Slipstreaming

Slipstreaming is riding behind another moving object, usually a fellow rider, to save energy. It is a great technique to learn, allows pilots to maintain much faster, and allows groups that take turns to travel to an impressive average speed.

Paul Doherty explains: "The cyclist, as he moves through the air, produces a turbulent wake behind itself. Vortices ago. Vortices really make an area of low pressure behind the cyclist and a zone of wind that moves along with the rider. If you are a cyclist after a move and may the wind behind the front rider, you can get an advantage. The low pressure moves forward and that the eddies that pushing forward. "

How much energy Will Save?

Editors usually saves about a third of a corridor next to energy. If three or more riders are in single file, the horse gets easier the farther back. What is less known is that the pilot initiative, or pacemakers, saves about 5% of their effort to have someone behind him because of the way the air is closed from behind.

In the hills, however, you may have trouble keeping pace with not a single corridor passes mph faster. Training often separated in the hills and recombine at the top.

How do I need to be close?

The closer the project, the better the shadow of the wind. While theoretically there is a good barrier against wind several lengths back in cycling, even in crosswinds days of calm move around too long to find it unless you are near.

You should not try to project closer than is safe for the skill level of both you and your colleagues, but kept as close is safe and no further. Novices should stop about three feet, and good runners to take it at 12 to 18 inches. When I travel competitive with a group of experts roadies to the local cycling club, tend to maintain between 6 and 12 inches more flat, smooth pavement, and temporarily stretch out when cornering about two feet.

The distance to maintain is determined by how stable can be mounted. When riding in the front and looking far ahead, it is quite easy to make your course very stable. When used aerobars, walk with their heads hidden below, and watching someone from the rear wheel instead of well until the road is considerably more difficult to stay. The idea is to get as close as he can, without a chance to touch the wheels.

Touching Wheels

This is really bad news. If you're the one in front, everything that is a warning Thud deaf in the back tire and perhaps a short buzzing sound, and you probably safe. If you're behind, probably an accident. His front wheel will be carried out below faster than you can react. Try to avoid walking and with the wheels are side by side if you are about to touch the wheels, and slowly return to his position directly behind.

Pay attention

Paying attention to their environment is doubly important when slipstreaming. An error on their part can cause a large pileup, injuring many others. Lack of attention can let the gap grow between bikes (or lower), and you may end up spending a quarter mile Sprint at the top effort to return.

And also, you have to pay attention to over the rear wheel of the rider in front to notice signs of stopping, approaching the hills, traffic, a busy intersection, or on the other hand a gentle downhill, upshifting derailleur, the leader ankling largely or horseback from the saddle, all intents and purposes the speed and distance to be maintained.

Downhilling

When slipstreaming down a hill, probably have to pedal very little to keep training, in any case. Therefore, it is a good opportunity to relax, and when you apply only a little strength in his pedals, shift into a higher gear. However, it is only a bit of force to apply, and you waste less energy moves around his leg mass.

Winds Cruz

If the wind comes from one side, the region of low pressure moves to the other side and you have to adjust your riding position accordingly. The echlon training, or a diagonal paceline, it is better for crosswinds, but its size is limited by the width of the road. When the driver drives tyres, brakes and moves behind the other runners until the end of the paceline.

Also, it is tempting to get too close to someone when riding diagonally behind them, with its front wheel almost touching its rear axle. Given the increased importance of that dodge slowdown in pack riding, it's good to leave at least as much room on either side as it does to mount directly behind.

Drafting in Mountain Biking

Given the erratic turns, rises and sudden changes of speed paths, the minimum distance is too sensible to be very useful for aerodynamics. U.S. cross-country champion Ruthie Matthes and adds: "In mountain biking, not the wording tends to be a factor. speeds are slower (than in road bikes) and rolling resistance is higher. Help for the project the mental aspect, to keep pace with someone ahead of you. But as far as using less energy, is not really a big factor. "

Slipstreaming motor vehicles

While cars and buses are very efficient wind blocks, keep in mind that cars have better brakes you do. While it is rare for a driver to fully implement the brakes, if you're behind him, it is difficult to anticipate when they a. If they do, expect a nasty spill, and faster than a bicycle can normally cruise.

