Originally Posted by 'nother
Those 'young' guys gotta prove themselves
Probably listened too closely when his buddies advised him "Early Birds are so dangerous, if you can get out in front and stay there, you might just live!" I've found that to be a pretty standard line amongst the local (alleged) gurus. I don't agree with that; especially the new 5s; everyone's scared ****less and there's lots more room for error. And anyway, as you say the whole point of the races -- PRACTICE races -- is to get experience in the pack and all of the craziness, that's why the re-absorb you if you get dropped/lapped. The race doesn't count for anything more than a start towards your upgrade; no prizes, no podiums....cripe, they don't even record the results.
+1 on the scared ****less part. When I was actually with the lead group, I saw a few rear wheels skip in the turns. Nobody fell or crashed, but the people who saw the skippage were saying little cuss prayers, practically under their breath but you're so close together you hear everything. It was fun times.