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What is Michigan Cycling?
Michigan Cycling is the University of Michigan Cycling Club: a collegiate team for riders across road, mountain and cyclocross, open to beginners and national-level racers alike. Its stated aim is to provide training, teamwork and a welcoming community on and off the bike, with officers available to contact if you want to join a first ride.
What the club actually does
- Races a three-season collegiate calendar: mountain and cyclocross in the fall, road in the spring, competing in the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference with travel as far as Wisconsin, Kentucky and St. Louis.
- Handles race logistics: the team says it coordinates travel and lodging, typically renting vans for race weekends, with seasonal dues covering logistics and food the only individual expense.
- Runs a spring training camp: an informal camp has been based in Helen, Georgia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, described as a team-bonding trip built around climbs hard to find in Michigan.
- Is organised by volunteers: a president, vice president, treasurer, travel coordinator, social chair/secretary and head coach are listed as contacts.
Who it suits
It fits a University of Michigan student who wants structured racing without arranging transport alone, and who values a social team as much as results. A rider who only wants casual solo commuting, or who cannot commit weekends to regional travel, would find the race-season focus less relevant. The stated intent to attend every road race but only most mountain events and select cyclocross races suggests road riders get the fullest schedule.
Next step
If you are deciding whether to join, email the president or another officer listed on Michigan Cycling and ask two things: what the current seasonal dues are, and whether newcomers can try a ride before committing. For context on the collegiate racing structure, see USA Cycling.
How do I join the University of Michigan Cycling Club if I'm new to racing?
Start by contacting a club officer and asking to join your first ride. The page names Tessa Mead (president), Reese Cummins (vice president) and Tabitha Woods (social chair/secretary) as contacts, and it explicitly welcomes first-time riders alongside national-level racers. You do not need racing experience to take the first step; the introductory move is a conversation, not a tryout.
What the club actually offers newcomers
- A place across disciplines. The team includes road, mountain and cyclocross riders, so you can start in whichever style feels least intimidating.
- Structured support. The page describes training, teamwork and coaching (Kurt Schaldenbrand is listed as head coach), which matters more to a beginner than equipment.
- Travel handled for you. The team rents vans and arranges lodging for race weekends; racers pay seasonal dues covering logistics, with food the only individual expense. For a new racer, that removes the usual barrier of figuring out regional travel alone.
- A low-pressure bonding route. The informal spring training camp in Helen, Georgia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains is described as a team-building trip—useful once you've done a few rides, not necessarily your first commitment.
A practical sequence
- Email an officer (president or social chair) stating you're new, which discipline interests you, and what bike you have.
- Join a regular ride before committing to a race weekend.
- Ask which races suit beginners—the page notes the team aims for every road race, most mountain events, and select cyclocross races, so there is room to start selectively.
- Consider the spring camp after a few weeks of riding with the group.
If you're comparing clubs
Check whether a club coordinates travel and lodging, whether dues cover it, and whether coaching is available—these are the differences that most affect a beginner's experience. The collegiate calendar also matters: road racing is spring, mountain and cyclocross are fall, so timing your approach to the season you want to try avoids a long wait. For the wider collegiate racing picture, USA Cycling covers the sport's structure; the club's own officers remain the right first contact for joining.
What does it cost to race with Michigan Cycling, and what do seasonal dues cover?
Michigan Cycling does not publish a dues amount on its site, so the exact cost isn't stated. What the club does explain is how race costs are structured: each racer pays seasonal dues, and those dues cover the team's race logistics—mainly travel and lodging, with the team typically renting vans for race weekends. Food is the only individual expense racers are told to expect on top of dues.
So the practical picture is: your all-in cost is seasonal dues plus your own food, and the dues pool pays for getting the team to races and putting people up. Because the club competes across the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference—Wisconsin, Kentucky, and as far as St. Louis—dues likely vary with the season's schedule and how many race weekends you attend, but that's inference, not something the page confirms.
How to get the actual number
The club directs prospective members to contact its officers, and the officer list includes a treasurer (Molly Hunter Barnet) and a president (Tessa Mead). Emailing the treasurer is the direct route to current dues figures, what they cover per season, and whether fall mountain/cyclocross and spring road seasons are priced separately—the page notes the calendar is split into three seasons, with the team aiming for every road race, most mountain events, and select cyclocross races.
Two questions worth asking alongside the dues:
- Are dues per season or annual, and do they differ for riders doing only a few races?
