Missed connection

[SarahBee]

My rule of thumb it is always safer to draft someone you know who is predictable, knows you are there, and feels comfortable with you riding on their wheel. Drafting involves a lot of trust by both parties. Snot rockets are not the only hazard as I discovered from the taco challenge this FS season!

[Hancockbs]

@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.

Perhaps there is a definition issue. To me, 1 bike length back is still drafting, 2 bike lengths, not so much, but I do know some folks who consider following for any significant length of time at any visible distance to be “drafting.” As mentioned by someone else, riding any closer than 1 bike length to someone you don’t know and understand their habits is begging for a sudden slowdown or stop resulting in a problem.

[mstone]

@Hancockbs 199561 wrote:

Perhaps there is a definition issue. To me, 1 bike length back is still drafting

not drafting, just creepy close over a long distance

[zsionakides]

@Hancockbs 199561 wrote:

Perhaps there is a definition issue. To me, 1 bike length back is still drafting, 2 bike lengths, not so much, but I do know some folks who consider following for any significant length of time at any visible distance to be “drafting.” As mentioned by someone else, riding any closer than 1 bike length to someone you don’t know and understand their habits is begging for a sudden slowdown or stop resulting in a problem.

This. I had a women run into me from behind a couple years back on the MVT next to the airport, as she was following me close and I had to slow down quickly for a person walking slowly when there was on-coming traffic. She didn’t hit me too bad and one of the on-coming cyclists went down too as she spilled into the other lane. Fortunately everyone was ok and nobody’s bike was damaged, but that could easily have been worse.

[drevil]

When I’m riding on the road, unless I’m really tired or trying to get somewhere quickly, I’ll try to bunnyhop as much as I can: puddles, sticks, potholes, manhole covers, even snakes. I find this a totally effective way to minimize drafters

Snek Yomping by ricky d, on Flickr

[Starduster]

I trust the snake lived to hiss the tale?

[drevil]

@Starduster 199572 wrote:

I trust the snake lived to hiss the tale?

Abssssssssolutely!

[DrP]

Me: Biking south on the MVT just past the 14th street and railroad bridges.
You: a goose starting to run towards me head and neck down like protecting a mate, but there is no mate…
Me: “Oh Shiiiiii***”, grab brakes
You: continue running and becoming airborne across the trail, just where my bicycle would have been had I not grabbed my brakes
Me: Phew! and continue on my ride.
You: Joining all your goose buds flying over the river

[creadinger]

@DrP 199888 wrote:

Me: Biking south on the MVT just past the 14th street and railroad bridges.
You: a goose starting to run towards me head and neck down like protecting a mate, but there is no mate…
Me: “Oh Shiiiiii***”, grab brakes
You: continue running and becoming airborne across the trail, just where my bicycle would have been had I not grabbed my brakes
Me: Phew! and continue on my ride.
You: Joining all your goose buds flying over the river

I would have thought that Canada Goose Air Traffic Control would have been essential personnel, but maybe they’re teleworking from Roach’s Run these days.

[DrP]

@creadinger 199895 wrote:

I would have thought that Canada Goose Air Traffic Control would have been essential personnel, but maybe they’re teleworking from Roach’s Run these days.

I think for the early morning flights CGATC has just gotten a little lazy. So few non-avians to worry about and so many birds out there, they just let them take off without checking the area first assuming we will move (I know I do not want to be hit – they are pretty big and can fly at over 40mph! That will hurt!).

[DrP]

@DrP 199899 wrote:

I think for the early morning flights CGATC has just gotten a little lazy. So few non-avians to worry about and so many birds out there, they just let them take off without checking the area first assuming we will move (I know I do not want to be hit – they are pretty big and can fly at over 40mph! That will hurt!).

So DATC (Duck Air Traffic Control) is slipping too. Yesterday morning, three ducks were sitting in a big puddle near gravely point, not far from the trail. Another duck came in for a landing. All looked safe for me to keep biking on the trail since the landing path was parallel to the trail. That duck lands and the other three take off, two nearly into me – I had to duck for one duck and grab my brakes for the other. I am very surprised that no one got hit.

[creadinger]

@DrP 200215 wrote:

So DATC (Duck Air Traffic Control) is slipping too. Yesterday morning, three ducks were sitting in a big puddle near gravely point, not far from the trail. Another duck came in for a landing. All looked safe for me to keep biking on the trail since the landing path was parallel to the trail. That duck lands and the other three take off, two nearly into me – I had to duck for one duck and grab my brakes for the other. I am very surprised that no one got hit.

Tell me you yelled “Duck!” when you almost got hit by a duck but ducking was what saved you from that ducking duck! That’s like the absolute most perfect time to yell that word ever.

[DrP]

@creadinger 200297 wrote:

Tell me you yelled “Duck!” when you almost got hit by a duck but ducking was what saved you from that ducking duck! That’s like the absolute most perfect time to yell that word ever.

I did say something that sounded a lot like “Duck!” and might have been it. Let’s go with that, much better for family audiences than what I probably said. I definitely said things like “ducking duck!” afterwards. [And I was trying to figure out what it was that the other ducks didn’t like about the duck who landed in the puddle, which caused the other ducks to leave so suddenly. So “duck” was repeatedly stated. ]

[Starduster]

@DrP 199888 wrote:

Me: Biking south on the MVT just past the 14th street and railroad bridges.
You: a goose starting to run towards me head and neck down like protecting a mate, but there is no mate…
Me: “Oh Shiiiiii***”, grab brakes
You: continue running and becoming airborne across the trail, just where my bicycle would have been had I not grabbed my brakes
Me: Phew! and continue on my ride.
You: Joining all your goose buds flying over the river

Memo to self: Make note of that new runway we didn’t know about.

[Drewdane]

Me: guy whose property backs up against the WOD.

Also me: guy who has stopped using the WOD during the pandemic because it is not only more crowded than he has ever seen, but also because it has been overrun by sociopaths and idiots who clearly couldn’t GAF about even the most basic precepts of social distancing and mask use.

ALSO Also me: guy who has gained fresh understanding of why so many people seem to hate cyclists after observing (and nearly being killed by) recent cyclist behavior on said overcrowded WOD.

[Author]

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