Originally Posted by
tuxbailey
I don't think people are saying that he shouldn't ride. The question is whether he could afford to ride since he is a father of 5. If the goal is exercise, then riding a stationary bike or maybe even riding a hybrid in a park would achieve similar result. But as most in this forum know, riding a road bike at 20+ mph speed does have its own risks.
This is always an individual decision. It is different for someone with no dependents riding without insurance vs. someone who has a family depending on the income.
Actually, I
did say he shouldn't ride, although that was basically the short version. There's lots of riding he could have done that was lower risk.
I ride for exercise. Most of my miles are on commuting to and from work. When I ride with a group, it's a loosely packed social ride. Given all that, I still ride fast, but not too fast for conditions. I slow down for corners or for water or leaves on the road, that sort of thing. There are still plenty of times I get the thrill of speed, and especially when I'm commuting, I am in a bit of a hurry to, especially homeward. But my primary goal is to ge through a ride in one piece. So I don't engage in risky maneuvers.
This guy who crashed- there's lots of riding he could have done that would have been far less risky than a tightly packed training ride. From the sounds of it, people from the OP's group go down pretty frequently. That's a foreseeable risk. If you don't have the resources to suffer the downside, avoid the risk.