If he rode in traffic on a regular basis that never would have happened. Honestly I can't remember why that happened, it was just so weird.

if you're asking about ullrich, it happened because (IIRC) ullrich wanted to ride the course one more time, at speed. he was drafting off of the team car, and a car with a trailer pulled on to the course. the team car slammed the brakes, because it would have t-boned the other car.

that would explain it.... I hope you know I jokin' about him spending more time in traffic in my previous post. At speed too....eeew.

Jan should have known better than to try and stop all that weight.

I used to draft minivans, but once this woman looked in her mirror, gave me the finger and slammed on her brakes. Mother with two kids in the back. Too many bitter, fat people to do this anymore.

If the trucks are carrying gravel, I'd recommend re-thinking.

Yeah, I'm guessing he wasn't prepared for the stop. I'm always ready to hit the brakes -- feathering them all the time. Maybe he was in his aero bars to get used to the position -- the brakes are a looong ways away...

You never know though. A car has a much shorter stopping distance than a bicycle, so a crash is likely. The speed difference is not going to be too high, and he was still able to race. It's all good, right?

I've drafted lots of vehicles. My favorite is an older minivan because you can see all the way through them and they don't accelerate terribly well. Buses are good but they stop often and you can't see through them. I tend to avoid dump trucks because they shed dirt clods and gravel.

these little suckers (for old and handicapped folk) are great. they can easy hot 30-35 MPH, give you a great draft, and don't block your view.

I'm the guy who falls asleep at night dreaming of drafting a vehicle on a long flat stretch, but I think I need to build up my confidence a bit first before I try anything like that. My team mates are all pretty comfortable being 6" off each other's wheels, and I'm still trying to get past the 9-12" barrier consistently. Better wait on trying a car bumper, eh?

If you enjoy drafting, find yourself a large training ride and just sit near the rear of the pack. It's amazing how little effort is required to maintain a 30+ mph for many miles...

i got two tickets for following too close. the first was back in '83 or '85 or so. the cop said " i saw breaking away, too".

I stopped doing this (so much) after I put two hands on a VW van going 50mph downhill and somehow didn't lose it after what seemed like a split second, tiny-but-mortal wobble, but yeah it is fun.

You can never account for random crap in the road that you won't see until it's too late or the car swerving to dodge the stuff.

^^^that'll scare ya slow for a little while^^^

holy crap!! i dont think i'll be punching 50 any time soon.... (mostly because the landscape around here is very flat) but thanks for the tip i guess lol

when i did it the other day i was trailing him by like 10-15ft, going 33mph for a few blocks .. it was fun!! but i dont think ill be doing it anytime soon, i dont think ill be doing very much of anything soon, i got hit today and im pretty shaken up. (im fine and my bike is fine, im just pissed that people are so stupid..i could press charges and would certainly win, but i dont have any hospital bills so i dont think ill bother)

I had a really dumb accident once attempting a draft, I spotted a city bus at a light just as it turned green and it was making a left turn so I gunned it it to catch up.. problem is I went too fast to catch up and I knew I was gonna hit the back of the bus as it was pulling away just finishing the turn, and I was still kinda in the turn also so I thought braking would be a bad idea due to the speed I was going and feared skidding and wiping, so I bailed out turning right slightly which meant I'd have to make a left right after again to avoid slamming into the curb.. nope didnt make it, totally trashed my front wheel and had to do the walk of shame home for over an hour with the bike on the shoulder.. at least I was riding my winter beater.

Had a much more succesful drafts before that incident and after, its a lot of fun, I just wouldnt recommend starting one on a sharp turn!

Glad you're ok.

Drafting behind a vehicle is like having sex with a fat girl...... It's great fun but don't brag about it to your buddies!!!!!

If you cracked your helmet or have a headache now, get checked out or have someone keep an eye on you if you go to sleep or nap. Also stay away from aspirin and hit the ibuprofen to reduce swelling just in case of some mild intercranial bleeding.

I had a friend take a hard fall with no bleeding or lack of consciousness. The next day he couldn't smell much. Within a week, his very keen sense of smell was a memory. It never came back.

My lunch box is bigger than that car!!

Nice big flatbeds with no load on them are great, the base is bent up enough so that it's at eye level, and you can see a good 15 feet of ground inf front of you. That said, 15 feet goes by pretty fast when you're going 30mph.