SheFly, that is frustrating! And I totally understand how you feel. I haven't done road racing, but I hear about it from a lot of friends.

I was looking into doing road races because there are very few mntn bike races in our area. But after considering, I decided not to bother for the same reasons you mentioned.

I love mountain bike racing. I love the chase. I also love that you have to be "on" all the time: paying attention to the technical aspects of navigating the trail while putting some power on the pedals!