The comments in this thread are interesting to me. Mostly because my experiences are backwards to what most of you have been saying. I find myself being able to go much faster on the road than on the trainer at the same perceived effort.

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I've been riding for a little over a year and just recently started group rides.I didn't really start to get serious until fall last year so I've done nearly all of my training on my KK road machine. I started doing Spinervals but couldn't stay motivated. I switched to SufferFest for workouts and watching TV/Movies on rest days. I rode 5-6 days a week at around an hour average. I started the winter around 15mph and worked my way up to 17mph by the end.

A few weeks ago I went outside for the first ride of the spring. It was a bit chilly and windy but I managed 18mph over an hour (solo).
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73886554 A couple days later I got back out and bested myself with an 18.2mph ride (solo). I was pretty happy. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74403789

I recently joined a local racing team to give myself a bit of extra help and something to push for. I do much better when I have a goal or specific outcome I'm trying to achieve. I was invited out to their Wednesday Night "Fast Guys" ride. I expected to get dropped almost immediately as these guys had been riding for years (and included an Olympic Medalist). It was my first ever group ride and I didn't know anything about group riding dynamics not to mention how to take advantage of the draft. I was dropped after a turn where I lost the draft but caught up at an intersection and stayed with them for another 5 miles. They finally dropped me (for good) after about 28 miles out of the 34. I rode into the park only about 10 minutes after the main group. My average was 20.3mph over the 1:40 ride. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76261471

I rode with them again yesterday for the "Medium Pace" Saturday Ride. We rode 36 miles and I was in it the whole way. I was much more confident and able to take advantage of the draft. The group was probably only half as big as the Wednesday ride so we still had to work hard. The group managed a 19.9mph pace over the 1:50 ride. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78093211

After all that, my point is that I find it a LOT easier to ride on the road versus the trainer. The OP mentioned his group only averaging 17mph. I'm never going to say that is 'slow' but it seems a bit less than what I'd expect for a group ride (based on my limited experience). I feel like the trainer is harder due to the fact you're going all the time. You never really get a break and it's hard to stay comfortable for miles and miles without getting sore. I'm surprised a lot of you seem to think the road is harder.

Am I the only one who thinks this?