for me, it all depends on the situation. i’ve had people sit on my wheel in some pretty crowded places. and i’ve had them where i just don’t know where they came from. but if i know that they’re there it rarely bothers me.
Well I don’t know about all of your reasons, however I tend to agree about the safety factor - I don’t like people on my wheel that I’ve never ridden with who just jump on without announcing they are doing so like on the bike trail. True that the guy in the back usually goes down, but not always. I’ll either ask em to sit back a couple bike lengths, sit up for awhile and let them pass or see if they will ride next to me and not half-wheel or speed up and make it so fast they blow depending on the workout for the day or mood I’m in. If on a group ride just stay near the front and the peloton will usually self police.
Why are you writing about something that happened a few months ago? Does this kind of thing happen all the time, or is it just every now and then? Why would roadies - who generally don’t like to ride with people on aerobars - want to group up with you anyway? I’ve had this happen a couple of times and once I know the person is wheel sucking I just slow down and force them to go by, then I’ll turn around and ride back a half mile or so, turn around again and resume my ride.
A couple weeks ago I was on a “group” ride. For me that means other people are near, but I still won’t draft. On a group ride I generally stay at least two bikes lengths behind the person in front of me. I was riding with one person who complained that when I was in the lead I pushed the pace too hard, but I didn’t know the person was that close behind me. Later I was riding behind that person - a few lengths back - when another person comes past and takes the lead. Apparently that person had been sucking my wheel although I thought the other people in the group were way behind. After taking the lead the person I had been following then proceeded to draft, with me still a few lengths back. After a couple miles they both ease up and tell me it was my turn to pull. I hadn’t been riding that way, but I said OK. After I took the lead I kept going the same pace they had been going and I hear one of them say, “you’re only going 25.” So I bump it up to 27 for a mile or so and then up to 29 for another mile or so. We were getting near our destination and started going uphill. When I turned around they were strung out behind me a good distance.
The thing is, these were tri club people. Personally I don’t see any benefit for tri training to ride in a pace line. I don’t/won’t do it. To my knowledge none of these people do any bike racing where drafting is used so I just don’t get why they want to ride that way in training. I rarely ever do any of these group rides because there is always too much stopping.
Anyway, these guys should have said something about hopping on your wheel. I think what you did was OK.
TriBryGuy, you seem to be quite a pleasant person.
Is that why you have to go out and find peope you can latch on?
I am just guessing here, but I give you the benefit of the doubt that you may not be THAT guy.
Maybe you live in an area where you are happy to see a single cyclist on your ride. I see dozends, depending on the length of my ride.
Solo, if you are in my situation, I agree with you. It can get quite annoying, when you live in an area where there a lot of “recreational, spur of the moment” riders.
If I am out training alone I have a reason for it. Mostly it is a structured workout where I don’t need someone constantly dancing around me. Most of the people who latch when you go by at some point try to show you off, go all out and ride UNSAFE (lots of swerving…). Personal space is good, like that. I would add that they increase my risk, a risk I am not willing to take when I decide to ride alone.
People let little things bother them too much. When it happens to me, I don’t change anything about my workout other than to point out obstacles. If they manage to stay on for awhile, they usually say thanks or introduce themselves before you/they peel off.
Little things?
Depends.
Wait until you actually encounter one of those Bozos who either ride you off the trail/road, or worse, ride into you from behind when you don’t know they are there.
You can get seriously hurt, I learned that the hard way.
Hope it never happens to you.
Just curious, how can they ride you off the road? As far as not knowing they’re there, I always check shortly after passing someone to see if they’ve latched on.
The thing is, these were tri club people. Personally I don’t see any benefit for tri training to ride in a pace line. I don’t/won’t do it. To my knowledge none of these people do any bike racing where drafting is used so I just don’t get why they want to ride that way in training. I rarely ever do any of these group rides because there is always too much stopping.
That’s a good point. Many groups rides can be VERY frustrating. First you stop for a puncture. Then you stop for someone to pee. Then another puncture. Then it’s time to stop to fuel up at a store. Two hours into the ride you have already been off the bike 5 times!!! The trick is finding the right group. My experience has been that you need to find about 4 - 5 people who are all about the same level of fitness or a bit better than you are and you all work together. You keep the stops to a minimum, even agree that when you are off the back, there will be no waiting and you are gone! Harsh, but the reality. These sorts of groups can be HIGHLY effective at improving long course triathlon bike fitness for the simple reason that you will be able to push yourself, further, and harder than you would on your own. If you train on your own all the time you will miss out on this opportunity. Not for everyone, but it works!
my .02 is that being drafted is not a passive activity.
when there’s someone on your wheel you become somewhat responsible for their safety, just as they have to ride in a certain manner to draft, the draftee should ride in an entirely predictable manner as well as the little courtesies such as pointing out hazards that the drafter usually cannot see.
