also important, particularly in criteriums. You should have some experience riding in a fast bunch or paceline before entering your first mass start race. You should be comfortable ‘following a wheel’ and riding close to other riders.

If you need help with this aspect of cycling, then come along on one our club bunch rides or join a Sportif team! We are always happy to help new members learn the ropes. PACC holds regular road and dirt bunch rides - ask to join the PACC Club Rides Facebook page (for members and potential members only) to keep up with what's happening. These rides will also be posted on the 'Events' page.

Port Adelaide holds regular training sessions at Hanson Reserve Velodrome (at Woodville Gardens). For learning track riding skills, we have sessions every Tuesday evening all year round (weather permitting). Loan bikes are available and an experienced coach will be there to show you the ropes. 

To gain additional bike handling skills PACC occasionally conducts popular cyclo cross training sessions with accredited coaches. Come along and have a go, even if you only want to learn how to dismount your road bike out the front of cafés ‘euro style’.

Racing is conducted under AusCycling rules and these rules are overseen by accredited officials (known as Commissaires). If you have queries about racing rules, protocols or procedures do not hesitate to ask fellow riders, club officials or Commissaires (just not while they are officiating). Cycle racing is a complex, challenging, rewarding and sometimes frustrating sport – no-one person knows it all.


Racing

Races are held all throughout the year. Generally speaking, the summer season (October - March) is dominated by criterium and track racing, and the winter season (April - September) is dominated by road racing and cyclo cross. Although, there are exceptions – some criterium racing and track racing occurs during winter, and there are some road races and cyclo cross during summer. Time trials are held throughout the winter and summer seasons.

Each race (or sometimes groups of races held on one day) will require you to pay a nomination (entry) fee. The nomination fee varies depending on the type of race and may range from $10 to $55. PACC has a policy that all nominations fees less race expenses are returned to riders as prize money or trophies. Some races are arranged so that nomination is done on the day, others will require on-line nomination and payment by credit card online before the event.

You can see what events are on in SA online at: www.auscycling.org.au/sa calendar and our club's events online here

Click on the title of an event to learn what sort of event it is, where it is located and who to contact for more information. In general, events can be divided up into criteriums, road races, time trials, cyclocross and track racing.

Juniors (male and female up to the U17 category) normally race together, based upon ability and permissable distances. Junior U19 (male and female), U23 & Elite (male and female) and Masters (male and female) normally race together, ‘graded’ or grouped by ability. There will be some events restricted to Masters riders, or where genders are segregated. State, National and World championship events are conducted separately for Junior, Elite and Masters riders in male and female categories. Generally speaking, at a club racing level this means you get to race people of a similar ability, no matter what age you are - and at Championships you get to race the best in your category.  Information on types of racing can be found on our "Get Involved" page of this site.


Equipment and Clothing

Contrary to popular belief - just about any bike is fine to race on! Aside from a functioning road bike which is safe and meets technical requirements, all you need is a helmet that complies with Australian Standards.

You don’t need the fanciest equipment in order to race. However, there are some things that you should have, for the safety of yourself and others:

  • Tyres that are in good condition.
  • Pedals and cleats that are in good condition.
  • A well tuned drive train - you do not want your chain coming off mid-sprint!
  • A working rear red light for races held on roads.

There are clothing regulations in place for cycling races. For open races, you have to be registered as a sponsored rider in order to wear a jersey or shorts with sponsor logos. Sleeveless jerseys are not permitted at any event, including club races. You will always be allowed to race in a club jersey, or a completely plain jersey with no logos (other than the garment manufacturer logo).

(Oh, and shaved legs are not mandatory, unless you ask the style police!)

The Club jersey is a very stylish number, is of very high quality (made by Seight Custom Clothing) and can be obtained in a wide range of sizes at below cost price. There are also PACC knicks, skinsuits, socks, hats, arm warmers, gloves and jackets available! It is also possible to order casual club clothing, including hoodies, tees and polo shirts.

Details of the clothing currently available can be found in the ‘Get the Kit’ section of the PACC site, contact Gemma ([email protected]) to organise any purchases.