I don't get what it means. Are you suggesting that because an organized event happened to have ******* they were all secretly afraid to ride on the road? My take would be that the organizers did what organizers do when they have access to an abundance of police *******. My manager had a reflective safety harness in her office and handed it to me saying I should wear it, even though my riding jacket is reflective. Just stuff people do.
Keeping the comments in context though; the person I was addressing said that, apart from "hard core cyclists" they thought most people felt roads were unsafe and to be avoided. I don't agree is all. I see lots of people, young and old, of varying degrees of skill and most look happy when riding (except for the roadies that generally look pinched and slightly miserable). All the people I rode with today (about 100) on the road looked happy. The majority were not hard core cyclists.
There is quite a difference in my mind between acknowledging some risk involved in an activity and suggesting or advocating "most" people feel it is unsafe and to be avoided. This being a bicycle touring subforum I find it hard to agree with the sentiment as that is what we primarily do here (ride on roads).
Last edited by Happy Feet; 09-17-17 at 10:57 AM.