Originally Posted by
rogerstg
WOW, the OP sure does have an active imagination. Smirking at a guy because he assumes he's an old poser; sprinting past the guy because he assumes the guy is po-ed at him; assuming the guy drafted him for 8k on the basis of hearing him coast; assuming the guy's reason for drafting was to boost his ego; assuming the old guy passed him only to prove himself against the OP.
Ditto.
OP -
- Riding 18-20 on a MUP? I hardly ever use them, but it's hard to imagine that being acceptable behavior by any number of yardsticks.
- Riding a MUP with no mirror? Even so, you don't check behind you by turning your head?
- You draft him, then pull in front and slow? That's what I do to encourage someone to draft.
- Did you "announce" yourself to him when you were drafting?
- He's a meter off your wheel? [And, I wonder, possibly exaggerating?] That's not very dangerous, IMO.
BTW, I'm 66. I draft when the opportunity presents itself. I am also slow - 15-16 MPH average, although on a group ride last Sunday I rode 12 miles with the fast riders (19.1 MPH average) which lifted me to 17.4 (a
PR) for the whole 51 miles. Lots of drafting.
- I did a 4-day racing clinic this spring plus another teacher-led pace line ride last month, so I felt pretty comfortable (the clinic had us collide, hit and overlap wheels, avoid obstacles w/o deviating from your line, etc.).
- It was very useful. I learned several new techniques (e.g., double pace line), lots of subtleties about numerous areas, and it improved my confidence in many areas.
- Intense Example: 3 weeks ago, riding 3rd in a pace line, the leader teaching the second rider, he's turned to say something, and his wheels barely avoid a hold in the pavement. I had no time to warn. I knew rider 2 was probably going to hit it (she did) but I knew I could swing my tires around the hole (I had practiced this for about an hour). And, as it turned out, I was able to get them around the outstretched arm of the downed rider - boy, she went over the bars and down FAST! It was the first time I've seen anything like that, and I sure had a fantastic view.