Monson Road Race Will No Longer Be Held
Wednesday, April 28, 2004

I just want to inform everyone that the Monson Road Race will no longer be
held due to a variety of incidents that occurred this past weekend. You
should also be aware that the incidents that I am referring to are a direct
result of many of the racers themselves. Unfortunately, their
inconsideration and inability to respect the town and community has resulted
in the Chief of Police denying any further request to hold this race in
Monson.

I have just been informed by the Town Selectmen that the Monson Road Race
will no longer be approved due to several reasons: (1) Unsafe warming up
on the race course. Many racers thought they could warm up on the course
prior to their event, forcing cars toward oncoming racers. You were warned
not to warm up on the course, yet many of you disregarded this announcement
and it resulted in unsafe conditions and one of the main reasons for the
denial of future events here. (2) Many riders off the back of the main
pack felt that the entire road was now theirs. Again, this resulted in very
unsafe conditions and traffic backups. The Police felt that these
straggling riders were unprotected since they seemed to be riding all over
the road.

As many of you know, it is very difficult promoting bike races. I have
strived to provide the best racing conditions possible, trying to create
optimal racing conditions for everyone. After eight years of putting on the
Monson race, it is my extreme displeasure to announce that it is over. I
think that we, as conscientious racers, need to be more aware of our
surroundings when we race. We do not own the town when we race there for a
few hours, and need to be aware of the communities who are kind enough to
allow us to utilize their roads. Unfortunately, Monson will no longer be
one of those communities, but you have only yourselves to thank for that.

Please be aware of what you do and how you conduct yourselves at future
events or else Monson will not be the last to begin denying events. As is
usually the case, it is the actions of a few who ruin many things for the
majority. For those of you who raced responsibly in Monson this year and in
years past, thank you.

photos by Jonathan McElvery, Jack Milton, and BikeReg.com