Tomm Willians

I’m not new to cycling but I guess I’m new to doing it around enough other people that rules of expected etiquette should be observed.
I recently read a post concerning shedding a drafter which seemed like an easy enough thing to figure out but that made me think about a situation I was in not long ago.
I bike predominantly in the Sacramento area on the American River Bike Trail which is a beautiful trail system from Folsom to downtown Sac.
My wife and I were riding our Santana tandem on the trail one day and were passed by a gentleman who caught us on a slight hill. Once we cleared the hill we were able to re-establish our speed (which was unknown but we were moving out)
Within a short time we had closed the distance between us and said rider to about 50’-70’, certainly not a draft distance by any means. We were simply “riding our ride” and stayed at this distance behind the other rider for probably over 5 miles before he separated from us.
During this time he kept looking back at us in what I assume was a “why is that damn tandem still behind me” look? But I felt we just happened to be occupying nearly the same space at the same time.
So........ what is the protocol here?
1- Just keep riding our ride ?
2- Stop or slow down so he can breakaway?
3-Ride alongside and ask him if he finds tandems annoying? (Joke)

Because we were not even close to drafting I’m not sure what was alarming or irritating him.

rsbob 

1. It his his problem, not yours

Have never been able to catch up and pass a tandem on a downhill, except on my tandem.

tomato coupe

I think it's unlikely he had issues with you riding 50'-70' behind him. I think it's far more likely you're imagining things.

Ibcrankin

It was most likely they were upset you were gaining on them and they were have to keep up a faster pace . I am unaware of any etiquette, Please continue to ride your ride and enjoy it, I always acknowledge fellow riders when passing or being passed with a hello/ how's it going/ just smile/ just be social and nice.

alcjphil

Some riders like me check behind themselves from time to time in case an overtaking rider may need to get by me so I can be sure to allow them sufficient passing space. Maybe that is all that was

MarcusT

Maybe he was looking for a lagging friend, or maybe he is just one of those "pissed off at the worId" types. No matter, you did nothing wrong, keep riding
I was on a uphill when I had a runner drafting me. It sure bothered the heck out of me, not because he was drafting, but that he could keep up.

caloso

50 feet is not drafting so I wouldn’t worry about it. Ride your ride.

bruce19

Humans are unique in that in the absence of information we tell ourselves a story about this or that. Until you have facts about his response (if that's what it was) you are just telling yourself a story. Ride your bike and enjoy.

Paul Barnard

I think the safest assumption is that he was simply monitoring his surroundings. If it had been me ahead of you, you would have thought the same thing about me. I head check regularly.

billnuke1 

I usually pass another rider at a greater speed than I’m going to ride after I pass someone.
If I am passed, I may unconsciously speed up a bit momentarily, then resume my prior pace...”re-zone”...
I am aware that the rider that I just past is still behind me, so I may check a couple of times to ascertain that I didn’t wake the other rider out a “zone” and he is going to re-pass me...
I have a little brass bell attached to my stem that lets other riders and walkers know that I’m close by...actually works better than, “On your left!”.
I can shake the bike’s head to inflict a little urgency to my tinkling...

TiHabanero

"then resume my prior pace...”re-zone”..."

When in school one of the projects I was involved in studied exactly this. I suspect after being passed on the hill your efforts increased until a sufficient minimal distance to the passing rider was achieved and then you "re-zoned" setting a pace equal to that rider. No big deal, it is the competitive human nature in all of us and it happens without us realizing it. Simply put, it just happens. Let the guy keep glancing back, as you found out he will eventually pull away if he doesn't like it.

Ghazmh

Depends on my mood. Sometimes I stand my ground, sometimes I slow, sometimes I drop the hammer and pass them. Sometimes it devolves into playing leap frog.

ofajen

He may just have been checking behind to make sure he knew how far back the nearest rider was or whether he was likely to be passed soon. If he’s familiar with tandems, he may have been reasonably expecting to be passed on a downhill or a flat, where tandems have a considerable advantage.

Otto

ofajen

I do this, quite often on any sort of road and regularly on trails, especially as I’m coming to a bridge or other situation where I want to be sure not to get in someone’s way when there is less room for error and less room to adjust my path.

Otto

noimagination

OT, but ... I was once on a ride, flat road, and I caught a group (3-4) of runners. It wasn't a quick catch and pass, they were moving at a good clip (I run but I don't have a lot of experience - I'm pretty sure their pace was well below 8 min miles). The annoying thing was that they were chatting as they were running along. When I'm running, especially at that pace (assuming I could maintain it for more than a couple of minutes, which is by no means certain), I'm most certainly NOT chatting.

jadocs

He just passed you...he was probably monitoring your position to make sure he stayed ahead instead of playing a leap frog game.

Ed Wiser

Just wave an say hello.

burnthesheep

I wouldn't even notice somebody 50 to 70 feet back!

vespasianus

Part of me wonders if this is a joke. Why should anybody care what someone on a bike 50-75 feet ahead of you thinks?

The real etiquette question is if you are leading a pace line but also have gas, should you try to hold it in and reduce your speed or let it out and go fast?

billnuke1 

Unless they had a little brass bell...tinkle, tinkle...

indyfabz

This thread is based on an assumption.

vacyclist68

Yeah while riding on a long trail here in Virginia I have crept up to groups or single riders and could tell they didn't like me there. Sometimes I would back off the speed, make a 2min stop or push past them for a hard 5min and then back to my speed. It happens and once I wheel sucked a guy until he made a stop because he didn't want me to do a pull upfront.

downtube42

If i passed a tandem on a climb, I'd expect it to pass me back after a while. On a trail, I'd for sure be checking from time to time, because I want to leave the tandem space.

After a few miles with a tandem 50' back I'd probably assume I was holding the them up. I've captained one, and passing someone on a trail is not trivial.

No etiquette, just awareness.

Troul 

#4: Roll next to them & ask, "do you have any grey poupon?"

It's a nonissue & just keep riding as you typically would.

79pmooney

Nobody has said this yet - he wanted you to pass him because drafting a fast tandem is 'the ride". He has to look frequently because if you fly by and he in unprepared he isn't getting on your wheel.