You are scary.

Okay, I'm a crappy bike handler.

I do NOT disagree with the mentor, she was doing what she thought was right. She had a different view of the field than I did, she was not racing, she was helping. She understood what I was doing but was concerned that some of the other riders wouldn't. I didn't drop out because I thought she was right. I dropped out and because she and I were talking and we got dropped, on a prime lap, on the front 1/3 of the course when the speed was ramping up for the sprint. I didn't think I had the matches to burn to bridge back up and I was pissed...I didn't want to race anymore!

My feeling is if I'm on the back of a small pack, tailgunning effectively, I can change lines in a corner as I need to as long as I don't affect anyone else. If I crash out another rider and go down myself, because of my age, I will get the short end of that stick, and believe you me that's foremost on my mind. I need to go to work on Monday, and the damage to my body from a high speed crash could be a retirement event. When I'm in a big field up in the pack, I'm not aggressive, and I think before I act. That same mindset applies to a small field, except there I tend to sit at the back to try to shelter as much as I can and to use my momentum to keep me attached or allow me to move up. If I have to change a line in a corner to slot into a hole or get on a wheel, if no one is next to me or behind me, I will.