Originally Posted by
WhyFi
Your comprehension is sorely lacking. Literally the entire OP, with the exception of the second to last sentence, is about safety and avoiding an accident.
So before we go further, let's talk about bike etiquette and bike safety. I keep bringing Rubik up here but he was the most vocal about this in the last thread so I think his viewpoint is appropriate. A form of bike etiquette is asking before you draft someone. From Rubik, in response to something I said:
Originally Posted by Rubiksoval
At the end of the day, you're going to do whatever. My hope is that there is a clear understanding that while you may find such behavior acceptable, many others don't, and that, in general, despite your own personal anecdotes, this is not proper etiquette/behavior. One, for safety concerns for the person you're riding behind, two, for the need for them to now be concerned about your own safety (swerving away from potholes or debris last second, something very commonly done solo, is quite dangerous when not), and three, imposing yourself into their space/activity.
There are two steps to this whole thing. 1) Getting permission to draft, and 2) Drafting. In my first post in this thread, I said that if 1) was not fulfilled, then people would be upset, and rightfully so. My full quote, which you conveniently cut short said that drafting does not matter if you don't get permission. If you don't get permission, if you don't let the person in front know you're drafting--that is not only poor etiquette but unsafe. Now, assuming that OP has gotten permission to draft, SHOULD he draft? This is a different question that has gotten answers from everyone here, and where 2) comes into play. Bike safety includes things like predictable riding, riding in a straight line, signaling, etc etc. If the person in front is not a safe rider (and/or infected with COVID), then OP himself probably should not draft.
OP's last sentence makes it clear that to him, the aero benefits of a close draft are desirable, and that a half-wheel distance might even be too far for an optimum draft. He wants to be as close as possible without getting taken out. Am I really the one with poor reading comprehension? Come on.
