If you were truly an experienced rider you would know that riding into a headwind at any kind of speed makes it very, very difficult to hear anyone behind you. An extra shift might give it away, or maybe not. My bike has a dead quiet shift.

As for being nice to people I think it starts with the rider behind demonstrating common courtesy and saying hello before putting both riders at risk. Some, so informed, may not be willing to take that risk and should be given the opportunity to say so.






Oh, and hehehehe, you said 'duty'.

Bob, just let it go. Some people will never learn how to behave around others.

Somebody riding my wheel does not bother me in the least.

well then, might I suggest that you just move aside and stick an elbow into them and run them into a ditch? That ought to teach them some manners eh! And, it might even gain you a new customer Bob...ya think?

Or, you could have ridden next to them for a minute, introduced yourself, and had a POLITE chat where they might have learned something...and you might ACTUALLY have made a new customer Bob.

Your choice boys.

The troll is weak with you.

...and your sock puppet...

No thank you.

Didn't the moose tell ya? We're closed.

If you're cycling 6 inches behind me, I'd better know you really well. As I said before ... creepy. And of course, dangerous.

You can ask the mods to check the IP addresses. I don't have any sock puppets. [MENTION=4588]Machka[/MENTION], not to worry, as you remarked, why draft someone moving slowly.

And yet ... it happens.

Kind of reminds me of a line from an old "Kinks" tune; "Paranoia Will Destroy Ya".

You missed the whole point the OP was trying to make. He was doing a Zone 2 ride, which means he was going relatively slow to keep HR and power down. He suddenly realized someone latched on his wheel and didn't know how long they were there. If he had hit the brakes to avoid a squirrel or another object without knowing they were there, they'd likely both go down. You are poorly mistaken to think its only the rider in the back that goes down. Maybe when they tag your wheel, but not when you brake and they run into you.

This could have easily been avoided if the rider behind would have announced himself and the OP probably would have been fine with him staying there. This changes the dynamics of the ride. If the OP didn't want him there he could have sat up/slowed down, but since he was in stealth mode, he didn't realize he was there. It happens. For those that don't understand the problem with the common courtesy of announcing for the sake of safety, I'd guess they've never tasted the pavement and dealt with the resulting injuries.

Whoosh.

And no, you're an arrogant, clueless twit who thinks you have the right to impose upon a rider by drafting unannounced.

And THEN you're even MORE arrogant, telling ME that I should "NGAF" about it.

Get over yourself.

You DON'T? You ride exactly the same when you know you're alone as you do with a rider right on your wheel?

I guess that means you point out obstacles, don't brake or shift suddenly, and announce when you're standing when you KNOW you're all alone?

Oh wait, you don't do that when you're alone?

Well, what the hell makes you think you have the right to impose that upon someone else? Because you're ego won't let you get dropped?

Are there REALLY many cyclists out there who are clueless or arrogant enough to think they actually have the right to impose the responsibilities of being the lead rider in a pace line upon someone they don't even know?

Wow. It's hard to believe humanity actually put themselves on the moon.

Corrected it for you.

The answer is yes.

I am not sure how anybody could be ok with someone riding up on them and sitting there unannounced. No matter how long you have been riding or how experienced you are there, so many things can go wrong so fast. Here are two somewhat similar scenarios that could easily happen to all of us.

1. Let's say you are riding on the MUP and someone comes up behind you unannounced. There is a stick/turtle/sinkhole/whatever in your path and you slow down/swerve to avoid it. At the same moment there is a rider approaching you from the other direction. Since you did not signal anything the rider behind you swerves to go around you and smashes into the oncoming rider. Or they smash into you because they saw the oncoming rider. Or they smash into you and cause you to swerve into the oncoming rider.

2. Let's say you are riding on the road and someone comes up behind you unannounced. There is a bumper/roadkill/pothole in your path and you swerve to avoid it. Now this person also swerves to avoid hitting you and at the same time a car is coming up from behind. Oh no! They were not giving you 3 feet. The stealth rider just got run over by a car. Or the car swerves to avoid him, over corrects and hits both of you. Or maybe you tap the brakes and swerve and they run into your back and push you into oncoming traffic.

All of these things are very real possibilities. If you don't think so or still think it's ok for you/someone else to stealth draft we will be looking for your "I got hit by a car" or "Someone drafted me unannounced and I wrecked" threads.

I have been riding in a serious manner for over 30 years and have never had an accident caused by someone riding my wheel. I don't know of anyone, personally, who has had a problem either. It is not something I can control, so I try not to worry about it.

You couldn't be more wrong. It's easy to control.

et·i·quette
ˈetikit,-ˌket/
noun
noun: etiquette; plural noun: etiquettes

• the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.
  
  
  
  

I am not willing to create a situation of increased aggression.

Neither am I. That's why I sit up until the drafter gets the clue. Or you could say "Sorry, I'm not comfortable with you drafting me."

And if that doesn't work?

Telling the person behind you to back off, or to go around, is not an aggressive action.

So?

That's hardly a reason to surreptitiously impose a huge safety-related responsibility on a stranger. Not only that, your statement is also logically the equivalent of saying "Well, I've never been hit by a car, so it's safe for a toddler to play in traffic." You've never had your arm cut off by a chain saw, either. Are chain saws therefore safe to juggle?