You need to find a "group" of like minded folks training for triathlon. I trained with a super group that had the philosophy "ride hard, chit chit after the ride". We could get 80 miles completed in 4 hours or less. Other groups take all day to get that many miles in because of all the breaks and chatting they like to do.

Yeah, I had to quit riding with the group to get good at triathlon. My biggest problem was they like to stop a lot and yap and I didn't have time for that since I'm training for two other sports as well.

You may like group rides, but you might also fall in love with long solo rides. I like them for the time to be alone and think. You can still ride with other people, just find out where they are going and meet up with them there. You go your pace, they go theirs.

Not all group rides are alike. Some are "chatty-cathy" like with a lot of stops but some are get up and go with actual road bike racers in the mix.

To the OP,

I race Tri's but belong to a cycling race team, occasionally do road races but try to hit every Time Trial as those are fun :)

Do group rides where you must work. Surges up hills, taking pulls, taking curves at higher speeds than you do in Tri's. This will all help you be a better rider overall, including triathlon. I have been able to avoid crashing in triathlon because of skills gained in group rides.

Leave the aerobars at home if you can. If you only have one bike, then care must be taken when in close proximity to other riders. Some groups are flexible, some are not in terms of "allowing" riders with aerobars.

In terms of triathlon riding, yes you should have time on the TT bike as well. Longer rides at a lower intensity of course but also some interval type work as well.

Do what gets you on the bike and gets you a quality workout. This means that some group rides may not fit the bill.