$90 to USA Cycling

Ok does anyone else think that its crazy that you need to have a freakin license to race your bike. I mean cmon this is really crazy if you think about it. Why do you need to have a license to race, most of the races can or are run by promoters who enforce the rules and make the call when there are disputes amongst competitors. Even in Road events the rules are pretty straight forward and promoters can enforce policy without having someone in a blue blazer do it. I know that USA says that they provide structure, rules and development, but I still wind up supporting local chapters of trail improvement or kids cycling development programs because there is NO money coming in from the top. We don't even need USA Cycling for levels or pro status. In Wisconsin we have the largest off road series in the country, the largest. If you don't believe me check out WORS. Each race in the series draws between 800-1400 competitors and for years you self seeded and were bumped up if you were winning your class consistently. In Road events the fear is that to many cat 3s will want to bump up to 2 or 2s to 1 without adequate experience making them a risk to other riders, this is a legitimate fear considering lesser riders can still hang in there, but so what, let them hang in there and if they f-up the pack will make sure they don't come back until they are ready. This is kinda my first rant and rave on blogger, but almost $100 to say I can race is crazy. Revolution NOW.