Hi,

Happened a couple of times.

Couple of weeks ago I overtook someone and a quite a few miles later as he
passed before shortly stopping he said it was cool to paced by chasing someone.

[A young (compared to me) American on a MTB as best as I can recall.]

Today a guy passed me but I noticed he wasn't really dropping me much so
I gave chase, a few miles later I passed him, and then a few miles later he
passed me again, and I kept up for a few miles before routes separated.

It made that section of the ride fly by and be more enjoyable and concentrated.

rgds, sreten.

I'm not an all out rider, and neither was the guy I was chasing today.

Few here means ~ 2 miles ballpark.

Being the slow rider in our group I try to set the pace for some period of the ride related to how I am feeling or if the group is really going too slow for me. A Couple of those riders know about pacing and if I am doing say 18mph but starting to slow then when they pass me they settle into that 18mph but it does take the effort out of being on the front. However there are others that feel that my constant 18 mph for the last few miles means that with assistance of drafting- I can do 22 mph. I can't so judge the rider to draft before you commit.

Last year I met another solo rider on a new bike- you can always tell them from no oil on the cassette and no dirt on the frame--plus I had seen him buying from my LBS. He was also newish to riding so as I passed him I offered for him to sit on my wheel for a while and I just upped the pace a bit from what he was doing. 5 miles later and I stopped for coffee to find him still there. He stopped and we talked a bit and he said that having someone in front had upped his pace but I had not been going too fast. I then explained about drafting and cadence. Couple of months later and we met again and he was getting used to the bike and now understood cadence. But drafting was still difficult as every one that passed him was going like a rocket and he couldn't catch them to get a tow.

A good pace line ride can make the miles fly by. I found it helpful to pull out before I feel the weakness approaching so the new faster pace is not too much for me.

Nice - I was expecting a rant about how rude people are for sucking wheel, good to hear sharing the load improved your ride.
If you have ever ridden a century (metric or otherwise) alone and compared the same ride to doing it with a group where you can share the work, the difference is dramatic both on your ride time as well as your overall fatigue level. It pays to be a team out there.

Hi,

FWIW I have no idea whether either of the two guys spent much
time near my back wheel. I don't think so *. I think its more when
you can see your catching someone on certain sections you up
your overall pace to keep up with them in general.

Keeping up with the other guy was just keeping him in my sights,
not drafting, he was faster downhill, caught him up minor uphills.

I think its more a case of the rabbit at a dogtrack, something to chase.

rgds, sreten.

* Don't really know how far behind they were when I was leading.

If I catch a rider out on a ride I always let him know I am there by saying that I am sitting on his wheel for a while. Doesn't happen often but it has one of two reactions. They either put on a spurt and disappear into the distance or a few hundred yards later I get the flick of the elbow to tell me it is my turn to do some work.

For me, this is all part of silly commuter racing. I often see people up the road or have someone pass me and they become my new goal. I have been known to go ba**s out to catch someone on a commute. Heck it's only 15km, let's make it worthwhile.

Paceline is totally different and has become my preferred method of riding. Some friendly banter. Greater distances and higher speed.

I find I am move motivated when riding with others. I have met the same rider on my commute home several times and we share the ride and both benefit
Pirk