want to race overseas

[luigiV]

Wanting to live and race in america

Anyone have any advice regarding living and racing in the states or europe ??......i would like to try it for six months see how it all goes and take it from there...not quite sure how the whole visa thing goes if theyll let me stay after extended periods etc etc but ill work that out.
if anyone knows of accomadation or good places to stay that wont break the budget or im willing to bunk with other cyclist trying to do the same thing...anyways would love to get some help regarding this as im keen to make the jump over there in the next 4 to 5 months cheers.
if anyone out there has done this would like to hear how you went about it .

 

[luigiV]

accomadation for a aussie

hi anyone have accomadation for a ausie that wants to race and train overseas
im sick of australia i want a change for six months or so hehe

 

[luigiV]

im from australia but want to race overseas i want a change for 6 months or so and see how it goes.
But will customs let me stay or do i got to work also...'CONFUSED' ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE DONE THIS? AND IF SO WHAT DID YOU DO? AND ANY ADVICE WOULD BE APRECIATED THANX..

 

[53 x 11]

the first thing to think about is are you winning races in Australia?

 

[the big ring]

the first thing to think about is are you winning races in Australia?

Strongly disagree.

Can't help you with accommodation or visas or racing licenses, but wish you all the best, and think you should blog / document your trip while you're at it.

 

[fatandfast]

Go to Belgium. You can live pretty cheap(5-600 a month) and race 3 or 4 times a week. You can go on a tourist visa without any problems. All they care about is people who are trying to immigrate there and start collecting welfare. That is not you. Go on craigslist and post that you want to rent a room in Antwerp,Leuven or Gent. All the cities have tons of colleges and students that have no money so there are cheap places to rent. Make sure to get a release from your federation. Even if you don't, just having a valid racing license is good enough for almost everybody. Don't plan to put lots of stuff on credit cards,cash is king. Don't give anybody any deposits until you are face to face. It is better to live with a family,easier to do laundry,don't have to buy plates,pots and pans,linen ect. Plus getting to races is tricky without a car so you want to be in the Flemish parts were there is a little more racing. Don't train on lots of hills it's useless,Do speed work as much as possible. All Dutch and Belgian races start with this burnoff thing, They go 30+ for 20 min-to a half hour and if you can't go fast you are dropped. If you go to one of the schools in Leuven there are big boards that post apts/rooms for rent. You may have to stay in a hotel/hostel for a few days until you sort it out. Bring a bike lock or 2 in your luggage so when you are looking around your bike and wheels are safe.*bring as many Aus club jerseys as you can carry they are like gold for trading.Budget about 7-800 a month for everything.Don't rent anything from a realtor it costs lots of money.Don't look at ads for "cold" apts. That means there is no kitchen or light s or anything just walls, Holes and pipes where the sink and oven goes and wires hanging from the ceiling where a light belongs. Don't let anybody talk you into one of those all in one Ikea kitchen things with a sink,oven/cabinet by the time you take care of installing and transporting all the crap it's not worth it. When you see apts for 200 a months that's the deal,just walls with no comforts.Biggest thing is riding in Belgian sunshine, which is rain. It rains all the fu--ing time and it's is always cold. If you are going just for adventure not for racing, go to S.Cal,some racing and chicks will dig your accent and you can do other riding.

 

[TRDean]

Go to Belgium. You can live pretty cheap(5-600 a month) and race 3 or 4 times a week. You can go on a tourist visa without any problems. All they care about is people who are trying to immigrate there and start collecting welfare. That is not you. Go on craigslist and post that you want to rent a room in Antwerp,Leuven or Gent. All the cities have tons of colleges and students that have no money so there are cheap places to rent. Make sure to get a release from your federation. Even if you don't, just having a valid racing license is good enough for almost everybody. Don't plan to put lots of stuff on credit cards,cash is king. Don't give anybody any deposits until you are face to face. It is better to live with a family,easier to do laundry,don't have to buy plates,pots and pans,linen ect. Plus getting to races is tricky without a car so you want to be in the Flemish parts were there is a little more racing. Don't train on lots of hills it's useless,Do speed work as much as possible. All Dutch and Belgian races start with this burnoff thing, They go 30+ for 20 min-to a half hour and if you can't go fast you are dropped. If you go to one of the schools in Leuven there are big boards that post apts/rooms for rent. You may have to stay in a hotel/hostel for a few days until you sort it out. Bring a bike lock or 2 in your luggage so when you are looking around your bike and wheels are safe.*bring as many Aus club jerseys as you can carry they are like gold for trading.Budget about 7-800 a month for everything.Don't rent anything from a realtor it costs lots of money.Don't look at ads for "cold" apts. That means there is no kitchen or light s or anything just walls, Holes and pipes where the sink and oven goes and wires hanging from the ceiling where a light belongs. Don't let anybody talk you into one of those all in one Ikea kitchen things with a sink,oven/cabinet by the time you take care of installing and transporting all the crap it's not worth it. When you see apts for 200 a months that's the deal,just walls with no comforts.Biggest thing is riding in Belgian sunshine, which is rain. It rains all the fu--ing time and it's is always cold. If you are going just for adventure not for racing, go to S.Cal,some racing and chicks will dig your accent and you can do other riding.

