Cycling UK Forum

thirdcrank wrote:I'd like to think that the apparent increase in riders knowing how to shelter behind another is generally a good thing. I like to think there's a strong sense of mutuality among cyclists: I've always been grateful for help given by other riders and I've been pleased when I've been able to help others. OTOH, some posters seem to suggest that there are strong/ experienced riders sitting on wheels as though they were policing an attack in a road race. Is this really as frequent as some seem to suggest?

No, it's not at all frequent. Except for running across an acquaintance from time to time, and sharing part of a commute, I have only had others draft me a few times. And I have only had the type of situation described by the OP--where a stranger sits on my back wheel for miles at a time--on three occasions that I can recall. One of them was particularly notable, because he tucked in behind me near the end of a long descent when I was going 40ish mph. I let him sit there because the only other choice was to slow down enough to lose my momentum, and it was going to turn into a flat/slight uphill shortly after. I thought he would pass me, then. But he followed me for 5ish miles after that, only leaving my back wheel when I turned off for home. I did make a couple of attempts to lose him, slowing down, and going from the road onto a shared use path and vice versa. Short of stopping and confronting him, there wasn't much else I could do.

If it's a short distance in an appropriate situation, I don't think i would mind. I also don't think I would mind if the person said something, or took a turn on the front. Normally my commutes have been mainly rural, and although I see other cyclists, it's unusual to ride together for amy length of time, unless it is deliberate.

I have a colleague and fellow cyclist living near me, now. For the first time in my life I can actually ride in together with someone else. It's quite nice, but I have to admit that we spend more time chatting than drafting.

[XAP]Bob wrote:

gentlegreen wrote:On my local path it is becoming problematic - with riders chasing Strava segments on the way to work.

Report the segments to Strava - Then there can be no segment chasing.

How?

And why doesn't Strava pay people to police their game?

LollyKat wrote:

PaulCumbria wrote:All this only applies on relatively quiet country roads - I would immediately deal with any drafting on heavily trafficked roads, as it's simply too hazardous for me to tolerate.

How? (Not that it's worth anyone's while to draft me. )

Slow right down, pull over.

When does riding behind someone becoming drafting. I personally don't mind someone grabbing my wheel and sheltering from the wind, so long as there is little bit of distance between However when riding with friends, wheels may be much closer as you trust each other and know how to ride.

It has been proved that someone rding in your shadow breaks up the airflow and reduces the riders drag as well.

NUKe wrote:When does riding behind someone becoming drafting.

If you're choosing a position behind someone based upon the aerodynamic benefit it's drafting. Obviously there are degrees of drafting, but that seems the sensible definition

thirdcrank wrote:We've had a couple of posts making the point that you wouldn't do this behind a motor vehicle. I'm not so sure. I suspect the main reason that that doesn't happen more often is that few motor vehicles are going at just the right speed. As a shift worker, most of my riding to work was done off-peak, but whenever I was working normal office hours, I really used to like being able to tuck in behind a JCB digger. Although JCB's being driven to a job are a real pita for other drivers, I found them the perfect pace vehicle. You do have to watch the back hoe if it's waving about a bit. I always used to say that if I came into big money, I'd have somebody drive a JCB along in front of me for all my riding. SMIDSY cured at a stroke.

On my commute through southampton I nearly allways draft a van or bus and once I am behind one staying at 30 is quite easy. I am ready on my breaks at all times in case of having to stop quick. and I allways pop my head out every so often to keep an eye on things. But generaly dont see enough cyclists on my trips to worry about anyone else doing it to me or if I do they are normally on the pavements.

A guy overtook me this morning coming off a roundabout. He was on 23mm tyres, had no mudguards, and was dressed in skin-tight gear. But he then proceeded to not pull away. It happens quite a bit to me because people assume I'm slow based on looks. I coughed and spluttered a bit to chivvy him along, but he started sending snot rockets backwards instead of just getting a move on. About five came my way over a mile. What should he have done to hit me? I think he should have tilted his head downwards a bit to loft the mucile upwards. Instead, he brought his head up, which added to the downward speed. Perhaps some nasal ducting would work? It's peculiar that mucous is the acceptable substance to sling from a vehicle.

mjr wrote:

[XAP]Bob wrote:

gentlegreen wrote:On my local path it is becoming problematic - with riders chasing Strava segments on the way to work.

Report the segments to Strava - Then there can be no segment chasing.

How?

And why doesn't Strava pay people to police their game?

On their site it's fairly easy - it's possible that signing up is required, but I'm sure false information would be fine.

They don't pay because there is no policing they can reasonably do. They ask their users to be sensible when constructing segments, and ask other users in the area to make sure that they have been...
It should also be said that Strava aren't really responsible for the actions of their users any more than google would be responsible if I emailed a death threat through their service.

I occasionally get overtaken on my morning commute by somebody who then fails to pull away from me: I am darned if I am going to slow down deliberately just to avoid 'drafting' them and make no apology if I happen to overtake them later.

niggle wrote:I occasionally get overtaken on my morning commute by somebody who then fails to pull away from me: I am darned if I am going to slow down deliberately just to avoid 'drafting' them and make no apology if I happen to overtake them later.

I suppose in practice that's what happened to me a few weeks ago :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZgnE3bZ4Ew

If the conditions had been favourable, doubtless I could have kept up with him for quite a way thanks to the aerodynamic benefit I was getting.
As it was, I let him escape from the ear-bending when he started cutting up other people.