I do 40 mile roadie ride on weekends. There are three groups that ride the first one is legit racers that are too serious for there own good. I think they ride 26+ the entire time. I ride with the second group which is 20+ and last weekend we did 28-30 for a mile or two which was killing me on 52/18. I find it moderately difficult to keep up but when you are drafting the entire time its a lot easier. Just hang in the middle of the pack and make sure you dont fall behind at all or you cant catch up. Any chance I got I would try to sprint up to the front and ride in like the 4th position. Then if a hill comes you can fall back to 10th+ and not get dropped.

The last time I road I got dropped for a half mile to a mile and struggled to catch up. At the point of max HR and lactic acid burning the **** out of my legs. This weekend I couldn't decide whether to go with my 17 cog or the 18 but threw on the 18 to be sure I wouldnt be dropped. After the 28mph+ section I regretted my decision but I didnt get dropped and we slowed down to 23-24 which gave me some time to keep from throwing up.

Another mistake I made the first time I road with them was trying to pull in the first part of the ride. I just cant "pull" at 22+ for any amount of time without getting worn out.