Tour Of the Scioto River Valley

RAIN Ride Across Indiana? It doesn't Google very easily.

+1

Worse kind of wheel sucker is the guy in the aero bars that rides your wheel, decides to pass you, then slows down.

I thought of this thread the other day going through a nice roller section when, afterwards, a guy thanked us for the draft. I told him "No problem, anytime." but secretly I never even realized he was back there. I just don't look back.

I guess I'm trying to say- You need to worry less.

Just yesterday we'd finished a gentle uphill section and were rolling along at a nice, easy 18 mph and I heard a voice -- and felt something.
A guy (riding a nice S-Works) had grabbed a hold of the stoker's saddle and was (jokingly) saying "Thanks for the pull -- that hill kinda took it out of me."
I said "No problem, we're here to help."
He laughed, let go, and sprinted away saying "Thanks!"

About 15 minutes later he passed us again saying "I think I know how this one ends -- I read Aesop's Fables when I was a kid."
He'd stopped to use the restroom and was just playing with us.

You meet the nicest people on two wheels....

The only time that I have a problem with being drafted, is when it is a recumbant. Very difficult to see in my helmet mirror. If the guys are drafting because they are tired and the pace is a bit much for them, I don't care, but if they are obnoxious about it...that is only draft on the flats and desert us on the climbs, or when close to the finish and they know the way or don't care anymore, then I move over and remind them that it is their turn the next time they pull up to us. Unless we are doing a formal paceline, I don't worry about riding like a machine. If someone takes it upon himself to latch on to my wheel, it is his responsibility to avoid me. I have never seen the front guy go down!
Way back in the day, I was doing a one way century on my single with my club and there was a blustery headwind all the way. My buddies on the tandem were in the lead and Mr Macho, the captain, insisted that he would pull everyone home. The town of Montauk, NY was at about 90 miles and the last 10 consisted of an out and back to Montauk Point...a boring and desolate road! Being seasoned old riders, the mileage wasn't all that important to most of us, but myself and one other guy thought that we would like to continue. Mr Captain said, I don't think I'll join you because Mrs. Stoker is TIRED! She did not appreciate being his excuse and didn't talk to him for the rest of the day!

Generally speaking, we don't ride in big enough groups to attract drafters in any significant fashion. But, we have had some strange drafting encounters, including having people draft us several times when we were on the tandem pulling a Burley child trailer (seriously? how tired do you have to be to draft a tandem pulling a baby trailer?). We also once had an inline skater draft us for several miles on a paved bike path; the dude was amazing.

The only time we don't like wheelsuckers is if we have an organized, rotating tandem paceline. Then we have a buddy on a single that just sits back there fending off "unknowns" and allows teams to rotate to the back of the tandem line. Amazing how some blokes (the "unknowns") just don't get it.