Frequently Asked Questions

Our New to Racing guide takes you step by step from your first license to your first upgrade.

In partnership with VeloPromo, our Early Birds program introduces beginners to racing on five Sundays in January and early February, with skills clinics and mentored practice races. See Build your skills for details, plus clinics, mentors and coaching.

NCNCA and its Board of Directors are also happy to answer questions from new racers and to help them find local group rides or clubs. Email bod@ncnca.org.

Yes. Every USA Cycling race license, including a one-day license, includes accident medical insurance while you race in USA Cycling-sanctioned events. It pays after your own health insurance, or on its own if you have none.

• What it pays: up to $50,000 per injury. Once the total medical bills for a crash pass $5,000 (counting what your own insurer paid), it pays 70% of what’s left to you: your deductibles, copays and coinsurance. Ambulance, physical therapy, braces and medical equipment are each capped at $500 per injury.
• What it doesn’t cover: training rides, races that aren’t sanctioned by USA Cycling, and damage to your bike.
• If you crash: get treated promptly (emergency treatment must be within 72 hours) and let the race officials know. Give your providers your own health insurance first and USA Cycling’s insurer, BMI Benefits, second, and ask them to bill BMI rather than paying them yourself. File your claim within 90 days.

See How to file a claim and USA Cycling’s coverage details.

Last checked with USA Cycling’s published coverage and its claims administrator on November 2, 2026. USA Cycling can change its coverage at any time and the policy’s own terms apply, so check the links above before relying on this summary.

Besides access to sanctioned races and the accident insurance above, a race license gives you:

• Results and rankings: your results are recorded by USA Cycling and count toward national rankings.
• Category upgrades: USA Cycling tracks your upgrade points so you can move up through the categories.
• Partner discounts: member deals from cycling brands such as TrainingPeaks.
• Pathways for juniors and U23 riders: eligibility for development camps, talent identification and collegiate racing.
• Support for local racing: license fees help fund grassroots racing, including the event insurance that lets clubs put on races.

USA Cycling has also offered optional extra coverage, such as no-deductible accident insurance that also covers training and commuting. See USA Cycling’s membership page for what’s available now.

Last checked November 2, 2026.

Mainly for safety. For most road races, less traffic on the roads during earlier starts creates a safer racing environment. During the summer, earlier starts help us avoid the hottest part of the day. For most loop road races, starting the fastest group first means fewer group interactions on the course, which means safer races. Because P/1/2 races are usually longest, the early starts make for a shorter overall day for staff, commissaires, and CHP (and therefore less expense).

It’s a sign of a busy district with lots of promoters putting on races. NCNCA keeps the district race calendar so promoters can see what’s already planned and choose dates that don’t clash, and we encourage promoters in the same area to talk to each other before settling on a date. USAC issues the race permits, so now and then two events still end up on the same day. If you’re planning a race, check the race calendar early and contact our calendar coordinator at coordinator@ncnca.org.

BAR (Best All-Around Rider) and BAT (Best All-Around Team) are NCNCA’s season-long points competitions, scored from USAC road races in the district from January to early October. BAR is open to any licensed racer, including riders from outside the district. BAT points count only for riders on teams registered with both USAC and NCNCA (see Clubs and teams). See the BAR/BAT page for the current standings, the rules, and results going back to 2001.

In recent years there has been a dearth of USAC-sanctioned cyclocross and track races in our district. If you are a promoter wanting to run cyclocross or track races, please contact coordinator@ncnca.org.

For mountain biking, the California Dirt Series promoted by YBONC is the longest-running USAC mountain bike series in the district. Check the race calendar for other mountain bike series.

The mentor program is a great way for more experienced racers to give back to our community. Mentors ride along with Cat 5 races and offer feedback and correction post-race.

The program starts every year at the Early Birds and extends into the race season for events with Cat 5 racers. Of course, mentoring continues unofficially through every category when more experienced racers respectfully help others learn skills or safe racing practices.

To become a mentor or learn more, email bod@ncnca.org, come to the Early Birds, or follow us on social media (Facebook and Instagram).

The NCNCA Women’s Series encourages women to start racing and stay in the sport in a variety of ways. Clinics for potential new racers, special prizes for Women’s Series winners, and social activities are just a few examples.