Some travel in the slipstream of school buses, which works best with cars if you know the route, as buses can not stop as quickly. Listen to the sound of the engine at idle cutoff, which would be a good time to reverse. But do not try it on roads with lights or stop frequent crossings!

Strategies for Riding in Groups

There is no more effective way to become a motivated cyclist than finding a good regular group ride. Here are some group riding techniques common around the world.

• Pacelines, Pacelines, Pacelines. Single or double, turning quickly or slowly, but always smooth and firm. This is the only common characteristic generally each group of experienced tour.
• Accelerate slowly and with an eye to keep the group together. The attacks, jumps, short and hard strip of other races-like ride can be fine for some small rides, but have no place in a group-oriented trip. I am often surprised that novice riders sometimes seems that this kind of aggressive riding is better training of a good rotation paceline.
• A consistent rhythm is the key. Try to establish a rhythm of pedaling before reaching the front and keep it until just after pulling away. If you're feeling particularly strong acceleration and / or taking a long pull, but if it does increase the pace gradually do so. Do not forget to pedal harder to offset declines in the extra drag.
• Go hard in the mountains (and elsewhere) but do not forget to regroup. This does not mean waiting for every last straggler but always make a reasonable effort to regroup after sections more difficult.
• Wheelsitters are always welcome, but please stay in the back. Nothing is more damaging than someone who turns in front only to slow down to beat the wind. If you want to extend, tired or otherwise not inclined to pull through no problem with seats in the rear, just let the racers know when they are rotating has reached the back of the rotation of the section.
• Do not open gaps! If you are behind a gap close slowly. An expert group will remain in a tight paceline through 95% with an average trip including stops, corners, short climbs, descents, and trafficking by closing the inevitable gaps before it becomes a problem.
• Do not bring every pothole, motor vehicles, or other obstacle. Each rider has to take responsibility for themselves. This means that everyone should pay attention to traffic and road, even in the rear. The frontmost riders should note the unusual risks of course, and directing the group gradually around glass, potholes, slower riders and such but do not assume every time they can leave the other runners to watch the path that lies front.
• The lead runners are more responsible for the conduct of the group and must take this into account stop signs and lights.
• Do not accelerate through a yellow light unless you know the back of the group can do well. If the group was split makes the slow walk to the rear group has recaptured. If you're in the back please do not go at the intersection just to maintain contact unless it is clear that traffic is waiting for the entire group to move.
• Do not allow the elitist attitudes. Perhaps the best thing about good group rides in addition to training, is socialization. Team affiliation, racing experience, the use of helmet, the kind of bicycle, etc. are all matters of individual preference and should be left as such. While the rider is safe and able to live up to be welcome.
• Experienced pilots must point out the mistakes. This must be done through diplomatic channels, of course, but it is important to make people aware of unsafe riding, hard braking, cutting blind corners, unnecessarily obstructing traffic, etc.
• It is also useful to meet at a popular central location. Cafes, squares, shops and cycling are all good places to wait before speaking and the journey begins.

Looking Behind when Cycling in Traffic

Do not do it

Some riders beginners road constantly looking behind them, or fixate on their rearview mirrors, as if Interpol is expected to persecute them. This comes at the expense of what you're looking ahead, and usually derives from falsehood that General Motors owns the highway and a simple bicycle can only invade if it is immersed in the shoulder when a car passing approaches. A better idea: Buy an LED Blinker, and not sweat. A better tactic would be to spend all that effort in mounting on a predictable cars can move more easily. Is

Moreover, keep track of what is happening on the road. If you hear an engine, take a quick look back and see if it is true pimply pull in a Camero or 18-wheel traction an ICBM. Looking back also enables advance the driver knows you know it, and makes it more likely to treat you as a human being, you need a little breathing space, rather than some roads obstacle to graze freely. Looking backwards to keep other road users when passing is unsafe. If the road is windy or there is a hill, take a quick look to see if you need to reclaim their lane until the dashed line reappears. You can not take possession of his lane to avoid being squeezed off the road unless you know if something is behind you. In addition, it is relaxing to know that you have the whole stretch of road yourself.

