iBrad: I think it's a very good graduated program geared to give you the confidence and skills to race, but given that many local unsanctioned group rides morph into defacto races, there's something you could still get out of the Monday night events. From week to week there's different lessons, eg. cornering, drafting, paceline (and paceline ettiquette), braking, sprinting, etc. The speed is controlled during the lessons and there are coaches there to teach you and ride with the group. All the riders who show up are broken up into smaller groups so we can keep the ratio of coach:rider down. After the lesson portion (about 45-60min), you guys all reassemble and do your own race for 1/2hr or so. Everyone has someone of similar ability to ride with, and nobody gets dropped/neglected. You'll find that after a couple weeks that you feel more confident in your skills, and your feel more comfortable at speed, so you'll bump up into the next category. Between the Monday and Teusday night events, there's four categories: two on Monday (least experienced and some experience) and two on Teusday (intermediate and elite). The whole idea is that there's a place for everybody and it's broken up enough that you can notice your improvements as you go.