If you're reading this, you're likely part of the large IU cycling community in Bloomington and you're getting ready for the year of racing ahead of you.
Here I'll show you how you can sign up for an annual collegiate license or one-day license and get certified to race in our home Candy Stripe Classic as well as other USA Cycling-sanctioned races throughout the year.
Finally, there will be mentions and some links for a few "loose ends" -- USAC and IUCC waivers.
If it's your first time reading from this blog, feel free to check out some of my other Little 500 and cycling-related reads -- it would also be a great idea to read my recent article on the new Bicycle Station gravel and criterium races in 2024 as it'll only be a short drive from Bloomington for some great racing.
Also, because 2024 Little 500 bikes are to be released soon, it would be good to check out my articles on the new tires and Melanzana's 2023 bike for some build inspiration
also.... bikereg link for Candy Stripe is just below ↓
BIKEREG LINK
Should I get a one-day license or annual collegiate license?
An annual USAC collegiate license is $80.
One-day licenses are either $15 or $35 per race depending on your previous experience as a USAC license holder. (If you are a category four racer or better, you'll be paying $35 -- if you're brand new to racing and/or are still a category five, your one-day is $15).
Getting an annual license will be cheaper than purchasing multiple one-day licenses (depending on how much you pay per license).
Calculate the number of races you plan on doing throughout the year and multiply that by the cost of what your one-day license will be... if it's more than or close to $80, it's best you get a collegiate license (there might be a couple of cool local races you'll want to do later on...)
Now that you know which license you should get, here's how you acquire them:
One-day licenses
If you're new to racing, don't have a previous or current USA Cycling membership and are thinking of only racing the Candy Stripe, this portion of the page is for you:
If you want to go straight to the source without any nuance, here's USAC's page on how to sign up for a one-day license.
For the most part, it's super simple -- especially for Candy Stripe since it uses Bikereg.
Bikereg has a one-day "guest" option if you don't have a current USAC license. Select your race, fill out the prompts and pay the registration and one-day license fee.
You'll also be prompted to input your club name and website (for IU students, our club name is "Indiana University-Bloomington," and for website you can put whatever... I always link my club website to the "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video).
If you had a USAC license in the past and were a category 4 or better racer, you'll likely need to input your old USAC license number to be able to race in that cat.
Assuming you haven't raced any other races besides Candy Stripe, you'll likely be joining category D and paying the lesser $15 fee.
Pay the toll for your one-day and registration cost and fill out the loose ends at the bottom of this article, then you'll be good to go.
Getting your annual Collegiate USAC License:
For those who plan on racing for a collegiate team at many races throughout the year:
1. Head over to the Collegiate Membership page on USA Cycling's (USAC) website - you'll see that with a collegiate membership, it will include access to both collegiate (like Candy Stripe) and domestic races (like Indy Crit).
2. You'll be prompted to either sign in with an existing account or create an account if you are not a past or current USAC member.
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| Creating an account for Bob |
*While inputting information on the above page, the "shopping cart" will show a total of $110, which is not reflective of the offered $80 cost for a collegiate license -- we'll lower that $110 price on the next step.
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| at the time of writing this, IUCC didn't have their club status renewed with USAC. Purdue cycling is on top of it, so we'll sign Bobby up for Purdue CC. |
4. The next page, "upgrade options," will give you the options of buying some USAC gear, donating to USAC, and getting bike accident coverage for an extra $240 (USAC charges people enough, so don't feel like you need to donate any more on top of what you're paying).
If you're only going to be racing a few races in 2024 and have a lower-end or older bike, there's probably no need for the accident coverage, but if you're racing year-round on a nice bike, it may be a worthy investment. Here's what all is included in the Race+ Collegiate add-on.
- Domestic racing license (unlimited)
- $0 deductible, $50,000 riding insurance (group rides, commutes, etc.)
- $0 deductible, $50,000 racing insurance at USA Cycling sanctioned events*
- Membership discounts from 200+ industry partners
- Inclusion in national rankings platform
- VIP member perks at USA Cycling sanctioned events
- Birthday discount to the USA Cycling Online Store
- USA Cycling member news and update
5. Select what cycling disciplines you're going to race (should probably select all of them except for BMX).
6. Check oooooouuuut!
Time to shell out that $80 to USAC -- it hurts but it's well worth it with all the cool races you can do!
*Even though there's a text box to input a discount code, there is no further discount for the collegiate license -- trust me, I'm all about saving on bike stuff. I inquired last year and was met with a stern "no."
A couple of loose ends...
I know that was a lot to go through, but there are still a couple more things to do before you can race the Candy Stripe Classic (it seems like more work than the race itself)!
USAC Waiver:
USAC needs you to sign a waiver (see bottom left of the "My Licenses" page on the website).
IU Club Sports waiver:
For IUCC liability reasons - here's the link, it will take two minutes!
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