By Fred Matheny of
www.RoadBikeRider.com
Solo rides are a great part of
the cycling experience. Nothing beats cruising along and looking at the scenery,
or attacking a climb at your own pace and intensity.
But riding with a small group
can be even more fun. You cover ground faster, meet people, and experience the
thrill of shared effort.
Paceline riding isn’t difficult
to learn. Here are the basic skills:
Start by learning to
ride like you’re on a rail. Practice by holding your line during solo rides. Put
your wheel on the road’s white edge line and keep it there. Relax your upper
body, keep a light grip on the handlebar, and fix your peripheral vision on the
line. Keep your actual focus 20 or 30 feet in front of the bike. Remember, the
bike will go where your eyes go.
Drafting another rider saves you at least 15 percent in energy output. It’s foolish to be bucking the wind all the time when you’re with other riders. Share the work by drafting them and letting them draft you.
Position your front
wheel 1 to 3 feet behind the rear wheel you’re following. The closer the better,
in terms of the draft, but closer also requires a lot more attention. When
necessary, turn the cranks without putting pressure on the pedals (“soft pedal”)
to maintain correct spacing.
Use the brakes sparingly. Jerky
braking creates chain reaction problems for riders behind you. If you need to
brake, feather the levers lightly instead of clutching at them.
If a gap opens, don’t make
things worse by accelerating too hard, overrunning the wheel in front, then
grabbing the brakes. Instead, ease back up to the rider in front. If you don’t
become proficient at following a wheel, you can waste more energy than you save
by constant yo-yoing.
Look past the rider directly in
front. Don’t stare down at his rear wheel or you won’t see things that may cause
him to brake or swerve.
First rule: Be predictable.
Close riding demands that everyone be on the same wavelength. There must be a
basic understanding of what is and is not expected behavior in a given
circumstance. Experience helps.
Don’t accelerate when it’s your
turn at the front. Note your cyclecomputer’s mph and maintain the group’s speed
when the lead rider pulls off.
After your own bout against the
wind, pull off to the side agreed upon and stay close to the others as you soft
pedal and slide back to the rear of the paceline. This enhances the drafting
effect for the whole group. It also keeps everyone as far out of the traffic
flow as possible, making paceline riding possible even on busier roads.
As you come abreast of the last
rider in the line, pick up speed and then slide over behind his wheel as he
comes past. When done correctly you won’t need an energy-wasting acceleration in
order to latch back on. Once in the caboose position you can take a drink or
stand to stretch without disrupting the paceline’s smoothness.
Protect your front wheel. If your rear wheel is struck a fall is unlikely because it has nothing to do with steering the bike. However, if your front wheel is contacted it will often be twisted off line faster than you can react. You’ll almost certainly go down. Help prevent this by never overlapping someone’s rear wheel.
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