When I go for a bunch ride I try to stick to all the drafting protocols in order to preserve the safety and enjoyment of the ride for the whole bunch, but when someone attaches themselves to my wheel while I am on a solo tri training ride, I am suddenly bound to change my riding to keep them safe, or worse still if I am unaware to their presence then I might do something, be it swerve to avoid a pothole or glass, or maybe even sit up suddenly ( those early season back cramps can be killer), what of the drafter?
their own fault? my responsibility as lead rider?
If I have un-invited drafters I never announce any obstacles. In fact, I head straight for posts, grates, pot-holes and anything else that comes along, veering off at the last second. I do this mostly in (non-drafting) races, but should work in training too.
Your screen name is spot on…and I suspect you’ll live out your life in that condition… SOLO. Have a lonely life!
This ridiculous comment coming from a Marine based in Quantico? Say it aint so. Junior HS at best.
Safety issue is clarified: hanging on a wheel unannounced, not invited or with tri bikes is irresponsible and potentially dangerous. I dont need the responsibility of reporting obstacles and slowing up, etc. Not asking for permission is obnoxious. And I still cant understand why someone would want to cheat themselves of training by doing this. Fleck had it right, too. I did feel like I was breaking the wind easier with this guy attached to me. I didnt want the help.
When I go with a group, Id factor the drafting in to the distance and/or climbing of the ride. For some long rides, it just makes it possible to hang with the fitter riders.
You’re right about the safety aspect of drafting if the person in front doesn’t know their is a rider behind him. You have every right to ask them to back off (Of course if you are serious about “clothes lining” them, that would be criminal and you’d deserve whatever jail time you got).
As for your comments about drafting in general, you have exposed that you have a fundamental lack of knowledge about the benefits of training in a group and how to properly do it. It is quite wrong to assume that all drafting is “cheating” and just a way to slack off and that anyone who trains in a group is somehow “cheating” themselves.
If done right, a good group ride will be quite a bit harder and a much better workout than riding the same distance alone, even if you time trial it the whole way at a tough pace. The problem is that most people don’t ride with groups that push the pace enough, not with the basic concept of group training.
you know its this kind of post on this forum that I will never understand.
if you don’t want them there, politely ask them to leave. “Please don’t suck my wheel, I am trying to do some solo training”
If you think that the ride is that much easier because that someone is on your wheel and that will be the difference between winning and losing, add an additional 5 min to your ride and make a friend.
You mention that in group rides that drafting allows hanging with fitter riders, what if this is what they are trying to do, better themselves and if I or you can help someone become a better rider by allowing to draft what is the harm.
It seems very funny that I hear comments like the roadie scum didn’t wave or was arrogant or someother nasty comment, then you try to run them off of the road or into a pothole. I would never jump on a wheel without letting the rider know I am there, but having done that and then run off the road or into a pothole on purpose, in true roadie “a$$hole” fashion, I would promptly put you into the curb or take the front wheel out from in under you and don’t blink an eye.
This is getting little too dark. This is not serious business.
Also, Im I the only person on the road without a pen and paper to collect tele #s? This post is not really about making friends.
If you did read my last comment, I said I would factor in drafting to a GROUP RIDE. I do group rides on my ROAD bike. And I DO understand the benefits of drafting. If I go to a group ride with friends and/or strangers, I would expect to be drafted, and draft- on my road bike. When Im out by myself, looking to get stronger mentally and physically for a LD tri, Im looking for just that. If Im out with my training buddies on tri bikes, I know they are skilled and cautious, so its a different story.
Me too!
What are those nasty little fish that attached on sharks without saying hello? Im sure the shark would eat it if it could reach it
This cracked me up.
Myself, when I first started riding I would follow someone who looked like they’d been riding for a while (years, not minutes) and sort of mimic their movements. Follow along and try to match their cadence, take a drink when they took a drink, etc. Learning the ropes. I only realized people might feel like Solo does when they started blowing snot rockets on me. At the time I wasn’t quite sure if it was intentional. I had a feeling it was but… I wasn’t sure. Now I’m pretty sure it was intentional.
Anyway I’m a little less newbie-ish now and if someone else tries to latch on to me, I try my best to subtly burn them, in a teenagerish, just-got-his-license sort of way. (I said less newbie-ish, not less immature.) Cause I’m training for races, right? I’m training to be FASTER than other people, so they can’t keep up with me, right? I don’t do it every time. Sometimes I’ll do a long even burn no matter who’s around, but what better way to train for races than to have little races out there? They step up for a challenge and I pretend I don’t notice them and I speed up. If they want to “prove they can keep up with me” and I prove them wrong, then I won my little race and I go home and put a gold star sticker on my shirt. If they can keep up, more power to them; I use a silver star sticker.
This is getting little too dark. This is not serious business.
I agree. Justoldroadie did sum it up nicely though, except for the part of running people off the road and into the ditch. However, I think that he was joking about that, oer at least I hope he was.
Bottom line - this is supposed to be fun.