Originally Posted by
hsilman
I was cruising along the Hudson River Greenway today on my way home from work when I happened to be barely passed by a couple of guys going slightly faster than my normal cruising speed. I decided to drop in behind them for a bit since they were going my way, the lead on a road bike and the follower on a mtb with slicks.
Anyways, I end up drafting off them for a good 3 miles or so before my turn off.
My question is, do you generally mind when people are sucking your wind? It seemed like they knew each other, and they knew what I was up to. They never seemed annoyed or said anything to me.
Back to the OP's situation ...
If the OP noticed that the two were deep in conversation, he should have backed off.
If the OP noticed that there seemed to be some erratic cycling going on ... slowing, speeding up, pulling over to the side, weaving back and forth, etc., he should have taken the hint and backed off.
If the OP noticed that he was riding over debris and falling into potholes while the riders in front were dodging all of that, he should have realised that 1) they were not pointing out the hazards; 2) riding right behind cyclist you don't know can be dangerous ... and he should have backed off.
Even backing off 10 or 20 feet gives the riders in front some breathing room ... they can hold their conversation without being overheard, they can feel comfortable doing things like eating, drinking, adjusting themselves on the saddle, and in the case of hazards on the road, 10 or 20 feet is room enough for the cyclist behind to see what's coming and take evasive action.