Please click on the below link to see why I have decided not to regularly ride with bicycling groups.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PWugD1HmC38
I cannot count the times when the group that I’ve been riding with during weekdays unlawfully proceeds through stop signs without so much as slowing down. Even when a car is already stopped at a stop sign with obvious intentions of rightfully and legally proceeding, this group fails to lawfully stop, putting them and me in danger. They assume that the car is going to yield to the exposed bikers, which is a joke in itself.
You might say, “If you’re so adamant about stopping at stop signs, why then don't you stop even if your group doesn’t?” Good question - and here’s the answer!
Whenever you are in a pace line, or riding in a group, have you ever attempted to suddenly stop when you know that everyone else is intent on zooming through the stop sign? If I were to stop suddenly, the person that was riding my back wheel would surely rear-end me, causing a chain reaction that would resemble a fumbled football pileup.
Even if I were to position myself as the rear biker, and then stop at all stop signs, I would seldom be able to catch up with the group. I know this to be true because more times than not, I have been hung up at intersections, not able to cross when the others cross, when the entire group continues riding at their normal pace causing me to go into HR zone 5 just to catch up. It’s almost like you’re being punished for riding safely.
Another major gripe of mine is when my group rides between lines of stopped cars on a four-lane road (two lanes in each direction) whenever we approach a red traffic signal. Doing so, by the way, is illegal.
The correct way to approach a red traffic signal is to stop behind the last vehicle in the right lane if we are heading straight through the intersection, and the left lane if we are going to turn left. Riding between lines of cars only infuriates the motorists – plus it is dangerous for obvious reasons. Did I mention that riding between lines of cars is illegal?
Pulling out on busy roadways without first stopping and looking both ways is another frequent occurrence of this particular group.
Time after time, I’ve been witness to certain individuals refusing to stop prior to proceeding onto a traffic-clogged roadway. What the hell is the big deal about first stopping, looking both ways, and then proceeding when the coast is clear? Seriously, are we in that much of a hurry? Are the final pace stats that important?
It’s just a matter of time before one of these careless scofflaws becomes another motorists/bicyclists statistic, and I sure as hell do not wish to be a witness to that. And again, if I personally come to a complete stop, look both ways and then proceed, I have to go into a sprint mode just to catch up to the group. Screw that!
However, I find it only fair to mention that the cycling groups that I ride with on weekends DO obey the rules of the road, with few exceptions. Plus, no one is left behind simply because they do not choose to sacrifice safety for speed.
In closing, I began my bicycling career as a solo cyclist, so I have no reservations about riding by myself. I’ll simply adjust some of my riding by occasionally using sidewalks that run alongside busy thoroughfares rather than chance not being seen by motorists.
It’s best to be safe than sorry!
No sooner did my wife and I walk out of our gated community for our morning walk, when right in front of the main security gate, out on the four-lane road, two cars collided with one another. 
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