I get this part:
Originally Posted by
morfeeis
if i were faster i could keep up and chat with the other guys, i'm out here for fun and the speed would allow me to share that fun with a higher amount of people...
It's fun to ride with people you want to spend time with. If they are faster, then it makes sense to get up to their speed. I'd suggest making sure they are actually the type of people you want to spend time with before putting in the effort to get to their speed.
Originally Posted by
morfeeis
Plus Strava...
I suspect this pushes a lot of people to be faster without really thinking about why.