The unspoken complaint I detect in this thread is that there are no Cat 2
races. One either races Cat 3, or P/1/2 (or Masters/Women/Junior). While the
P/1 portion of P/1/2 races may not be large in number, they
disproportionately affect the speed and tactics of the races. While I
suspect there are insufficient numbers of P/1 riders to hold standalone P/1
races alongside standalone Cat 2 races, it seems that such Cat 2-only events
might satisfy the competitive needs of many of the currently dissatisfied
35-39 year olds.

A radical (and, I admit, not thoroughly thought-out) proposal:
Do not run Master, Women, or perhaps even Junior races at most events, and
instead run sufficient numbers of ability categories to accommodate the
breadth of abilities represented. Perhaps this is P/1, 2, 3, 4, 5; perhaps
this is P/1/2, 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4, 4, 5. The latter would likely restrict
upgrade point opportunities. Perhaps at times there may have to be multiple
fields for categories such as 3 and/or 4 due to the Masters, Women, and
Juniors increasing the numbers in those fields.

Harry Phinney