Originally Posted by
spectastic
ok gotcha. how big should a sphere be given various situations? I think I've read somewhere 6-12 inches in a normal paceline on flats. That seems awfully close to me. If the guy taps on the brakes in front of me, there's very little time for me to adjust. in that final 2 mile straightaway on that cat 5 race, I almost rubbed wheels with one of the guys in front of me, because he suddenly squeezed his brakes. And if I move to the outside, I might clip someone behind me. That's another thing I'm ambivalent about... if I move around too much in a pack, I'm not holding my line, and compromising the riders behind me. If I move too little, I'm saving less energy, and probably compromising a better position in the pack.
Riding close is part of racing: you'll have to get used to it. And the higher up you go, the closer everyone gets. Yes, there's a great deal of trust/faith in fellow riders going on.
Part of the issue is also: in Cat-5, they do stupid stuff and then everybody panics and screams & yells. In the upper cats, they also do stupid stuff, but they self-correct quickly and other riders don't over-react to it.
If you move off your line, do so slowly and predictably: never suddenly. Suddenly is when you clip others.