- What isn't covered besides food—for example, race entry fees or licenses—since the page lists only food as an individual expense.
For context on the collegiate racing structure the dues support, see USA Cycling and the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference.
How does the collegiate race season work across road, mountain, and cyclocross?
The collegiate calendar splits into three discipline seasons rather than one continuous series: mountain bike and cyclocross in the fall, road in the spring. Michigan Cycling competes in the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference (MCCC), with race weekends across the region—from Wisconsin to Kentucky and as far as St. Louis. The club says it aims to attend every road race on the schedule, most mountain events, and selected cyclocross races, and it organizes travel and lodging itself, typically renting vans and covering logistics through seasonal dues, with food the only individual expense.
That structure matters for how you plan a year. A road-focused rider gets the most complete schedule in spring, while a mountain biker has the fullest fall. Cyclocross is the most selective of the three, so check the target races before committing. Because dues are seasonal, joining for one discipline doesn't oblige you to race all year.
Choosing your season
- New to racing: start with the spring road season, where the club intends to attend the full schedule and van logistics lower the barrier.
- Off-road preference: plan around fall mountain events; expect most, not all, on the calendar.
- Mixed interests: use cyclocross as a low-pressure bridge between the two main seasons.
A useful next step is to email the officers listed on Michigan Cycling—the president, travel coordinator, or head coach—and ask which specific races are targeted this season and what the seasonal dues cover. For the wider conference schedule and eligibility rules, the official MCCC or USA Cycling pages are the authoritative sources.
What is Spring Training Camp in Helen, Georgia like, and who can attend?
Spring Training Camp is an informal team trip that Michigan Cycling has based in Helen, Georgia, for several years. The page presents it less as a formal clinic than as a shared training and bonding experience: riders get access to Blue Ridge Mountain climbs and views that are hard to find in Michigan, and the trip is described as forging friendships within the team. Specific dates, cost, ride pace and eligibility rules are not set out on the page, so anyone weighing it up should confirm those details directly with the club.
Who it suits
The site frames the club as open to riders "from first-time riders to national-level racers," and the camp sits within that all-levels culture. In practice, a spring camp in mountainous terrain tends to reward riders who are already comfortable with long days and sustained climbing, or who are willing to ride in a supportive group where stronger riders can wait at the top. A newer rider considering the trip would do well to ask the officers how the group is split on the road and whether there is a gentler option on climbing days.
How to decide
- Ask about logistics first. The page notes that race weekends are coordinated with rented vans and seasonal dues covering travel and lodging, with food as the only individual expense. Camp arrangements may follow a similar pattern, but that should be confirmed rather than assumed.
- Check the timing against your spring goals. The camp is informal and spring-based, so it works best as preparation for the road season rather than a standalone holiday.
- Contact the right person. The officers list includes a travel coordinator, a treasurer, a head coach, a social chair and a president, all reachable by email from the site. The travel coordinator is the natural first contact for camp logistics, and the head coach for questions about ride expectations.
For broader context on the collegiate calendar that the camp feeds into, the club's conference is the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference, and USA Cycling (USA Cycling) publishes general guidance on training and race preparation that can help a rider judge whether a mountain camp fits their current fitness.
Who are the current officers and staff I should contact about joining or travel logistics?
Contact the president, Tessa Mead, for general joining questions, and the travel coordinator, Molly Roberts, for race-weekend logistics. Both are listed on the club's officer page at Michigan Cycling.
Officers and staff listed
| Role | Name | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| President | Tessa Mead | Joining the club, general questions |
| Vice President | Reese Cummins | Club operations and second point of contact |
| Travel Coordinator | Molly Roberts | Van rentals, lodging, race-weekend travel |
| Treasurer | Hunter Barnet | Seasonal dues and payments |
| Head Coach | Kurt Schaldenbrand | Training and racing development |
| Social Chair/Secretary | Tabitha Woods | Team events and social questions |
How to use this
If you are new to cycling, start with Tessa Mead and ask about your first ride; the club explicitly invites beginners to reach out to officers before joining a ride. If you already plan to race, ask Molly Roberts how travel and lodging are organized, since the team coordinates vans and lodging for race weekends and covers those costs through seasonal dues, with food as the only individual expense. For training questions, Kurt Schaldenbrand is the more direct contact than the president.
One practical note: the site lists names and roles but not individual email addresses in the visible text, so use the contact links on the officer page rather than guessing addresses. If you are unsure who to ask, the president is the safest first contact and can redirect you.
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