srsly

seems to be quite a few positive stories this morning so i thought i'd share. this morning on my way to work a person in a Volvo let me draft behind them. the last part of my commute is through downtown and there aren't any bike lanes on my route so i'm frequently around cars. the last leg is on a two-lane-each-way thoroughfare that i'm on for a little over a mile. i come on to this road from a decent downhill and i always just make the light, so i'm usually going pretty fast when i get on it.

about a block after i turn i'm doing about 20mph and i come upon a volvo in the right lane. i give them some space but they aren't speeding up. so i speed up a little bit and they speed up a little bit so i get right behind them and tuck in about 2 feet behind their bumper. i swear i saw them smile and we eventually got up around 25. they let me do this for quite a ways before we hit a red light and they had to turn.

the whole time i had this huge grin which i'm sure they saw. initially i thought i might be spooking them being so close but they easily could have pulled away. i really appreciated it, so thanks Volvo driver.

rykoala

Very cool!! I drafted a backhoe doing 25mph in a 50 zone for a couple of miles once. That was a lot of fun and I got to go fast for a while (my average speed at the time was 11-13mph)

SSP

My morning commute involves a stretch of narrow 50 mph road - I make a right turn onto it, and then a left after about 1/3 mile. One morning, I got in behind a big double-bottom gravel truck just as he was starting up from the traffic light. I dialed it up and hung in a few feet from those big rear wheels as the truck driver worked his way up through his gears.

We got to my left turn in no time, and as I sat up to signal I looked down and saw 35 mph on my speedo - and this was on a dead flat road! Kind of scary, but lots 'o fun too!

ItsJustMe

Yeah, most of my friends think semi trucks and other big vehicles are scary but I love em. Car carriers are the best; they suck tons of air behind them; even 30 seconds after they're past you can still feel it's easier going.

fordfasterr

I draft every chance I get. Usually behind tractor trailers in the city that tend to drive slow. =)

rydaddy

Buses are the best.

I caught one through 3 green lights yesterday at an effortless pace of 32mph

lima_bean

I did that until one day I leaned over and puked from inhaling all the exaughst.

rydaddy

This particular bus had exhaust coming out the top rear not the bottom rear. But yeah, that's probably the biggest downside of drafting vehicles.

ax0n

Getting exhausted?

*rimshot*

froze

I've drafted a lot of vehicles over the years, and a lot of those the drivers knew what I was doing and wanted me to do it! The one thing I learned about drafting though is NOT to draft near the center of the rear bumper, but rather draft way over to the right about a foot from the end just in case they have to stop fast you can peel off to the right and dodge them rather then trying to stop fast because you ain't goin to do it.

Gus Riley

I had the fortunate luck to do the same thing, only the distance was 8 miles and our speed was around 32mph. I came upon the backhoe as I turned into the wind for the final eight miles of a 70 mile plus ride. I was tired and it was hot! I wasn't looking forward to that head wind. He came around me and I sprinted to catch his "bucket?" He didn't have any mirrors, so he had no clue I was there until I passed him in town eight miles later. I waved a thank you, and spun home. Great finish!

Gus Riley

There were 12 us riding in South Korea a few years back. We came down a long hill coming out of Kunsan City. We were lined up single file, I was pulling, we caught a Korean fellow on a scooter. His Scooter had huge mirrors on it, but he didn't notice us at first. We got on his tire and hung on there for awhile before he realized he had company. Because his mirrors were so large I had a very clear view of his expression when he finally realized we were on him. It was pretty funny, his eyes got really large, then he tried to speed away, but we hung on. We stayed on him for at least 2 miles. He finally slowed and turned off our route, we Americans saluted him and loudly thanked him "Comsamneeda!" It was good.

bmclaughlin807

I draft off of the city buses on my route all the time. They're great! Was doing 25 uphill one day, with some idiot behind me honking and yelling at me to get in the bike lane... I think he wanted the draft! *laughs his butt off*

newbojeff

I drafted behind some roadies on the way home today. Thank'd 'em for the lift home.

Falkon 

This thread kinda inspired me. I haven't drafted a car for a while, so coming off a light I drafted the truck in front of me. I was going at a good clip, but I had to slow down, because I was spinning like a madman on my fixie. Considering I ride about 18 - 20 mph on flat ground, I would say I was going at least 27 if not 30 mph.

Quick_Torch C5

wow, it's true then, 1 out of 10 volvo owners are NOT a**holes