Or put it another way: value your safety over their convenience 100% of the time.
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- Never advocated hugging the gutter.
- Riding two across, while in theory has a potential to be āsaferā - but most motorists donāt understand this, and itās not always allowed based on local laws. In my experience this just makes for an increase in hostility towards the riders from the motorists.
- This conversation makes me realize there are no good solutions to large group rides and why I mainly ride trails, very quiet roads and gravel.
Cheers.
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Thats why I love gravel, almost no cars.
I use to live in the city center and would spend 45min getting out of the city to do intervals. Cars were always a problem. I moved out to the country. I wave at cars and they wave back. 4 hour ride might have 30 people pass me, and cycling is so much more relaxing then it was in the city. When I go ride gravel, I barely even see cars, more likely to get hit by deer then a car.
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Rotating pace line (pic on the right) or āchain gangā is a blast and the main reason I do fast group rides.
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Agree 100%. Giving up space to cars only feels safer. Youāre then encouraging and enabling them to close pass. If a driver is going to plow into you from behind, itāll happen whether youāre in one line or two.
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My descending confidence is almost nil after a crash last year, and I slow down completely if thereās a corner and a downhill.
I try to stick at the back in group rides so that I donāt annoy the others when descending. Iām also a decent rider and take turns to do my bit for the group. Unfort that means I find myself at/or close to the front when thereās a descent.
Though Iām still working on the descending/cornering, Iām concerned that being at the front could impact the riders behind me. Should I just ride at my own pace? Or filter towards the back as soon as I see a downhill?
Make your way to the back before the start of the downhill and surround yourself with plenty of space. By doing that youāre giving yourself and others plenty of room and not putting anyone in danger and ride at a pace you feel comfortable with.
It might be worth making other riders in your group aware of your concerns so thereās no surprises when you hit a downhill, perhaps mention this at the beginning of the rideā¦obviously thatās easier to do in small groups compared to big ones.
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unlikely to have the same pace over a long distance, so just let your self drift back and donāt try to chase. Or blast past them and make sure to stay far away on the front. (make sure you make the right decision though, as you donāt want to overtake and fail to stay 
I love these uncomfortable social moments when your intervals get tangled with someone elseās ride during outside workouts. Iāve never felt like a bigger jerk than when I get passed by a fast-looking woman on a climb during a recovery, only to have my Garmin chirp thirty seconds later and demand 110% for four minutes or whatever.
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OT, The clubs Iāve been in before its shouts of Nose, Tail, Inside, Middle and Outside.
Here 
its Car Up, Car Down (I prefer to use Car Back no one confuses that, they do with Up and Down)
On the left/right (often abbreviated to Left or Right, folk confuse that with turn left/right)
Thereās no shout for Middle either
We use car up is when the car is passing, car back is when theyāre waiting behind the group.
Never heard of nose or tail! Would never hear the end of it saying that! 
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Plain as the Nose on your face, unlike it seems from the masses Up/down, Left/right
Round here ācar upā means car coming the other way. Guess only relevant if youāre riding on roads narrow enough (or maybe groups sloppy enough!) that an oncoming car needs calling out.
To be honest, when itās ahead (eg on narrow lanes around a corner), the shout is just ācar!ā
Think the āupā and ādownā is the same directions as food goesā¦
āCar upā - there is an oncoming car
āCar backā - there is a car that is looking to overtake
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I have a garmin varia which works pretty well still on group rides.
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In case you (or anyone else) did not know, you can have multiple riders connect to your Varia on a group ride, so everyone can get the benefit of your radar.
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yes aware but most if not all people I ride with would not think of doing that. the ācar backā is funny to me now after using varia for almost 2 years.
One of my friends friends when we were riding together was saying it while we were in a group of 3. We had to finally stop and tell him to stop yelling that as we can see the car back with Varia and told him to buy one. He is just a cheap ass and a millionaire (not kidding).
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Iāve got one too its quite useful on a chaingang when you move out into what could potentially be a car path and drop back. I give a quick shoulder check anyway (not that its ever been wrong) but it lets me feel comfortable about dropping back and keeping my eye on other cyclists so I can drop in more smoothly.
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I had no idea people used so many different terms for car locations. Iāve only ever heard car back or maybe car behind indicating a car approaching from behind or car up as in car up ahead.