Good question. I've wondered this myself. I've done quite bit of motorpacing behind a scooter and it does seem to help you ride faster- but I'm not sure how. One thing for sure- this is an incredibly dangerous and illegal type of training. Crashes are very, very serious and can very easily result in a fatality. Speeds often approach 40 m.p.h. for long periods. Because of decreased visibility (cyclist's view obscurred by pace vehicle) the pace driver (pilot) must be an expert at riding the motor AND a bicycle and must know how anticipate speed changes, steering around obstacles, etc. Don't try this at home.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

ahhhh. a lost art, this is. it does well and truly rule over all, tho. don't ask me why - maybe the eggheads know - or maybe they say it doesn't do anything at all. what i know is everybody USED to do it, and it made us wicked fast. lemond used it tons and tons. there is just something about the dynamic of cranking that bigger gear and covering huge ground and clinging on for dear life that make it some of the best quality riding you can do. there are all manner of ins and outs and trick workouts and do's and don'ts to keep you occupied , too. :) did i mention it rules? as a brief aside, the best ever car for m-pacing was a VW diesel rabbit with an alpine stereo ( it was the 70's.....) and a broomstick holding the hatch up and a hot betty at the wheel. n-i-c-e.

danger?? bah . we used to loop out around and in front of the speeding car for intervals whilst going so hard we would be seeing spots in front of our eyes. i think our man tom is afraid of the lawyers (!!!). find an old diesel rabbit (golf?) and have it, my good man.

perhaps it's the way you need to activate you muscles. More of an "on-off" with very small periods of recovery as opposed to just slogging into the wind. Leg speed tends to be very high and I felt it better for criterium/road preperation. It does tend to preocupy the mind as you hold on as best you can working at a high level, and yet it feels easier on the legs. I think powering a huge gear with the heart rate up at a high level feels about the same.



marko

Thanks guys, I knew I wasn't alone. This is a long lost staple to the fine art of hammering. I would use a Honda CRX with the hatch up (with broom stick of course). If you want to get faster you have to train your legs to become faster. You start using your fast twitch muscles instead of the slow twitch used for you LSD's. Where else can you push the biggest gear you have with cadence so fast your butt is bouncing off the seat at speeds of over 60mph(to be exact Tom). Yes it dangerous but you gotta have a system with the driver. one honk means bump, two honks means slowing down... and you got to do it on that long,long, long stretch of road you never see any cars on anyway. although it is more fun to pass the cars on the interstate when you are going over the speed limit on your bike on the access road. Have fun :)

The feel of turning over a big gear very fast. The sensation of speed. Knowing how your bike reacts at speed, and how to handle it.

Of four-wheel vehicles, I found the old VX Microbus to be the best -- doesn't accelerate all the quicly, provides a GREAT draft. But dangerous.

The Dernies are the de-facto vehicle to motorpace behind -- narrow enough to steer around in the event of potential danger; accelerator lock to keep speed constant; roller on the back in case of incidental contact; better visibility on the part of the bike rider.

For the road, a lost art indeed. Get on the track.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

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My old roomates Ford Explorer, glass up, dog in the back, Pantera on his 20 speaker cd system that he had installed (we used hand signals couldn't hear the horn) surfboards on top, off to the beach taking turns motorpacing. What fine days those were.

Exactly - get on the track! Had Kierin races last month at the velodrome - pacing behind usually a small two-stroke putt-putt but in this case we paced behind Mandy Poitras (Canada's Nat team for track) - man that was nasty fast.

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS