Missed connection

[creadinger]

Dear white trash mini-van driver,

SANFORD STREET IN DEL RAY IS 2 WAYS! Do not, in your ghetto-ass 1990s shit-mobile, drive straight at me because you can’t figure which side of the goddamn road to drive on!

I’ve had a lot of close calls in the past few years but this one was one of the scariest… well after my heart-rate dropped back down to a reasonable level I almost wished you had clipped me and stopped because I think stomping on your neck would have made me feel better.

[SarahBee]

@bentbike33 198015 wrote:

I see your problem: 2 opposing bureaucracies each with (barely) plausible deniability. I think your only solution involves studded tires and aggressive acceleration and braking until a singletrack is worn in the polished surface.

Grossly Short of Average

[SarahBee]

@bentbike33 198015 wrote:

I see your problem: 2 opposing bureaucracies each with (barely) plausible deniability. I think your only solution involves studded tires and aggressive acceleration and braking until a singletrack is worn in the polished surface.

Not Often Applied Analytics?

[SarahBee]

@creadinger 198848 wrote:

Dear white trash mini-van driver,

SANFORD STREET IN DEL RAY IS 2 WAYS! Do not, in your ghetto-ass 1990s shit-mobile, drive straight at me because you can’t figure which side of the goddamn road to drive on!

I’ve had a lot of close calls in the past few years but this one was one of the scariest… well after my heart-rate dropped back down to a reasonable level I almost wished you had clipped me and stopped because I think stomping on your neck would have made me feel better.

Must have been a British redneck in a 90s mini van. Glad no neck stomping was required!

[Drewdane]

Pet Peeve #8,092: Ninja drafters. Please. Just don’t. Save it for the Sunday group ride.

Pet Peeve #8,093: Ninja drafters who don’t call their pass once they’ve decided I no longer serve a purpose.

[Hancockbs]

@Drewdane 199293 wrote:

Pet Peeve #8,092: Ninja drafters. Please. Just don’t. Save it for the Sunday group ride.

Pet Peeve #8,093: Ninja drafters who don’t call their pass once they’ve decided I no longer serve a purpose.

Wasn’t me as I haven’t ridden yet today and I almost always call my pass, but there are times that I very slowly catch a rider in front of me and just don’t have enough of a speed advantage to cleanly pass them and move ahead, so I do end up drafting sometimes. What would you prefer me to do in that case?

[Drewdane]

@Hancockbs 199389 wrote:

Wasn’t me as I haven’t ridden yet today and I almost always call my pass, but there are times that I very slowly catch a rider in front of me and just don’t have enough of a speed advantage to cleanly pass them and move ahead, so I do end up drafting sometimes. What would you prefer me to do in that case?

That’s different, and understandable (though I would ask that you drop back 2-3 feet and maintain a civilized distance). This guy rode my wheel for a good mile or so; he had plenty of opportunity to pass.

[Steve O]

@Hancockbs 199389 wrote:

Wasn’t me as I haven’t ridden yet today and I almost always call my pass, but there are times that I very slowly catch a rider in front of me and just don’t have enough of a speed advantage to cleanly pass them and move ahead, so I do end up drafting sometimes. What would you prefer me to do in that case?

You can say “Good morning” or the like, and “Mind if I draft for a minute?”

[creadinger]

@Steve O 199397 wrote:

You can say “Good morning” or the like, and “Mind if I draft for a minute?”

And what will you do when my answer is a resounding “NO”?

How about just don’t draft? 1-2 bike lengths back should be enough if you need to hang out, but other than that man/woman up to fight the headwind (if there is one) yourself.

[huskerdont]

I’ve been pulling off the trail lately when I get a drafter. Bonus was extra distance during Freezing Saddles.

[ChristoB50]

I’m usually tickled when I get drafted on my ebike. (While I rarely sustain speeds above ~17mph on flats such as Hains Point, that is enough for some to draft behind me to catch a break for a bit, I reckon.)
When they do decide to pass (mostly uncalled) and I see they’re a rider in full logo’d racing lycra kit, aero-tucked and racing off ahead, I’m tickled knowing they’ve “made use of an ebike” for their direct cycling benefit, after all — as the (small handful of) riders to ever be verbally nasty to me about being on an ebike, have universally been members of that same general demographic, unfortunately.
That said, when someone is truly drafting right up on my wheel, in what quickly feels an inconsiderate closeness, I take a bit of perverse delight in very gradually slowing down.

[baiskeli]

You picked the wrong guy today.

Me passing a pedestrian on a sidewalk.

Pedestrian: (politely moves over, but then tells me) “Bikes aren’t allowed on sidewalks.”

Me: “Yes, they are. I’ve been riding a bike for many years and I know the law.”

Pedestrian: “No they aren’t.”

Me (having waited for this moment for years): “I carry a copy of the relevant laws with me, would you like me to read it to you?”

Pedestrian: “No bikes on sidewalks.”

Me (pulls out handy sheet of paper, reads relevant state law with citation)

Pedestrian (can’t bear to admit he’s wrong): “Nope.”

Me (rides away into the sunset)

[Steve O]

@creadinger 199492 wrote:

And what will you do when my answer is a resounding “NO”?

I will respectfully back off.

@creadinger 199492 wrote:

How about just don’t draft? 1-2 bike lengths back should be enough if you need to hang out, but other than that man/woman up to fight the headwind (if there is one) yourself.

If someone says a friendly hello to me and politely asks if he may draft, I would be inclined to say yes, so I won’t assume that everyone has the same reaction as you.
Besides, I get a 3% bonus if someone is drafting me; win-win.

[Fast Friendly Guy]

I’ve been thinking about drafting etiquette, in general, and in the time of COVID19. It seems to me that the drafter is the one at risk not the draftee. A drafter is somewhat close and in line for inhaled fluids/germs from the rider in front. I can’t see where the reverse is true. Even a drafter’s snot rocket can’t fly against the wind to endanger the rider in front. There may be good reasons to discourage someone from drafting you, but I don’t think fear of contagion is one.

[creadinger]

@Fast Friendly Guy 199537 wrote:

I’ve been thinking about drafting etiquette, in general, and in the time of COVID19. It seems to me that the drafter is the one at risk not the draftee. A drafter is somewhat close and in line for inhaled fluids/germs from the rider in front. I can’t see where the reverse is true. Even a drafter’s snot rocket can’t fly against the wind to endanger the rider in front. There may be good reasons to discourage someone from drafting you, but I don’t think fear of contagion is one.

I agree with this analysis… and any drafter should be aware of how snotty I can be. Especially in cold weather. I have a lot of snot.

However this is not the reason why I hate drafters.

[Author]

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