Road Cycling - Bike etiquette

Quick question. Went for a morning ride yesterday with my wife. It was a short ride at a decent pace 18-20mph average. Early on in the ride we pass a guy going a bit slower than we were at that point. As we move along I realize he is sitting on my back wheel. He never said a word and he hung there for several miles. My wife and I are relatively new to biking so we don't really do a pace line taking turns up front etc. So he just stayed in back and drafted off of us.

My question is, what is the correct etiquette in this situation? Should he have said something to us to let us know he was going to follow? Or should I have said something to him?

Thanks

I'm not sure but it seems like he should have at least asked
"Mind if I draft for a while?"
All the cyclist I have met on the road always ask. It seems rather inconsiderate not to ask.

I hate to be "that guy" when I'm on the roads, but then again I care about the community of cyclists. I think in that situation you say something to him if he is close enough to benefit from drafting. Maybe drop back and strike up a light conversation for a minute and then politely explain that drafting without asking is not the norm and could potentially make others upset, so next time he should probably ask. Then wish him a great ride and then drop him!

Obviously having someone you do not know 6 inches off your rear wheel is not a safe situation, especially if you don't know he/she is there at first. You also do not know what kind of rider they are and with what experience. IMO, consideration and mutual respect is an integral part of being a cyclist, and it is the responsibility of those in the know to educate those who don't. Be safe out there.

Just slow down. :p That's what I do with tailgaters on the freeway.

I saw a similar situation. a couple on a tandem was being tailed by somebody. The woman turned around and rather rudely asked the guy if he was getting a good draft. The tailgater just said "HUH?" and then they passed out of sight.

I have never paced with anyone, but I think that it is cool to see 5 or 6 riders go whipping by, almost as a single unit. Maybe I'll get in on a weekend ride at the LBS before summer is over, and ride with them.

Maybe it's a Chicago thing?

I noticed last summer that when I'd be riding, either folks would be drafing me or they'd be doing the dick thing by trying to race me on the path- it got to be ridiculous.

I noticed this past weekend that some guy was drafting me on the north end of the path, so I just slowed down to the point where he couldn't draft because it was such a slow pace. The second guy thought I was trying to draft him, so he tried to cut me off- I wasn't drafting, it just was that we were very similar speeds, and I'd caught up to him and he was just a bit too fast for me, but then I just poured on the extra energy and dropped him, and I kept my speed up for a good couple of miles to put some distance between us. Then on the south end of the path, two guys who were riding together came up behind me, and they just drafted about 3 feet back, which wasn't cool to me at all. I looked behind me a couple of times like "what the hay?", but no response from them. I finally turned back and gave them a pretty nasty look, and then they backed off and the next time I checked, they were pretty far behind me.

I guess if it bothers you a lot, turn and indicate to them somehow that this is not cool for you... and if they don't stop, just go so slow that they don't think it's worth it to follow.


Koffee

Bring along a pocket full of thumb tacks for next time. :laughing


He was probably just using your pace to push himself. He should have at least asked.

When I used to ride a lot on the bike trails near Washington this happened to me all the time. Sometimes I didn’t even know that they were there. A few of them would ask and a few others would say, “Thanks for the pull” when they peeled off. I never had a problem if they asked. On a good day I would just accelerate and drop them. If they were very persistent I would wait for a clear spot on the trail, flick my elbow and pull out so they could take the lead. When they didn’t (and they never did) I would usually flip out and say something like “ Get off my A$$ you wheel sucking pig!”. That usually worked. Then of course there’s the “snot-rocket” but we won’t go into that.

yeah, people should at least ask - it is more polite that way

when i ride mtb (drafting is not that big issue) i still ask whether i can join other riders - and they usually don't mind - most of bikers are friendly people and it even doesn't matter who rides what

in that case i would suggest slowing down to 5 mph (slowly!) - so the guy behind would understand whats going on

Firstly... drafting people who are clearly riding together is plain rude. The guy might as well follow you home for lunch. Secondly... slipping behind a rider and not saying "Hi" and taking your pulls is almost as rude. Certainly following for several miles without taking a pull is grounds for being put in the gutter.

I have a rule... this might be snobby but if you're on my wheel I don't know who you are and I usually don't have the time for a conversation.

Unless you look like you hold a road racing license or the triathlon equivalent GET OFF MY WHEEL!

I don't need some unexperienced person taking me down in a crash and possibly ruining the last few months of training (and I *have* been hit by an inexperienced rider silently drafting me in traffic :confused: )

Generally I'll shake the guy off by slowing down or turning off but if I'm in a really bad mood I'll starts hopping over small potholes or passing very close to road debris until the guy gets the message that following me closely is dangerous.

