bdcheung

People who latch onto your wheel without telling you, and then get mad when you hit the brakes and they either almost, or do, run into you.

When I'm commuting home on the W&OD I'm not always paying attention to what's behind me, mostly because it doesn't pose a threat to my safety so I just don't care.

Which means people latch onto my rear wheel and I don't know it. So when I make a quick change of direction to avoid a squirrel/pothole/whatever, and swipe the guy's wheel or cause him to hit the obstacle, he gets mad.

Suggestions on how to handle or avoid this?

I-Like-To-Bike

1. Get a mirror or,
2 Laugh at any joker who gets "mad" due to events caused by his own stupidity.

genec

Slow down to the point of annoying, and they will go away. Works for motoring tailgaters too.

CastIron

Of course, ride faster.

lil brown bat

Offer a reminder that you're not in a peloton, as follows:

"This ain't the Tour de France, Lance."

CliftonGK1

Broccoli
Egg Salad
Johnny Rockets Chili Cheese Fries
Chipotle burritos

Hobartlemagne 

Stick one of these on the back of your bike

dalmore

Well first you have to pay attention to what's behind you. Otherwise, you can't deal with it.

Then either pull them along, wave them around, drop 'em or flip them off.

I generally don't care if someone is on my wheel unless it's at one area on the MUP with lots of blind curves, then I slow and wave them around.

I do find that I speed up when someone gets on my wheel. Subconscious racer I suppose.

bdcheung

Some good ideas so far. I really don't care who's behind me and that's why I don't bother turning around. But if they aren't paying a lick of attention and get me into an accident, whose fault is it? Mine for not seeing him behind me, or his for not paying attention?

kokomo61

I've had to deal with a couple drafters on the W&OD - mostly just on the one stretch between Vienna and Hunter Mill Road for some reason. I'll try to slow down just a bit to see if they'll pass....

If I find myself behind someone else, I'll keep at least 1 bike length behind, because I can't predict what they're going to do.....but if I find myself going too slow, I'll move to the left, ring the bell, and pass.....most times, they don't try to follow, but at least twice, they've latched onto my rear wheel, with no margin for error. I've had to ask one guy to give me some room....who promptly snorted some foul response, then passed me.

If I'm riding the same speed, I'll offer to pull for the next leg.....but I don't like it when someone won't acknowledge the rider in front, or is hoping for a free draft. There are too many things that can go wrong with an unknown rider.

RogerB

Shut up and keep pedaling. I know what I'm doing.

Treespeed

Would never draft with someone who's riding skills I was not familiar with. The riders that kill me are the ones who pull up alongside of me and want to start a conversation. I like other riders, but my commute is freaky and I have to get going to pick up my daughter from daycare. If folks want to chat and ride hit a club ride on the weekend, but other than hello, let me ride.
That being said there were a couple of guys I would see pretty regularly on my old commute that had great skills and we would take turns pulling each other into the ubiquitous So Cal afternoon headwind. But they or I would always ask first.

knucklesandwich

My commute is on the W&OD as well (reverse from most of the crowds) and I've been dealing with more and more of these drafters lately too. I'd say it's about a 50/50 split between other commuters and regular recreational/race riders.

If someone drafts me too closely for more than say 1/4 mile, I'll do something to get them off my wheel. There are way too many road crossings, peds to ride around, etc. for someone who doesn't know me to be within 3 feet of my bike. A nice big loogy or two off to the right sometimes works, sometimes I'll tell them to back off, and in one case I actually had to slow way down and wave one d-bag past me. I think being a little bit of a jerk to them is acceptable, because the alternative if they caused me to crash oter otherwise cause an incident would be much worse.

Bob N.

Recently had some guy doing this to me on the CCT, me and my fat panniers soaking up the wind. My brother was riding above and behind on the Towpath wondering "what's this guy doing?" He passed once we got close to K St.

I slowed down a little, but it didn't seem to deter him

He might not have done it if he knew what a lousy cyclist I am............

habernac

just start randomly spitting. Left, right, straight up in the air. Or just stop suddenly with no warning. I hate uninvited wheelsuckers.

JeffS

So what's this thread about again?

mikepoole

Smoke bombs or a box of carpet tacks always work in the movies.

pinkrobe

Crazy Ivan [random swerving for no reason]. You won't go down if the follower taps your rear wheel with his front. You'll feel a tap, then hear a thud and the clatter of a bike hitting the ground behind you.

bdcheung

If I slow down, and he passes me, I'm inevitably going to pass him again as I ride faster. Which gives him another opportunity to draft.

I guess the only answer is to shake him off my wheel with a combination of bodily odors, fluids, and dangerous bike handling.

evblazer

Take a fake sip off your water bottle.
Make a slight shudder and or exclaim "gross".
Open the lid.
Toss the contents of your month old home made gatorade over your shoulder.
Enjoy the view in your rear view mirror while you get some breathing room.

ottawa_adam

Ride faster.

If that doesn't work, have you considered just asking him to back off? For some of those other people, why the need to spit on them or be rude? Just tell them to back off.

littlewaywelt

hahahaha...excellent.

xenologer

Turn on your rear blinker. May not work as well in full daylight, but in evening and nights my friends absolutely refuse to ride behind me when it's on super bright eplieptic strobe mode.

kbblodorn

[QUOTE=bdcheung;7535822]If I slow down, and he passes me, I'm inevitably going to pass him again as I ride faster. Which gives him another opportunity to draft.[QUOTE]

If you're faster, just drop him. Kick a nice sprint for a few hundred yards, then back to normal speed. If he closes the gap, sprint again about 10 seconds after he gets back on your wheel. That'll just demoralize him.

caloso

Exclaim "Oh, my allergies are killing me!" Let go with a big snot rocket. (Works better if, in fact, your allergies are killing you.)