sandy kenny

I'd definitely suggest longer races, particularly since these are more or less training/races. For those of us who have to travel to get to PIR, it's a disappointment to drive an hour for a 12-lap race (and then to have to weave through the 40's guys' peloton when they're being pokey and won't yield to a breakaway womens' group, to boot...but perhaps that's pushing on the borders of "personal comments".).

A longer race could give the women more opportunity to work on organizing a chase pack, should the need for one ever arise.

Since it's an open womens' event, I don't see any reason why our race should ever be any shorter than the 40+ guys. Supporting arguments: (1) Perpetuating the myth that women can't hold up for longer races is not wise if you're trying to develop a sport. (2) Most of the newbie women I've met are entering bicycle racing after several years of endurance training - recreational riding, triathlon, or other endurance sports. There's not a deficit of endurance capacity, but rather one of experience. (3) Those of us who use the Monday night race as a long/hard tempo ride (a significant portion of your market share) get more bang for our buck.

Tailwinds,

Sandy