If just out riding by myself, I would not draft without asking. Sometimes it is kind of difficult when I'm going a similar speed to someone and eventually get the back and forth thing going around slight hills where I come up on someone, but don't have the ability or desire to pass them and keep up the pace long enough to stay ahead.

I did draft behind a tandem one time during a paid ride that I was doing by myself. They were nice enought to let me hang out for a while, and I tried not to get too close. Given the same situation, next time I'm gonna ask, though.

The polite thing to do is to ask if it's OK to catch another riders wheel. However, I don't really mind if someone's back there. If they overlap my rear wheel and accidentally touch wheels, they're the ones who're gonna' crash and not me.

Also, if they seem a little squirrelly and can't ride in a straight line, I don't care how fast they are, I won't draft them because I don't trust their bike handling skills and figure they're bound to do something stupid.

Take it as a complement that he thought you were pulling hard enough to draft. If the area you ride in has lots of cyclists, this type of behavior is not uncommon. I wouldn't let it bother me unless you're very uncomfortable riding with others.

With that being said, I think it's fairly presumptuous to latch on without so much as a "howdy, mind if I sit in for a couple of miles?"

On the other side of the coin, I’ve had small groups pass me with a “Hey dude, jump on!” attitude just as often.

Not to get off the subject, but how close do you have to be for it to be considered drafting. I was on an organized ride where I would pass these two guys when they slowed a bit, and they in turn would end up passing me. At some point I simply got tired of trying to get around them and layed back when they slowed... I was off their back wheels by at least 6-10' if not more. I can't believe that they would have had a problem with me back there... as I was being followed by a couple thousand other riders... But it does beg the question about what is considered a polite distance to follow.

Originally posted by Raedeke
Not to get off the subject, but how close do you have to be for it to be considered drafting

Anything less than a bike length I guess.

I personally love to see a rider up ahead of me. It's a huge incentive to put my head down and pour on the power. Once I catch someone, assuming I had the energy too, I always slide up slow on the left side and say hello. Tehn if I still feel good I just wave goodbye and take off. I don't like doing a paceline with someone I don't know, but if I did I would certainly ask if they minded before I assumed I could. In your case I would have just said pardon me, but this isn't a group ride, but thanks for the interest.

Chuck

I completely agree that sneaking up behind someone, then sitting on their rear wheel is both rude and unsafe. However, there is one instance when I will draft a rider without asking. I'm sure it's not proper etiquette, and I'm equally sure that it's reactionary, but I just can't help myself.
The situation is as follows:
I'm riding along on a heavily used bike path at a steady pace. Suddenly a rider passes only to match my pace, or even to slow down a bit. At this point I figure, "Hey if this guy is gonna park in front of me, I might as well catch a draft." This happened the other day, and yes the guy turned around and looked a couple of times; I just smiled.
Which is a long way of saying that there is another side of this subject that involves etiquette. When I'm riding, I always consider before I pass another rider. I don't pass unless I will be able to maintain that speed in order to put a respectful distance between us, before settling back into my pace. And when someone does this to me, I feel insulted( thus my reactionary behavior. )
sorry for the long rant ;)

Drafting works best the closer you are behind. Watch OLN sometime and see how close those guys are. Thats why when there is a wreck when one guy goes down for some reason, a bunch more tend to go down. If you are drafting behind someone, it is your job to pay attention to the person in front. I do a couple of group rides a week where there is a lot of drafting going on and nothing needs to be said because it is understood. If I am by myself (generally the other 3-4 days I am able to ride), I usually ride up to the person and ask if they mind some company for a while (if they are going similar pace) I do not care if someone comes up behind me and does not say anything. If I do not feel like riding with someone, time for an interval, if not, just keep doing what I am doing....

I will catch a draft from anyone that I can, bidden or unbidden. I especially like to catch the draft from someone in a strong headwind. It is funny watching them do all the work. When riders slow down, I slow down. If they stop and take a breather, I take a breather. If they try to talk to me, I will not answer them. I just glare at them with a stupid dumbfounded look on my face. I SOMETIMES have difficulty containing my laughter because some riders seem to take genuine offense to my behaviour.

Commuting around here tends to be a fairly solitary scene. As such there doesn't appear to be too many rules that everyone acknowledges. There are two unwritten rules that I've experienced:

1. An attempt to overtake assumes "game on".
2. If you're cranking hard you're just hanging out for a race.

It must be said that these two rules are somewhat gender specific in that they tend to be obeyed religiously by guys working off some serious testosterone (me included).

