Originally Posted by
Racer Ex
I know of at least 4 people right off the top of my head who were killed on group rides, and an endless array of folks who have gone down and been injured. I do 60+ races a year and had stayed upright for going on close to 3 years until a week ago...guess what kind of ride I was doing? And guess what the smallest amount of my riding entails...
+1
Nothing in my experience leads me to think that group rides - especially fast, aggressive group rides on roads open to traffic - are any safer than racing. At least when you crash in a race, you probably won't also get run over by a car after you hit the deck.
That said, I also think you have to be realistic and accept that if you race, sooner or later you will crash. At the same time, most crashes, especially in crits, are a relatively low speeds and the consequences are not that serious. Sure, you can "win" the bad luck lottery, but your house could also get hit by an asteroid tonight.
As a side note, I've also come to accept that my race bike is an expendable tool. I've never had any serious damage to my body from a crash, but I can't say the same for my bike. If you 've saved for years to get your dream ride, and it would be a serious personal setback it it was damaged, you might want to think twice about lining up with it...