As a Post Script to this thread. I finally took the leap in a MTB race at Patapsco state park in the Baltimore area. My first priority was to not cherry pick because Sara may read this :-). So I entered the oldest age group they offered, which was a 40+ category. As it turned out I was 12th out of 22. Of course being 74, and the next oldest guy being 53, I like to say I was 1st in the over 55 group. All was not lost however, the race staff presented me with a bottle of wine for being the oldest entry (of course it was a vintage wine). But in all honesty, I had a ball and did enjoy just competing. One last item, I got the name of all those fella's that beat me and they better not look back because in future races I will run right over their ass.