Jumping on a wheel...... musings....

[rareposter]

Jumping on a wheel uninvited / without asking is a combination of unnerving, creepy and dangerous.

OP: I think part of it probably stems from the ever so fragile male ego that cannot tolerate being overtaken by a woman, I've seen it so many times working on events.

Doing it in traffic can be downright dangerous - I do not want to be riding along having to think about someone who's sitting a few inches off my back wheel while trying to filter, being prepared to slow/stop for junctions and traffic etc and dodging potholes. Admittedly it's more dangerous for the rider behind but if I brake, they'll still run into the back of me.

But in general, it's extremely bad manners.
If I overtake someone, it's because I'm doing my ride at my pace; I'm not racing them, it's not a contest, it's not a show of ego.
If someone comes past me it's because they're doing their ride at their pace and I'll leave them to it.

[eileithyia]

There's Covid now to take into account too.

Agreed, this is definitely another element

[eileithyia]

eileithyia
Knowing you as I do,I feel sure you left him in no doubt of his trangressions

Oi, what you saying... I did try to be polite.. not so easy when gasping for breath at the top of a climb into the headwind..... I did say that he might consider that not all women would be comfortable with him jumping on their wheel. He did think at 66 he was not a threat /creepy.

[reohn2]

eileithyia
Knowing you as I do,I feel sure you left him in no doubt of his trangressions

Oi, what you saying... I did try to be polite.. not so easy when gasping for breath at the top of a climb into the headwind..... I did say that he might consider that not all women would be comfortable with him jumping on their wheel. He did think at 66 he was not a threat /creepy.

In that case I'll let you off

[alexnharvey]

Whoa. You overtake someone, fail to drop them and then accuse them of stalking you in a creepy manner. Seems quite odd to me.

If you do not want wheel hangers and drafters I suggest you do what everyone else does and put 50, 100 or 200m between you and them as you overtake then revert to your normal pace. If you do not then it is pretty likely that some will stay with you, especially if you are now shielding them from any headwind. Re co

If you don't like other cyclists sharing the road with you why not get an indoor trainer?

[foxyrider]

Jumping on the wheel of any stranger, male, female or other, (out of an event situation where its expected) seems quite intimidating to me, why have they latched on to me, are they about to rob me? I don't like it, it makes me uneasy and i have had one of these 'tailgaters' ride so close that indeed he did ride in to me when i had to brake.

Its a bit different if your speeds are very similar, its not a TT where you should drop back but the open road afterall.

Personally i try to avoid that scenario by only passing someone when i've got clear road ahead and i estimate that i'll quickly 'get a gap' - of course some riders like the one i had this afternoon, see any overtake as a challenge, either making a big effort to slip stream or an even bigger effort to repass. Todays example really was a case, joining the road at speed from a blind junction without any traffic check then after i'd passed him a second time, he made a similar Darwinian move across a busy T junction.

There have been occasions where i've inadvertently become the trailee, riders, solo or even in groups who have clearly made an effort to catch/pass me but then don't go anywhere or worse, actually slow down! (its easy to tell, they'll keep looking back to see if you are still there!) On more than one occasion i've had to repass within metres of being overtaken for this reason, one chap did it to me three times in about as many miles, i was so cheesed off the last time that i put it in the big chainring and gave it some gas - so much for my steady ride.

[Barks]

What an odd conversation - the last thing in my mind when out for a ride would be to look for an opportunity to ride close up behind someone else. Get rid of the Lycra, stop thinking you are in some sort of race, ditch the Strava and just enjoy being outdoors in the lovely sunny day we have just had.

[Ellieb]

Whoa. You overtake someone, fail to drop them and then accuse them of stalking you in a creepy manner. Seems quite odd to me.

If you do not want wheel hangers and drafters I suggest you do what everyone else does and put 50, 100 or 200m between you and them as you overtake then revert to your normal pace. If you do not then it is pretty likely that some will stay with you, especially if you are now shielding them from any headwind. Re co

If you don't like other cyclists sharing the road with you why not get an indoor trainer?

3/10. A bit too obvious.

[alexnharvey]

It's a strategy that works better for me than ranting at 60yr old cyclists when we stop at lights.

I have found it much easier to adjust my own behaviour than to direct others to change theirs.

YMMV, or you might prefer to insinuate trolling than to engage with what is said.

[slowster]

do what everyone else does and put 50, 100 or 200m between you and them as you overtake then revert to your normal pace.

That isn't what everyone else does. It's a racing tactic, and it's not something most of us would do when out for a pleasure ride.

If you do not then it is pretty likely that some will stay with you, especially if you are now shielding them from any headwind.

It's only likely if the other person is rude, creepy and/or has poor social skills. The response of a normal person to being overtaken by someone going a bit faster is not to take advantage of the slipstream and sit unannounced on their wheel, but to maintain their original speed and let the other rider pull away from them.

[alexnharvey]

That isn't what everyone else does. It's a racing tactic, and it's not something most of us would do when out for a pleasure ride.

Don't be dull. Racers do it because they do not want the other racers to draft and those who do not like to have another rider close behind might adopt the same technique.

I find it's quite common for people to draft, so it seems do plenty of others.

Similarly everyone seems quite familiar with the overtaker who it turns out isn't going much faster then them, if at all.

I am quite sure that there are cognitive biases at work. When you are coming up to another rider, or have just been overtaken you have a reference point in front of you whereas when you are in front you have none, plus you are exposed to the wind.

[martinn]

If I'm catching someone up, i will ride past when its safe to do so, occasionally, I catch someone slowly, and realise that, i probably cannot get by easily as the speed differential is small. But I generally over take IF I'm still quicker, and say hello or something as I go by.

I do remember once, because i reflected on it afterwards, when riding fixed, that I slowly caught a lone young Woman on a slight incline. At the lights she offered for me to go ahead (I had only just caught up with her at this point,) I did so, but said she would be passing me shortly, as my knees would explode if I tried to keep up with her on the descents!. They duly passed on a down hill, after sitting on my wheel for about a mile or so.
I did feel slightly pressurised into keeping a higher tempo than maybe I would have done if I was on my own, but that's no different for me If I've passed anyone, or if I have someone sat on my wheel, I put more effort in to try to drop them.

I don't think i would/ could have done anything differently.

Martin

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

The last time I remember this happening to me I was riding along with a friend and I just felt a presence behind.I did a quick glance to confirm.There was no interaction at all.After a few metres I slowed slightly.Nothing.I slowed a bit more.After a minute or two this bloke went past,flicked his left arm up and said sarcastically "thanks for the ****** tow"
I had a bit of a chuckle
It costs nothing to say "mind if I get dragged along for a bit" to just sit in and assume it's OK is bad manners!

[Postboxer]

I'm pretty certain that the person overtaking must be travelling faster, otherwise how would they overtake and how would they have caught up in the first place. The only way the overtaken rider can get on the wheel is by purposefully making an effort to speed up to get on the wheel. It isn't accidentally due to the slight reduction in drag.

[Boring_Username]

If you do not want wheel hangers and drafters I suggest you do what everyone else does and put 50, 100 or 200m between you and them as you overtake then revert to your normal pace.

Is it common for recreational cyclists to vary their power output like this?