Originally Posted by Brian Ratliff

Yes, but most of my crashes, experienced or not, have come from movements of other riders in a group (100% during racing, BTW, never on a friendly group ride), not from road terrain. It has been a long time since I've crashed all by my lonesome (knock on wood...). As far as "leading" from a statistical point of view taking into account all cyclists, it's probably not "leading" as such. Wet pavement probably holds that honor, with cars, directly or indirectly holding second place.

There is a point to be made about "bad" crashes where bodies get broken and heads get knocked. I don't claim superhuman handling skills, but up until I started racing, I never hit my head on the ground, despite a couple crashes/falls. Riding in groups raises the chances of getting your front wheel swept with the subsequent very quick fall which happens too quickly to get your hands out or your chin tucked.
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My point is if you are worried about being injured doing something relatively inconsequential, cycling is probably not for you. Gym spin bikes are definitely safer, if not for your sanity, then for your body. My thinking is, when you make the decision to avoid unnecessary risk at all cost, you lose the ability to exist outside of society's constructs. If you don't train yourself in a relatively controlled environment such as a regulated surface street, then how are you going to fair when you are cut off from society for a few days, when, say, you get lost on a hike or, like, a hurricane comes and destroys most of your city? If you never experience pain and injury, how are you going to survive the pain of a sprained ankle when you are forced to walk on one to hike to safety? You just going to sit down and wait for someone braver than you to come rescue your ass? Every sort of experience is valuable, even experience with pain and suffering. The bike allows me to train this experience (amongst other things, of course) in a controlled setting.

You know those movies where the hero is thrown across the room by some big bad? Yea, I've crashed at 30mph before. I know you don't simply get up and start fighting again...

Even with the trappings of society surrounding most of us every day, it still pays to let the body experience pain and suffering and risk. Someday those societal trappings might just be stripped away for a time and you'll be forced to fend for your naked self. Better to get that training now, when all that society is still surrounding you.