lightning rod

seems i wont be racing this weekend.

some people think im a sand bagger and complained.

"semi pros are pros" ya what ever, im out of shape fat and slow, have not been to a big race since june. i guess once labeled then its forever. its like riding a bike on a sidewalk in this town. its illegal and the bike cops will and have taken me to jail for it.

lump them in with the cars.
lump us in with the pros.



i got this in an email.

Have you ever heard of an "Expert" runner?

Many years ago, at the beginning of the sport of mountain bike racing, we set ourselves up for trouble by creating ability classifications (e.g. Sport, Expert, Semi-pro, Pro). The intention was a good one: slice the pie into more pieces so that there would be more delicious racing for everyone. The problem is that there was never any real definition ascribed to these classes and no unified, fair way to track what racers were in what classes. So what we are left with are huge gray areas, lots of opportunities for both intentional or inadvertent sandbagging and lots of dispiriting experiences, grumbling and accusations. NO FUN. the sport of running doesn't have these problems. You can be 1st-place or 5,000th. There's no such thing as a 1st place "Sport" runner, though granted, they do often race in age categories.


Keep in mind that:

Semi-pros are considered to be Pros in Granny Gear events.

5-person Co-ed allows only one expert man per team

5-person Men's and 5-person Women's classes allow only one expert racer per team. Ability classifications do not apply to:

Pro classes (Solo, duo, Co-ed Pro/Am) (you can race in any class above your ability)
Age classifications (Junior, Vet, Masters, Grand Masters) which are open by ability
Just-for-Fun class, which is open to all classifications (gender, ability or age)


i got that info in a longer email that i wont bore you with.

so people dont want me to race, oh well.
i dont agree with semi pros are pros. cuz its not. just lump them in with the pros cuz we cant make another category. we cant please everyone. we cant let the experts complain.

i would race pro if.

i was faster
i had 2 other pros and a girl to do it with
solo class is for crazy guys like bionic

duo is pure hell and no fun

cant do 35 vet cuz im 34 but uscf says im 35, granny gear isnt norba or uscf but they say semi pro is pro. and im 34 not 35.

ok more stupid rules.

cant do 5 man open cuz they dont allow "pros"

so they say race duo, solo or just for fun.

i say no thanks, i'll keep the money and go free ride with the tecno beats all night and lead sager on the sweet line.
no bus driver, no school zone.


i write this not to complain, i dont really care if race it or not. but there is a hole in this system, a flaw with the categories and a big problem here.

i am the exception once again, it has happened many times in other areas and it shows again here.

in the past few years i know guys from slc, semi pros and pros. probably some i dont even know. guys who are good riders, not top tier so they go un-noticed. they race all year. get mid pack finishes and no big deal. they go to moab and race expert. nobody cares. ok fine, i'll try that.

2 days after i put my name on the website all hell breaks loose.

even one guy i was going to race with on this team has a semi pro license and they let him race. kday is a pro, a few years back he did expert, nobody cared, racer and chucky did 5 man open a few years back and they got kicked out.

jake pantone, quin bingham, all these guys i mention are good bikers. they can do as they please and nobody cares.

have some rules and make everyone follow or dont have any at all.

thats all

if they did away with the co-ed pro i would have been at this race every year. instead we get stuck with finding some fast chick, or racing 2 man.

or 1 speed rigid.

those choices are lame and not doing any of them.

they need a new all 4 man pro category like back in the old days.