I got a new racing license in 2007 after not having been active since 1999. I was a Cat 4 then, they renewed me as a Cat 4 today. Which was great, because I could go back to doing the 35+ races. Racing with the Cat 5's for a while would have been a health-endangering experience. But I'm confident I'd be capable of results on the Cat 5 or even the Cat 4 level. Just not worth the crash danger to me. There are crashes in 35+ and 45+ races, but far fewer, and the Stupid Factor is a shadow of what you get in Cat 4/5. 35+ is very fast, generally a bit over my head and the players that place are often Cat 2 quality, but it's relatively SAFE. I try to help my team when I can, and sometimes I'm able to do that. Hope to do more for them next season.

I'm 51 years old, the last thing I need is to crash into some boneheads who get squirrelly and panic when anything happens in the peloton. I saw none of that this season racing 12+ times with the NY 35+ field.