Thanks, Mayo. A sound perspective.

I recall of two fields making bad turns at MoM. I'm thinking both were 2006. One was a masters open field (read as: the fast, experienced guys) and another was a solo Cat 3 rider off the front. Shame -- he had a good gap.

While clinics seem like an easy fix, I don't see how any clinic could have prevented freudie's unfortunate incident. It's not like anyone needs a clinic to tell them not to make a wrong turn. Whoever it was, it was a boneheaded move in the heat of battle. I'm not at all surprised it happened 20 minutes in -- first few laps, you're alert and fresh. It's at the end of the race that people start bouncing pedals and making mistakes. It happens, and it will continue to happen. (That said, he had the gall to ask if you were OK? What a jerk.)

But speaking of clinics, ABD will be having a beginners clinic before its masters races on Monday: http://www.abdcycling.com/racesevent...ersWKND_09.pdf

I hope there's a good turnout, but since most Cat 5's have convinced themselves that safety is mostly a problem caused by "the other guy," I'm not hopeful.

I agree that people should do group rides before racing, but that's easy for us to say. We know the scene. Back in 2005 I did my first Cat 5 race before I did any group rides, simply because I did not know such rides existed. I was merely a commuter and lakefront hero -- how would I have known? Cycling was pretty insular back then. It's gotten better, but it still is pretty unwelcoming to newbies.