Dear RMCCC,
Thanks for a great start to our 2009 season! So far, our turnout has been great
and the races all exciting. I do, however, have a bone to pick. Last Saturday,
at CU's Research Park Crit, I received several complaints about riders who were
purposefully pushing other riders, sometimes even taking their hands off the
bars to do so. This was particularly an issue in the Men's A and Women's B races
— reportedly these actions caused crashes in both races.

To quote section 1Q6 of our rulebook (available on rmccc.org):
"No rider may make an abrupt motion so as to interfere with the forward progress
of another rider, either intentionally or by accident [relegation or
disqualification; possible 20 days suspension if a crash results]."

When you are out there, racing, you are responsible for setting the tone in the
field. Unfortunately, our officials can't see the whole race so we count on you
all to watch out for each other and make sure it's clear that dangerous riding
is not acceptable. That being said, all riders should know that we have a
zero-tolerance policy from now on — if it happens again, the offenders will be
punished.

Actions like this are a huge safety issue, and further, they undermine
everything that we work towards in collegiate cycling. The best thing about
collegiate cycling is that it provides a welcoming atmosphere to nurture new
riders while also providing for elite-level competition. We, the RMCCC, as a
conference, have done an awesome job recruiting new riders — the Men's C and
Women's B fields have been huge! I am convinced that these incidents are the
exception to the rule. Let's keep building our conference and growing our
participation.

On a separate harangue, be aware that we are done being nice about the "shorts
rule." Either wear your team shorts or wear blank shorts: "7I3. In Collegiate
Cycling Races, Riders may only wear shorts (a) of their Team or (b) shorts that
are effectively blank. [$20 fine administered to the Rider at the Race]."

As much as I love looking through the rulebook for relevant passages, please be
aware that you are all required to know the rules — ignorance is not an
acceptable excuse for non-compliance. If you are a team coach or manager, please
ensure that your riders get this message, and if you are a rider, please do the
same as well.

Thank you for participating and for all of your hard work. You are all doing
fantastic and I feel priveleged to work with the RMCCC.

To quote a modern classic, "The Big Lebowski:" "This aggression will not stand,
man!"

Best regards,

-Spencer

Spencer Powlison
RMCCC Co-Director
303-746-4822
www.rmccc.org