MinnMan

The classic one that bothers me some is that I'll come upon a rider who is going a little slower than me and pass him, and then he'll jump on my wheel. Then, and I'm not proud of this, because I passed him I'll feel sort of responsible for keeping up the pace and either dropping him or at a minimum giving him a brisk ride for his money. Sometimes this wears me out.

It's my poor judgement, I know. What I should do in these cases (and sometimes I do) is to put it in the small ring and let them by. Just because I pass somebody does not mean I have any responsibility to tow them down the road.

h2oxtc

Having been both the extremely grateful recipient of the benefit of drafting strangers, as well as the one pulling for complete strangers, I think common sense, courtesy and an acknowlegement would suffice. Besides, what comes around goes around.

In terms of safety however, if the person drafting (or pulling for that matter) in an erratic cyclist - I'll back off, turn, whatever I need to do to get away from them. Life's too short for that. Otherwise they're welcome to draft.

BikeArkansas

Being a larger rider with moderate speed for our age, I get drafted fairly often. One note is that everyone spoke of the drafter as a "he". I have been drafted a number of times by female riders. Just say'n.

Looigi

Bogie on my six? I put the hamer down, dial it up to 400W and drope them.

Wheever

...sometimes when a stranger is drafting me, my saddle bag opens and these spill out. Oopsy!

Wildwood

+1. Strangers not welcome on my wheel and I will not ride your's uninvited. If you closely tailgate my car for a while you get emergency flashers.
Please pull up beside me and chat, I prefer that if we are both out solo.

leob1

I really don't care if somebody drafts me, I've done it to others. And it make me feel good that I worth drafting off of.
But what really chaps my cheeks is when somebody pulls up behind me and doesn't say anything. It's a saftey thing if I have to swerve, or stop, of if I want to stop or slow suddenly it's nice to know they are back there. A simple 'on your wheel' is all it takes. Being silent doesn't make you cool or a better cyclist than me, it make you an a-hole.

osco53

I max out my suffer score and see If he/she can hang . I like the work..

OldTryGuy

Anyone who wants to grab a draft from me I have no issues with. Even on my aero bars there's no problem since my eyeglass mirror allows for excellent rear vision.

1)-Around here the MUP have a 15mph posted speed limit.

2)-Just wondering what the holding a quicker pace would be, mph wise????

Rick@OCRR

I really don't have this happen very often since I do a lot of climbing rides and drafting is of very minimal help at 5 - 7 mph. When it has happened it's never been a big deal.

Sometimes I'll let the drafter sit in for a few minutes, then motion them to come around. Most often they do, we trade pulls and it's all good.

If I were to get a non-cooperative drafter I would either speed up and see if they could hold my wheel (most likely they could) or just slow down (as noted in the posts above) to the point where drafting just didn't make sense (depending on my motivation or lack thereof at the time).

Rick / OCRR

chasm54

Who cares? I certainly don't. Anyone is welcome to draft me, with or without ceremony. There's very little risk to me, so wotthehell.

Cychologist

I don't mind someone drafting off me (doesn't happen now as much as it did 20 years ago), but I like to know they are there. It is a safety issue. My worst accident was when I was drafting off my son, without his knowledge, and he braked for a snake.

I learned from that to always let a cyclist know I'm drafting.

I also don't draft off someone I don't know or know is squirrelly. I don't need another concussion.

VNA

As long as it is done safely I have no problems, I draft at times and at times someone is drafting!
It is fair game, although I stay away from the squirrelly ones no matter what!

TCR Rider

No worries as long as they let me know they're there. I'm certainly not above jumping on a wheel if the opportunity presents itself. I do, however, make my presence known and offer to take my pull, as long as I have the juice. Sometimes if I see a rider up ahead of me I use them as a carrot and a source of motivation especially if I'm in the later stages of my ride and I'm feeling snookered.
The last time I had a problem with it was when I was doing intervals on a windy day. I was busting a gut and all I could hear was the wind my bike and my breathing. I finish the interval and sit up. Well someone was on my wheel and as he went around me ON MY RIGHT had the stones to give me grief. At first I wanted to ride him down and tell him what an a-hole he was but I just let him go and continued with my workout. Anyway as I said as long as they let me know it's all good.

ltxi

Back in the days of ludicrously low highway speed limits I refused to accept I used to open freeway run across this issue frequently. I called them "speed groupies".

StanSeven

You are one of those riders that makes a race even if it's only you?

Lots of people are fatigued and looking for support getting home. Perhaps they want to gauge your speed for a minute before asking to join?

catgita

As a Clyde, people very often want to draft, but it takes a small group to pull me. Having someone my size drafting is seldom a comfortable feeling, so I just leave a couple bike lengths.

It is hard to do a ride around here without matching up on somebody's pace, so few people ask.

More often the issue is where people are not maintaining an even pace, or simply move differently, so we wind up trading passes or I get bogged down where I usually carry a good amount of momentum. Then it is time for a short break.

tg16

If someone doesn't have to courtesy to ask then the answer is definitely no.

marquhar

In my recent years of Road Riding, when I started getting shadow riders it was a sign that I was improving my fitness. I usually didn't like when it happened and tried lose them after a few miles.

Overall it means good things are in store for you as a rider. You are healthy, other riders identify with you as a leader, and more improvement should result near term.

mprelaw

It took 28 prior posts. We're either slipping, or we have an over abundance of noobs nowadays.

Gerryattrick

For a moment I wondered if I was following a thread in a parallel universe. I'll have to learn the lingo.

700

Etiquette 101 for those who may be socially challenged:
Who would this apply to?: Drafter or Draftee
When used: Immediately upon first encounter with your contender.

Say this, "Hi, Would you like to ride together?"

Those whose social shortcomings spill over into verbal limitations should practice the above repeatedly until it becomes second nature.

You now have what it takes. Happy riding!

bakes1

No way.
I would first politely tell them to move on and if they continued to draft me I would simply slow to a stop until they had to pass.
If they tried to once again draft me things would escalate.
There are inherent responsibilities in drafting for both parties so imo it is dead wrong to draft without prior notice/consent. Not too sound to legal but that is the best way I can phrase it.
All that being said I also believe that if you can't handle your own wind resistance you should simply get the fark off the road as you most likely don't belong there in the first place. Stay in your house and spin away.

Gnosis

I actually enjoy when someone drafts me. It's incentive to keep a good pace and if they pass, it's an even greater challenge to keep their pace. I really don't care if someone fails to annouce themselves.

Cyclcist11023131

I think some anger management is needed here. First it is nice for them to let you know they are there, but you should be aware enough to know they are there well before they get close. Two a drafter makes it easier for both of you due to the way the air flows by. I often feel my bike taking off a little when I pick up somebody from behind. Three they probably worked their ass off to catch you and need some recovery time. I rode a very windy Century in Palm Springs a couple of years ago. A one mile section had us going into a forty mile an hour headwind. I put my head down and took off as hard as I could, passing many riders. It was tough and I did not look back for a while. As we neared a bridge I looked back and had group of thirty plus riders on my tail. Im six foot and 225 pounds. Cleared the path for those guys. Looked like a human snake. Coolest thing ever. Got a few pats on the back at the first water spot. Don't let them surprise you and the whole ride becomes a better experience. Now if I pull up on you and you fart in my face I'm just gonna pass you and return the gift...and I'll do it on a SS Mountain Bike.