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Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Short commute today, so I barely had time to get cold. The headwind is fierce going away from downtown on Elston. Saw one guy heading in using it to his advantage.

Days like today when I see this I guy I want to tell him to bite me, wasn't so bad other than that on a couple spots on the body it hurt.

A few years older and a few years colder.  Haven't been on the bike for four weeks.  Looking at the extended forecast, will probably be at least two more weeks.  I am done with this Winter!

in it to win it 8.0 mi said:

Actually, yes.
However, 3.8 was my cold day last year. I'm not sure what my cut-off temp would be.

Ace Mann said:
You call this cold.

The headwind was full of gusto this morning.  I had help dealing with it because there was a dude in front of me and I wanted to keep up with him so I pushed harder than normal.  I didn't pass him but I kept up.  thanks dude.  Funny how thin the line is between comradery and competition.  enjoy the cold while it lasts.  pretty soon we'll be sweating in 95 degrees of suffocating humidity.

Drafting behing the guy in front of you helps in high winds. Still on the fence whether it's a dick move or not, though. As long as you don't ride too close.

Robert Underwood said:

The headwind was full of gusto this morning.  I had help dealing with it because there was a dude in front of me and I wanted to keep up with him so I pushed harder than normal.  I didn't pass him but I kept up.  thanks dude.  Funny how thin the line is between comradery and competition.  enjoy the cold while it lasts.  pretty soon we'll be sweating in 95 degrees of suffocating humidity.

You should at the very least say hi and let the person know you're behind them for their safety and yours.  Also, trading off positions so you aren't mooching off of them the entire way would be good.

Adam Herstein said:

Drafting behing the guy in front of you helps in high winds. Still on the fence whether it's a dick move or not, though. As long as you don't ride too close.

Robert Underwood said:

The headwind was full of gusto this morning.  I had help dealing with it because there was a dude in front of me and I wanted to keep up with him so I pushed harder than normal.  I didn't pass him but I kept up.  thanks dude.  Funny how thin the line is between comradery and competition.  enjoy the cold while it lasts.  pretty soon we'll be sweating in 95 degrees of suffocating humidity.

I wasn't that close. I just meant he gave me motivation to go faster than normal.  I stayed about five feet behind or more.  So, it wasn't really competition... but it could have been.  and it has in the past.  like when I pass you, then you pass me... then i kick your front wheel, then you tackle me under a bus... you know.

I'm not a club rider, I've never drafted someone else, and I don't know the first thing about how properly to do it. So when people get up on my back wheel, it makes me extremely nervous - just don't. It's not okay if the guy thanks me (and it's always men), it's not okay if they offer to switch after drafting for a while - if they don't know me, they should ask permission first, and respect that maybe I don't know how safe my style of riding is for whoever's riding that close behind me. 

Whenever I'm being drafted, I slow down until they give up and go around. Drafting an inexperienced rider  without asking puts that rider at risk without their consent, so it's a total dick move, in my view. Drafters (that I don't know or acknowledge in advance) should do their own damn work - it won't kill them.

Adam Herstein said:

Drafting behing the guy in front of you helps in high winds. Still on the fence whether it's a dick move or not, though. As long as you don't ride too close.

Robert Underwood said:

The headwind was full of gusto this morning.  I had help dealing with it because there was a dude in front of me and I wanted to keep up with him so I pushed harder than normal.  I didn't pass him but I kept up.  thanks dude.  Funny how thin the line is between comradery and competition.  enjoy the cold while it lasts.  pretty soon we'll be sweating in 95 degrees of suffocating humidity.

At what distance are you drafting? Or perhaps it would be better to ask, what distance is it polite to leave between you? I always wonder about this when I end up behind somebody slower than me (a very rare occurrence, to be sure) but can't pass for a while due to traffic/road conditions. I try to leave a couple bike-lengths but I don't know whether that's enough.

Ahhh, the unexpected advantage of being the slowest rider on the lakefront trail is that no one drafts behind me.

I think that, if you can stop safely in the event that the rider ahead stops suddenly, you're good, even if you're close enough to get some kind of wind resistance advantage. 

I know what you mean - sometimes on the south LFP this winter, I find myself following people for a mile or two because there's no safe way to pass (plowed path isn't wide enough, can't see oncoming traffic, not sure if you're almost on top of an ice patch). I have to go way slower than I'm used to in order to maintain a respectful distance, so I'm often anxious that I'm irritating someone unintentionally.

Eli said:

At what distance are you drafting? Or perhaps it would be better to ask, what distance is it polite to leave between you? I always wonder about this when I end up behind somebody slower than me (a very rare occurrence, to be sure) but can't pass for a while due to traffic/road conditions. I try to leave a couple bike-lengths but I don't know whether that's enough.

Heads up, immediately West of Ashland on Augusta 90% of the lane is covered in ice. It appears a pipe busted, maybe? It will be hard to see at night.

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