I wish my BRC was more challenging as well…but I can say that it was definitely challenging enough for the ‘never ridden before’ rider. Plenty of people were struggling, which put the course’s demographic in perspective for me. I plan on taking the two more experienced classes in the future.
As for the bikes, I say don’t settle for less, wait it out and get what you want. Maybe not at first, but after a few months of riding a bike that you ‘settled for,’ you’re going to start having buyers remorse, and probably end up trading it in for the model you wanted in the first place which is going to cost you more $$$ in the end. However, take this with a grain of salt because this is coming from an extremely patient guy who waited over a year for the perfect truck to show up on a local lot. Don’t settle for less, that’s my 2…