Very good advice!! Have a blast!!

 

[davidw]

Biggest thing is riding in Belgian sunshine, which is rain. It rains all the fu--ing time and it's is always cold. If you are going just for adventure not for racing, go to S.Cal,some racing and chicks will dig your accent and you can do other riding.

Well, at that point, why not Italy or Spain? The weather's not quite as good as Southern California (especially not lately), but there is a lot of great riding, great racing, and the weather is certainly better than in Belgium.

Popular spots seem to be Girona for pros (but they don't have to be as concerned about finding local races as you would), as well as Lucca in Italy. The area around Bassano del Grappa is good too.

 

[fatandfast]

Davidw. I agree that Italy is a fantastic place to race. If I win lotto a villa in Bergamo or Balsanno will be my first purchase. Holland and Belgium are the size of postage stamps with little to no exportable culture in my experience. Everybody knows enough English.Not trying to insult Italians or the Spanish but people just don't have the need for English like they do in B or NL. Trying to get a ride to a race on the phone is way harder in Italian or Spanish if you don't know the lingo. Also when you go to the doctor for a boil the size of an orange it's nice to not need an translator. Being able to see TV in English and communicate a little easier is the reason I like B and NL. Italian and Spanish women are to die for but if you are going to hit the ground running having to know another language is a little harder. When American girls talk to even a half way decent looking Aussie their clothes fall off. In my experience it's a little easier to make friends when you know the language. Also it's nice to go see a movie on some of your downtime and from what I have seen there are not a bunch of English speaking choices in Spain or Italy,not that it matters all the time if you understand what they are saying..Penelope Cruz could say whatever she wants to me with bad breath and I will be paying attention. I would trade my whole family for Monica Bellucci...sorry mom and dad that's just the way it is. Los Angeles and San Diego both have some racing and plenty of good training rides and velodromes if that's your thing.

 

[GreggGermer]

I would have to second Belgium, but then again I am little biased.

If you would like to read up on racing in Belgium I wrote a Racing Guide to Belgium.

I could go on and on in posting about Belgium, but it is easier to just read through the guide.

If you think racing in Belgium would be something you are interested in I run a house for cycling accommodation called The ChainStay. It's here to help eliminate the problems for foreign cyclists coming to Belgium when it comes to finding a team and a place to stay.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to e-mail me.

-Gregg-

 

[Michele]

If you wanna ride elite/u23 races, it might be easier in Belgium/Holland as fatandfast reported.

As Im writing from Italy, you can take part at circuit races/granfondo, but talking of elite/u23 categories you need to be in a local team.

 

[luigiV]

Go to Belgium. You can live pretty cheap(5-600 a month) and race 3 or 4 times a week. You can go on a tourist visa without any problems. All they care about is people who are trying to immigrate there and start collecting welfare. That is not you. Go on craigslist and post that you want to rent a room in Antwerp,Leuven or Gent. All the cities have tons of colleges and students that have no money so there are cheap places to rent. Make sure to get a release from your federation. Even if you don't, just having a valid racing license is good enough for almost everybody. Don't plan to put lots of stuff on credit cards,cash is king. Don't give anybody any deposits until you are face to face. It is better to live with a family,easier to do laundry,don't have to buy plates,pots and pans,linen ect. Plus getting to races is tricky without a car so you want to be in the Flemish parts were there is a little more racing. Don't train on lots of hills it's useless,Do speed work as much as possible. All Dutch and Belgian races start with this burnoff thing, They go 30+ for 20 min-to a half hour and if you can't go fast you are dropped. If you go to one of the schools in Leuven there are big boards that post apts/rooms for rent. You may have to stay in a hotel/hostel for a few days until you sort it out. Bring a bike lock or 2 in your luggage so when you are looking around your bike and wheels are safe.*bring as many Aus club jerseys as you can carry they are like gold for trading.Budget about 7-800 a month for everything.Don't rent anything from a realtor it costs lots of money.Don't look at ads for "cold" apts. That means there is no kitchen or light s or anything just walls, Holes and pipes where the sink and oven goes and wires hanging from the ceiling where a light belongs. Don't let anybody talk you into one of those all in one Ikea kitchen things with a sink,oven/cabinet by the time you take care of installing and transporting all the crap it's not worth it. When you see apts for 200 a months that's the deal,just walls with no comforts.Biggest thing is riding in Belgian sunshine, which is rain. It rains all the fu--ing time and it's is always cold. If you are going just for adventure not for racing, go to S.Cal,some racing and chicks will dig your accent and you can do other riding.

awesome info man appreciated greatly ...is there a time in belgium when its sunny and warm etc ? or is it always raining hehe

 

[luigiV]

I would have to second Belgium, but then again I am little biased.