We recognize the importance of growing the next generation of bike racers in NCNCA, which is why we have a Juniors Committee. The committee works with race promoters to encourage the inclusion of junior categories and participation in the Juniors Series race program. Juniors also race at a reduced cost, ranging from free to $25, at many NCNCA races.

No. You can enter any race on your own. A club or team helps you learn tactics and gives you people to train and travel with, and many clubs focus on juniors, women or masters. Browse the NCNCA member clubs to find one near you. Our New to Racing guide explains what a club offers.

Join through the club itself: find one on our Member Clubs page, or in USAC’s Find a Team directory. Then add the club to your USAC account so it appears on your license. You can belong to only one club per discipline.

The club on your license is the team your BAT points count for, so keep it up to date. If you change clubs, points you have already earned stay with the club you earned them for.

Club membership runs for a calendar year. The membership drive for the following year opens in December, with registration on BikeReg at one of three levels: Gold, Silver or Bronze. Clubs can join at any time up to November 1.

The biggest benefit is eligibility for the BAT (Best All-Around Team) competition. To earn team points, a club must be registered with both USAC and NCNCA. Clubs that join by the last day of February earn points from January 1; clubs that join later earn points only from the date they join (see the BAR/BAT rules). Member clubs also vote in board elections, are listed on our Member Clubs page, and can borrow NCNCA race equipment for races they put on. The drive is announced in our newsletter and on the News page. If you have questions, email bod@ncnca.org.

In the past, NCNCA member clubs were required to put on one race per year. This was a real burden for smaller clubs with fewer resources and members, and it created an incentive not to join NCNCA.

Our district is very fortunate to have a number of larger clubs who voluntarily step up to host races. We greatly appreciate the many hours that they spend planning, getting permits, coordinating volunteers and commissaires, and running operations day-of.

Volunteer your services at races that struggle to find enough volunteers. Reach out to any promoter or race director on the NCNCA calendar if you want more specific details on what that race needs. We also suggest clubs of all sizes make volunteering a requirement, as we are all responsible for keeping NCNCA racing strong.

Yes, free of charge! NCNCA member clubs putting on a race can borrow up to four of our pop-up tents. To book them, email our Equipment Manager at equipment@ncnca.org. The equipment request form is on our Promoters page.

Start with our Promoters page. It covers getting your race on the calendar, what to put on your flyer and registration page, and borrowing NCNCA race equipment. Race permits are issued by USAC. To add your race to the NCNCA calendar, email the calendar coordinator at coordinator@ncnca.org.

Commissaires run the racing on race day: they enforce the rules, judge the finish and produce the results. They are licensed by USAC, and NCNCA recruits, trains and assigns commissaires for races in the district. To find out more, see the Commissaires page or email commissaires@ncnca.org.

Simply put, it’s Northern California and part of Nevada. The exact area is set in NCNCA’s Local Association Agreement with USAC (see LA Agreement): in California, Monterey, Kings, Tulare and Inyo Counties and every county north of them; in Nevada, every county except Clark County.

The NCNCA Board of Directors is a group of up to nine volunteers who represent the needs of NCNCA and manage its functions. It consists of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and other directors. The board meets once a month to report on and discuss financials, race schedules, special events, and more. The first part of every board meeting is open for public comments and all are welcome to attend. See Board meetings for the schedule and the Zoom link. Board members and their email addresses are listed on the About page.

First a little background information: “members” of NCNCA are clubs, not individual racers. Clubs register with NCNCA at the beginning of every year in order to enjoy the benefits of membership. One benefit is the right to vote for the board of directors. Each club has a named representative who casts the vote. If you’re not sure who your representative is, ask your club president so you can give input into how your club votes.

In an emergency, call 911. NCNCA does not run its own incident reporting form; reports go to the national bodies set up to handle them:

Sexual misconduct or abuse, and any abuse involving a minor: report to the U.S. Center for SafeSport using its Report a Concern form or by phone at 833-587-7233. Suspected child abuse must also be reported to law enforcement.

Other misconduct, such as physical or emotional misconduct, bullying, hazing or harassment: report to USAC, which accepts reports anonymously. See USAC’s reporting page.

For a problem during a race, tell the chief commissaire at the event.