Great drafting

Patrick Lamb said:

So if you live in a backwards area that allows construction equipment
to drive on the streets and roads, keep an eye out for a revved up
backhoe!

I find DHL and UPS trucks also give excellent draft. There's a nice
1-2% or so downgrade on my way home from work that often has these
trucks on it. They're good for a nice 30-35 mph pull for a mile or so.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant
A sysprog is faithful, one hundred percent"
- (Horton Hears an IPL, by Dr. CPU)

Dane Buson said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So if you live in a backwards area that allows construction equipment
to drive on the streets and roads, keep an eye out for a revved up
backhoe!

I find DHL and UPS trucks also give excellent draft. There's a nice
1-2% or so downgrade on my way home from work that often has these
trucks on it. They're good for a nice 30-35 mph pull for a mile or so.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant
A sysprog is faithful, one hundred percent"
- (Horton Hears an IPL, by Dr. CPU)

I'd just add that while motor pacing is fine (and fun) that it is
important to get eye contact and an OK nod from the driver. At 30 mph
these trucks can stop a lot faster than you can on your bike.

gds said:

At 30 mph
these trucks can stop a lot faster than you can on your bike.

No they can't. Reaction time is an issue but not stopping distance.

Best drafting ever: a roofing truck, thing must have been 15 feet high
and sat low to the ground ... I was coasting at 40mph.

On Tue, 22 May 2007 20:57:20 -0500, Patrick Lamb wrote:

) He was a bit slower than I

Quoted message said:

usually run that stretch, topping out at about 21-22 mph, but you
know, all the cars went around us without any horns, yelling, or
almost-lane-changes.

Strange that, don't you think?
</sarcasm>

On Tue, 22 May 2007 20:57:14 -0700, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So if you live in a backwards area that allows construction equipment
to drive on the streets and roads, keep an eye out for a revved up
backhoe!

I find DHL and UPS trucks also give excellent draft. There's a nice
1-2% or so downgrade on my way home from work that often has these
trucks on it. They're good for a nice 30-35 mph pull for a mile or so.

That's doing pretty good! I normally lose UPS trucks shortly after
the red light. Do you jump on as they pass you?

Pat

Email address works as is.

gds said:

Diablo Scott said:

gds said:

At 30 mph
these trucks can stop a lot faster than you can on your bike.

No they can't. Reaction time is an issue but not stopping distance.

Best drafting ever: a roofing truck, thing must have been 15 feet high
and sat low to the ground ... I was coasting at 40mph.

What is your point?
My point is that if you are drafting closely to a big truck at 30 mph
and they brake hard without warning you have a good chance of running
into it. Stopping involves both reaction time and stopping distance
once braking is activated. Parsing out how much of the issue is
reaction time vs. the physical act of stopping doesn't seem the
important issue.

Have you tried it? I (aka OP) was surprised how big the draft was
behind the 20 mph backhoe; even without the view over the bucket, I
wasn't terribly worried about a sudden stop, because I could hang in
the draft from a pretty fair distance back, leaving me with close to
the magical 2 second buffer.

Pat

Email address works as is.

me said:

On Tue, 22 May 2007 20:57:20 -0500, Patrick Lamb wrote:

) He was a bit slower than I

Quoted message said:

usually run that stretch, topping out at about 21-22 mph, but you
know, all the cars went around us without any horns, yelling, or
almost-lane-changes.

Strange that, don't you think?
</sarcasm>

VBG

Email address works as is.

My own "best draft" ever was behind an F-350 pickup truck towing a low
boy trailer loaded with a Bobcat tractor. From a dead stop, we hit 44
mph on the straight flat road before the pickup's driver waved for me
to *pass*. <g>
BTW, only a "backwards area" allows construction equipment on the
streets and roads? How do they get equipment from the yard to the site
in urbanized metro areas? ;-)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

gds said:

Dane Buson said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So if you live in a backwards area that allows construction equipment
to drive on the streets and roads, keep an eye out for a revved up
backhoe!

I find DHL and UPS trucks also give excellent draft. There's a nice
1-2% or so downgrade on my way home from work that often has these
trucks on it. They're good for a nice 30-35 mph pull for a mile or so.

I'd just add that while motor pacing is fine (and fun) that it is
important to get eye contact and an OK nod from the driver. At 30 mph
these trucks can stop a lot faster than you can on your bike.

This is a section without a lot of turns or intersections. I'm also
keeping to the side and not actually that close since they do have a
ridiculously large draft.

I'll admit, still probably not the best idea.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
A clean desk is a sign of an empty mind.

Patrick Lamb said:

On Tue, 22 May 2007 20:57:14 -0700, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So if you live in a backwards area that allows construction equipment
to drive on the streets and roads, keep an eye out for a revved up
backhoe!

I find DHL and UPS trucks also give excellent draft. There's a nice
1-2% or so downgrade on my way home from work that often has these
trucks on it. They're good for a nice 30-35 mph pull for a mile or so.

That's doing pretty good! I normally lose UPS trucks shortly after
the red light. Do you jump on as they pass you?

Actually, it's starting up from a stoplight with lots of waiting
traffic. So it's easy to accelerate at the same rate as the rest of the
traffic.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"Good generally conquers evil.
Unless, of course, good is stupid."

On Sat, 26 May 2007 16:24:52 -0700, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

This is a section without a lot of turns or intersections. I'm also
keeping to the side and not actually that close since they do have a
ridiculously large draft.

I'll admit, still probably not the best idea.

That's what I found about drafting chip-haulers along the
Trans-Canada Hwy. at 50 MPH. Just slip out into the airstream and
it's instant braking. Mostly it's just luffing along in top gear and
riding the brakes. It's so quiet back there that you can hear the air
move through the brake lines before the truck even slows.
--
zk