If you would like to read up on racing in Belgium I wrote a Racing Guide to Belgium.

I could go on and on in posting about Belgium, but it is easier to just read through the guide.

If you think racing in Belgium would be something you are interested in I run a house for cycling accommodation called The ChainStay. It's here to help eliminate the problems for foreign cyclists coming to Belgium when it comes to finding a team and a place to stay.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to e-mail me.

-Gregg-

awesome thanx mate..i will email you shortly...once again thanks for the info apreciated greatly ")

 

[luigiV]

...awesome

 

[luigiV]

the first thing to think about is are you winning races in Australia?

youre obviously not winning ...mate i just want to try something different and what comes comes if nothing comes welll yeh least i can say i done it and tried it.
thanx for youre comment top bloke

 

[the big ring]

Bleh. All my carbon investments are worthless for Belgium... :-(

So glad you started this thread, luigi. I have considered an extended er racing holiday in Belgium or similar, and some good info is turning up here. Good stuff.

 

[luigiV]

hehe so i heard ..carbon is definetly a big no no there....im going 32 spoke shallow rim =equals no problem
Well less problems anyways!

HOPEFULLY

 

[davidw]

And in favor of Italy, there's always the Merckx quote:

"He [Merckx] said if you want to win races, go to France; if you want to learn about bike racing, go to Italy." (quoted from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mount )

I guess it depends what kind of racing you want to do, too. The highest point in the entire country of Belgium is barely higher than the little hills to the west of Padova where I live, and there is certainly nothing like the epic climbs in the dolomites. On the other hand, my impression is that cycling is more popular and respected in Belgium than in Italy.

English definitely isn't so common here, if that's a problem, but Italian's a nice, pleasant language and not so difficult to learn.

 

[luigiV]

do you know any friends from australia or wherever that have tried to race and stay in italy?
cause yes i know training in the dolomites would be amazing..youre very lucky if you do hehe

 

[davidw]

do you know any friends from australia or wherever that have tried to race and stay in italy?
cause yes i know training in the dolomites would be amazing..youre very lucky if you do hehe

The closest Australian friends I have are in Innsbruck, Austria. Nice place, but too cold for cycling in the winter. I'm from the US and live here in Italy, but don't race any more. Or ride for that matter... I have a job now... sigh:-(

 

[Michele]

And in favor of Italy, there's always the Merckx quote:

"He [Merckx] said if you want to win races, go to France; if you want to learn about bike racing, go to Italy." (quoted from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mount )

I guess it depends what kind of racing you want to do, too. The highest point in the entire country of Belgium is barely higher than the little hills to the west of Padova where I live, and there is certainly nothing like the epic climbs in the dolomites. On the other hand, my impression is that cycling is more popular and respected in Belgium than in Italy.

English definitely isn't so common here, if that's a problem, but Italian's a nice, pleasant language and not so difficult to learn.

Little OT: you're in Padova? Funny, I just live 40kms from your place, a few kms from Teolo.


@luigi; are you U23?Elite? Or what else?

 

[luigiV]

im elite men..I had about 8 years away from racing and training i raced at national level in australia got results around australia did tour of thailand when i was 18 19 could of rode the tour down under in its inaugural race bcause i lived in adelaide could of rode in the south australian team.. but instead i took a offer overseas to try get a ride on the selle italia colombia team so i could ride the giro which was my goal but my mate got the first piick so i missed out on 2 good oppurtunities .
He did a epic ride on one of the stages which was awesome to watch ! So yeh had a bit of missfortune and bad luck but i got over it after a few years! hehe but yeh thats the way cycling goes i suppose...

I then quit a year later or thereabouts and got lost in the wilderness without racing and training so now ive started up started again ....
Its a sport where because you spend all youre time and energy on its hard to leave it behind... i did stop for a few years but i used to think about racing everyday i missed the feeling of lactate and getting home feeling thrashed and starving hehe... so i want to try rip it up again ...muscle memory must still hang around bcause i been responding to training pretty well..but anywayz.. i just hopefully can find the right place to do good training and racing...but i dont want to do it in australia ...my options are open and reading up on places with good accomadation etc and a place thats sittuated pretty central to racing or thereabouts hopefully something comes up ..im doing this without assistance from the australian institutions govrnment or team backing etc im doin it on my own ..im just doing it for the love and payin my own way but its worth it .... i love this sport !!!!

 

[Michele]

So yeah, as I was saying before, there's an age limit in Italy for Elite guys and its 26 y.o. .
You could still ride if you're older but it would be just the international level races which means not so many.

 

[luigiV]

if anyone knows of any good places to stay would love to hear from you..theres a place in belgium that acomadates cylist but thats the only one i can find atm sounds pretty good but id like to keep options and keep looking .. till i make the right choice.

 

[luigiV]

that would be fine not racing as much...but if i can get onto some good housing acomadation that would be great then i can make a move.
I have family in italy but where they all live theres no racing anywere near were they live