Originally Posted by
cafzali
I've never thought of them as such, really. If you're part of a racing club and going on a training ride, then sure. But to many people, there's nothing enjoyable about a normal recreational club ride that has a "high stakes game." Heck, we don't even have that much in the NYC area unless you want to do the all out races at Floyd Bennett Field or something similar.
I think the high stakes Carbon fiber boy is thinking of are not "winning the ride"
Rather it's the risk of serious injury or death that is on the line anytime you ride in a group. Obviously it's fairly rare for people to suffer severe injuries on group rides, and fourtunately exceedingly rare for people to die, but both happen.
The point being that bad stuff can happen if you mess up, even on a moderately paced, non competitive, ride, and you need to take care in your own riding, and be alert to trouble developing from others