Wheel Suckers

If I don't want someone on my wheel, I tell them to pass me. If they don't, then I start riding really close to the edge of the road, I miss potholes by milimeters, and I spit a lot. They can't just get in your draft without asking and expect team paceline etiquette.

Exactly! As I said, I'm on my way to work, not riding with my group. If they can't work together to cut through the wind, why use swomeone else to cut it for them?????

snyper0311 said:

It's always the same group of about six or seven guys all trying to ride the 12 mile FLAT loop as fast as possible. What the Hell is their problem??????????????????????????????????? 😠 😠 😠

Maybe they're training for a crit? 😉

Probably just a pack of [censored] though. Tell them to get lost if they can't stop screwing up your ride.

I find blowing snot rockets gets them off my tail 😄

snyper0311 said:

My problem with these guys was that as we were going down the road, I got a flat on my front tire, causing me to struggle to maintain control of the bike. All of a sudden, the whole group started freaking out and yelling at me for almost causing a crash. No one went down and as soon as I could, I motioned to them that I was pulling off to fix the flat.

Haven't they seen someone have mechanical trouble in front of them? The don't sound very experienced.

If you hadn't had the flat, I would of peeled off and gone to the back of them.

start with the customary escalation of possible tactics and strategies.
the first is the flick of an elbow and a slight move to the windward side, accomanied by about a .5 mph reduction in speed.
the second, release the bar on that side and give movement to indicate a pull through.
thirdly, grab the bar tops and stop pedaling, sit up straight, they should be going 'round about now, so don't play it up too much if you want to jump on.

of course, you could always exploit the impression of being blown, chug a swill of fruit punch cytomax and expel to simulate vomitng, with death rattle sound effect.
heave your shoulders and spasm 'round whilst pushing down on one knee. looks all the world as if you are a last gapser.

then there is the loudmouth ploy, turn back and yell, "dont' even think about it" in guttural monosyllabic utterance, preferably whilst spraying some of the afforementioned cyto max.

should there be any mention of, or actual contact of wheel, bike, or even body, snarl with sincere conviction, "do that again and i'll take us both down".
if the last measure seems outside your comfort level, know it can also be an effective statement if whispered directly into offending rider's ear so as to not have the bunch privy to this ultimatum.

you wanna play, go ahead, name your game, i'm up for anything, what you wanna play, let's go...
better go, i'm getting carried away here.

snyper0311 said:

Today on my commute to work, I had a group of riders fall in behind me. Usually, I don't mind but these guys were ALL jerks.

To start off the story, let me paint a picture of my commute. I do a 30 mile- one way trip, to and from work every weekday. 12 of those miles are through a state park with flat roads. I've seen these guys riding before and never have paid much attention to them. For some reason, today, they decided to fall in behind me (There was a terrible headwind through the park and I think they were using me to break the wind). problem??????????????????????????????????? 😠 😠 😠

snyper0311 said:

Today on my commute to work, I had a group of riders fall in behind me. Usually, I don't mind but these guys were ALL jerks.

They were on beach cruisers weren't they? I hope so since they are trying to ride as fast as possible and they get dropped by a guy who repaired a flat after falling off himself, then bridged up and passed them while commuting to work. Probably from the same gang of kamikaze yahoos Cast was having problems with.

Nah seriously, they are just [censored]. Don't let it bug you too much, the world is full of them.

They might as well have been on beach cruisers. The funny thing is that they all have pretty nice bikes.

I think that they are a group of office desk jockies that do the same loop through the state park over and over to justify their manlyhood. When they are done, they load up thir bikes in their Range Rovers and drive all over with their bike on top like a trophy.

I've always been passive with "cyclists". The way I see it, some riding is better than no riding. But after yesterday, I beginning to wonder if there are diffferent levels of cyclists (not groups or catagories, but types). Can we/I say that I am more of a cyclist than another? Am I starting to get "snobby" over one bad incident with a group of jerks?

DiabloScott said:

If I don't want someone on my wheel, I tell them to pass me. If they don't, then I start riding really close to the edge of the road, I miss potholes by milimeters, and I spit a lot. They can't just get in your draft without asking and expect team paceline etiquette.

It's not unknown for me to simply slow down to a crawl. If they want to hang on my wheel and I need a breather they'll have to do it at walking pace. 🙂

I just noticed this string....

My feeling is that it's a free road, and they can ride wherever they want. If they aren't obstructing you and creating a hazard, why do you care if they are behind you or not?

If you didn't like them there, slow down and let them pass, or speed up and drop them - if you can.

snyper0311 said:

Today on my commute to work, I had a group of riders fall in behind me. Usually, I don't mind but these guys were ALL jerks.

Throw out a smoke screen or oil slick....

You really need to check out the new Aston Martin bikes. Bleeding edge technology.

-007

I have hills here and if you can't ride a 22% grade then stay home.Not too much trouble with drafters here.

tell you what...i had a few beers last night with some a curry....if i need to rid an unwelcome visitor on my wheel i just open my [censored] valve for a puff of biker repellant...

Yojimbo_ said:

I just noticed this string....

My feeling is that it's a free road, and they can ride wherever they want. If they aren't obstructing you and creating a hazard, why do you care if they are behind you or not?

If you didn't like them there, slow down and let them pass, or speed up and drop them - if you can.

I care because they were behind me on a commute to work, not on a training ride. I didn't ask them to pull in, they felt like they had the right to draft off me. Also, I flatted and they [censored] about it.

Since this whole thing happened, I've seen them on the road. The other day, I blew by them again and they tried to pull in again. Rather than complain about it, I picked up the pace until they broke (funny thing is that as soon as they couldn't see me anymore, I cracked like a Humpty Dumpty). That same day, I was approached by one of them at the local bike shop. He asked if I trained every day at the park. I told him that it was pat of my local commute to work. He asked if I would be interested in riding with his group during the lunch hour and if I would be interested in pacing their daily rides. I told the guy that I would think about it. My problem is that I still have a bitter taste about the whole first incident with these guys. I'm not the fastest guy, just faster than them.

MountainPro said:

tell you what...i had a few beers last night with some a curry....if i need to rid an unwelcome visitor on my wheel i just open my [censored] valve for a puff of biker repellant...

I'm Mexican, so I know how to brew some potant stuff. I think they have built up a tollerance for "biker repellant" because when I let go, they just breathed deeper.

snyper0311 said:

I care because they were behind me on a commute to work, not on a training ride. I didn't ask them to pull in, they felt like they had the right to draft off me. Also, I flatted and they [censored] about it.

Since this whole thing happened, I've seen them on the road. The other day, I blew by them again and they tried to pull in again. Rather than complain about it, I picked up the pace until they broke (funny thing is that as soon as they couldn't see me anymore, I cracked like a Humpty Dumpty). That same day, I was approached by one of them at the local bike shop. He asked if I trained every day at the park. I told him that it was pat of my local commute to work. He asked if I would be interested in riding with his group during the lunch hour and if I would be interested in pacing their daily rides. I told the guy that I would think about it. My problem is that I still have a bitter taste about the whole first incident with these guys. I'm not the fastest guy, just faster than them.

Great posts......
It sounds like there was just a lack of cycling etiquette knowledge. The guy wouldn't have approached you and asked you to join their ride if they were jerks. Give it a shot, and on the first ride casually mention that you thought their wheelsucking, overreaction and subsequent lack of attention (when you flatted) was weak - perhaps your discussion can educate a few more cyclists and pass on some knowledge making the roads safer. Plus after a ride, you'll know if their [censored] or not.