Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
I genuinely can't tell if you're serious. Imagination is all that is. You've got to be seriously deluding yourself if you think anyone would buy any of these stories.
Riding a bike fast in a group is dangerous. It doesn't matter the level. And the higher the level, the greater the speeds, congestion, dangerous courses, etc. Stuff happens. It's not a new thing.
The past is generally assumed to mimic the present. If you believe what you get with that thinking you are deluding yourself.
Having been on a bike 60 years have lost too many. Enough to not joke. The 'danger' of riding in a fast group is nonsense. Used to be about the safest place to be. Yes, there were many groups where all knew how to ride and all were on the same program. Yes, there really were Superweek events with over 400 in one race. Yes, there were entire seasons at Northbrook where no one got hurt. If racing were as dangerous as it is now, well, there wouldn't be a sport. Direction it is heading.
"Riding a bike fast in a group is dangerous." I believe that is how you have experienced the sport. It is the way things are now. It is simply not generally true.
Even over on C&V there are only a couple guys with memory before late 70s. The few who remember that much or beyond were not racing and were not connected. Links to past are completely severed. My big two mentors were Jimmy Walthour and Othon Ochsner. Othon, Sr. Jimmy learned from his uncle, who was pro in 1890s. Connections to entire history of sport.