Almost taken out in a crash this morning on a training ride when the group was overtaking a slower group and something went 'funny' up front. Ensuing heavy braking saw a wheel touched and four guys go down. I was *very* lucky to find a gap as riders went down in front and beside me.

One guy hit hard and I stayed around for some first aid and to wait for his wife to come pick him up. Small cut above eye, hand a bit messed up (ended up in spokes/stays of another bike).

His Guerciotti (531) has bent seat stays and his rear carbon rim is toast.

I think it is repairable (slight curve, not a big bend or kink), but even so a sad thing. He was a bit annoyed as he'd recently bought it (said it was pristine with original SunTour group - removed and stored so he could ride 10sp).

Bummer. How big was the group? I am personally not comfortable riding in big groups.

Too bad for your friend, but if he came out of it well enough to be thinking right away about the bike, that's better than the alternative. Bikes, no matter how precious, are much easier to replace than vertebrae or mobility.

The group I was in was about 40+ (which is on the top side of what I'm usually happy with), but the kicker was the mixed speeds of everyone.

We were riding at 40ish km/h in a two-up pace line, but we were overtaking other groups (smaller, 4-8 riders) also 2-up, but at 30-35km/h. At one stage the really fast guys passed us doing 45-50km/h - so the riders were 5 deep for a short moment!

The road is two lanes (each way) and a very well know cycling area, but it was getting to be a bit of a squeeze. Beach Rd in Melbourne, AUS.

Usually the small groups getting overtaken single up if they get a shout from the front of a faster group coming through, but it was very busy today.

I never really liked riding in groups. The temptation for too much "red mist" forming usually makes it too dangerous, most of the time. Usually ride with just one other rider, otherwise I'm almost always a lone wolf. With a group that big with riders not familiar with each other, it is really no surprise that a crash will happen. Up to five deep across the road?? That's just nuts if you are not in an actual race/event with all the needed traffic controls.
JMOs

Chombi

Got to agree, even with the parts I cut for brevity. To each his own. Sorry about the bike, but they're tools not jewels.

I do not mind groups of equally experienced cyclists. This is not easy to do. Clubs can help here but are not perfect. I shy away from many group rides as I don't trust many, the broad appeal of cycling for fitness is good, but the learning curve is there and some strong riders are just not smart enough. Guys on tri bars always scare me a bit, unless they prove to me otherwise.

Yes, this sums it up for me as well.

Never felt safer than riding with my wife's tri group.

They had a real right to be concerned about me though.

I was the slowest in the group.

I used to do group rides, but the stench of testosterone became a bit nauseating.

Last summer, a big group passed me, and I spent the next 5 miles riding in a cloud of Axe body spray.

Im a slow and casual rider, as are most of the guys I ride with, we hate it when the "faster" groups shoot around us like they own the road. Yeah OK the lead guy usually yells out,"on your left!" seconds before he gets to us, and when passing they always get as close as poss to our group. I'm talking within inches. Not saying that your guys do/did that, but something def happened. Anyways here in Philly I have yet to run into a faster group that doesn't do it. Back in the day one of us would always act scared/startled and lean a bit toward them, sometimes they pissed themselves and sometimes they fell, but hey, act like a road hog and you might end up eating a bit of tar. Again, not saying your group practices this method of passing, just sayin'.

So Johnny, did you learn anything from this? Or, are you going to keep riding the same way and hope it's not you that goes down next time?

The "classic" bike guys are some of the few with whom I still like to ride. Folks who learned how to do it thirty years ago (why do we assume that something touching your front wheel means you have to crash?) tend to do it fairly well. That's not universal, of course, but is more true for them than for the typical "Lance boom" riders in our local club ride crash-fests.

Nothing wrong with my riding, but I will be more careful with the groups I'm in!

A few days earlier I joined in with a really well disciplined group (mostly the one club) and had a great ride. However, on the big popular routes you can't always choose your companions and you don't always know how good the folks around you are - just like driving on the highway.

I avoid doing anything in a group.

Same here. I'm a lone ranger, unless a female needs/wants some company. Mostly because I'm very spontaneous, and I'm likely to turn onto paths or roads that I have no idea where they go, just to see where they go. I don't want to hold a vote or argue about it, I just want to see where it goes.

Truly sorry to hear that Jonny.

Our club group ride last night couldn't have been safer... of course with temps around zero F outside we were all clamped into our trainers inside at the LBS.

I used to train for cycling and running events solo. As I have aged I find it to be really beneficial to get together a few times a week with a group... especially a slightly faster group. When I joined the club rides some were concerned with my down-tube shifting bike, but after a few times no concerns. Our rides typically have about 15 riders and no one is riding aero bars/tri bikes. We are also fortunate to have rural paved roads with little traffic. There have been no crashes that I am aware of, at least in the last 3 years since I joined in the fun. I train on the triathlon bike solo, as I race it solo.

Bryan