Just SPIT !! That deters most folks

Originally posted by enac
I SOMETIMES have difficulty containing my laughter because some riders seem to take genuine offense to my behaviour.
Well, I am sure that it is because they must think that someone riding a FONDRIEST!!! can't be such a wimp that they can't stick their nose out into the wind at least a wee bit. I mean, gimme a break, someone who rides a FONDRIEST!!! must be a must be one of the truly elite cyclists! ;)

enac,you sound like a jerk!

Where's that winding-you-up smilie?

Easy solution for enac-types. Just slow and shift suddenly one way or the other. Knock out their front wheel. It's well known in pacelining that the one behind will always go down after hitting the rear of the rider in front. The front rider then can race off and have the last laugh.

It is very rare that the rider leading a paceline will go down after being hit from behind. To go down, the front rider has to be hit ahead of the bottom bracket. However, if the second rider in a paceline of four goes down, he most likely will drag down those behind (information comes from a old bike racer who was state champion on the track and road -- those guys used some amazing tactics!).

I don't mind too much people getting on behind me unannounced. I'm getting the best workout, and they are just pimping. I have yet to have anyone ask if it's OK to draft. It keeps you on your toes, and does encourage you to use signals to indicate hazards, slowing, etc.

I avoid drafting others unless I know them. And I'd ask. Otherwise, there is too much risk of them causing me grief.

Pacelining on long randonnees, though, is very useful. The riders generally know the etiquette, and are willing to pull their bit. The difference in average speed, particularly into headwinds, can be up to 4 or 5 km/h over 100-150km. And the interval type of workout is good.

The peleton training rides I see around here generally have the same riders at the front pulling along the others most of the way. I often chuckle at this. Those at the front are getting the real workout which will keep them on the winner's podium. Those being dragged along behind in the draft are putting in good training times by default, but don't have a hope in hell of winning on race day unless they actually do get to the front of the training peleton and do their pull.

R

I see a pepper-spraying in enac's future :) Too bad his Fondriest isn't fast enough to pass anyone with ;)

Originally posted by Rowan
Where's that winding-you-up smilie?

Easy solution for enac-types. Just slow and shift suddenly one way or the other. Knock out their front wheel. It's well known in pacelining that the one behind will always go down after hitting the rear of the rider in front. The front rider then can race off and have the last laugh.

There's a much easier solution that that: snot rockets. The best thing about that is, there's no need to clip someone's front wheel or anything else. 'snot rocket science after all! :D (sorry, just couldn't resist that one!).

Another tactic I use from time to time is to just ride within myself for a little while if someone's drafting. After all, if they don't put in any effort, why should I? I just wait for the next hill and, rested, I then launch into a blistering attack on the climb. That particular tactic has yet to fail.

In saying that, I really don't mind if a rider does decide to draft me for a while. I mean, I don't bother making any special effort to point out pot holes or broken glass, but I find it kind of flattering that they see fit to draft off me. Particularly if they're riding a Fondriest!

:D

IMO, if they aren't lapping your wheel or doing something dangerous, it's mostly about the principal of the thing. In my experience, it's usually caused by the wheelsuckers ignorance, not arrogance. If they don't talk, you should. Not to b!tch at them, just to acknowledge you know they're there. At a minimum, ""hey! how's it goin'?" Maybe chat it up a little bit "where ya goin'", "how many miles ya doin", etc. You can almost always learn something interesting from a cyclist you haven't met before. At some point you can mention they should let a rider know when they're on his/her wheel, so they won't stop quickly, etc.

There's enough out there to get bent about, without adding other cyclists to the list.

I ran into this a lot with triathletes out in San Diego, they would follow you forever and never take a pull, I would always just turn up a side street and add a mile to my ride. If they would talk or something I wouldn't care, but they'd just be down in their aero tuck hitching a ride. And, I know full well every one of them was stronger than me and should be pullin my sorry butt up the coast.

You're riding if he's there or not so even if he should have asked,maybe he doesnt know any better yet but really,who cares.You're riding anyway.

it is unsafe. what if the guy/gal sees something in the road and hits the brakes or decides to turn off and slows and the follower goes into his wheel.

Can happen if he there and your ok with it anyway.If you ride fast enough for somebody to draft,thats nice but i wont worry about it because i avg 15-17 mph and nobody wants to draft that.LOL

Four letters...

F A R T.

cAPS

That sticks.