Do not Turn!

When most riders crane their heads to look behind them, furrows his bike in the right direction to do. Some of the best cyclists in the region have caused pileups in walks leave because their bicycles to turn back when glance, and it's easy to drift right in traffic if you take a good hard look at something.

The solution is to drop his left hand from the bars if you look over his left shoulder. In general, just be aware of what will happen when they turn their heads, and make the hearing as quickly as possible. Practice

A great exercise is to have a friend walk behind you while you look back and try to count the number of fingers that remains. This is great for developing the capacity very quickly to say exactly what is behind you. Clocking practice speed of the cars behind you as quickly and accurately as possible, then look again to see if they were right. Learn to pay attention to detail, and use this knowledge once they have them.

Mirrors

While a mirror rierviow not save you look behind, is a great reduction in the frequency of what is essentially an interruption in his horse and aerodynamics. However, it seems that is no substitute for looking back, because every mirror has blind spots, bicycle and mirrors have terrible.

Riding in Training

When I have a friend sucking his rear wheel, looking back every ten seconds to make sure that they have not fallen he is a real pain in the butt. A better solution is to use a mirror, or simply to communicate. If your pace is too fast to be sustainable and your friend is falling, people should say so rather than spend the next few hundred meters Sprint in silence to return out of the wind (which is what they do if they do not keep your eyes wide open to ). Spanish » English Translate Suggest a better translation

Traffic Survival Guide

Repeat after me: I am a car. I am a car.

Learn and obey traffic laws own jurisdictions around his home and workplace. Bicycles are generally regarded as vehicles, and cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists in most states. However, some traffic laws apply mainly to bicycles, and must be obeyed when applicable. Ride with traffic, and is expected to follow traffic rules. The riders who do reach their destination faster, and about five times safer, according to scientific studies accident, more corridors that make up their own rules.

Assuming the legality and predictable position on the road. At intersections, turn to the right lane position depending on how it happens. They often have to move away from its normal position near the right side of the road. If you're turning right, keep to the right, and if you're turning left, turning to the center of the road. If you go straight, go between right and the left-turning traffic. Meanwhile, signal its intention to other road users with his left hand, scanning the road behind you, and surpassing the performance of traffic.

Assume the position

When the road is wide enough to allow a car to pass comfortably in the middle of traffic, trying to assemble as close as practicable to the right side of the road as is safe and clear of debris. The only exception is when you consider the right lane too narrow to share with cars. In this case, having to go left instead of tires to track cars in this lane.

I used to follow the theory of Forester horseback in the center or to the right third of the runway. However, as soon as it receives the heavy traffic of vehicles enough to travel in groups of three or more, drivers often Honk and graze their handlebars. Being left in the third lane of all motorists seem to understand that you are in possession of within one lane of legal rights.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Stay alert at all times and watch the way to go to the special risks that can cause a fall bicycle. Beware of any loose or slippery surface: gravel, snow, ice, leaves, oil stains, wet lids, and cross marks. Take special care when crossing diagonally car or railway tracks, halting the lips, covered with steel mesh bridge, cracks in the road, and the big blows or potholes. Avoid travel in or over or around them slowly. Not all of a sudden turn, brake or accelerate. Be ready to put one foot down for balance.

Braking

Learn how to use the brakes and stop safely before riding his bicycle in traffic and the pavement slippery. No matter how careful you are, there is always the possibility of a sudden stop - to avoid an unexpected maneuver by another road or trail user to avoid a storm grate, or to prevent any incident or unexpected obstacle. In order to safely stop the brakes must work strongly and smoothly, and you need to know how to apply them properly.

The best method for quick, safe stop on dry pavement is to use both brakes in a period of three to one. In other words, apply three times more pressure to the front brake as you would apply to the rear brake. Practice braking in this manner while traveling slowly in an empty parking lot. You will notice that when you stop, most of his weight transfers to the front wheel of the bicycle. To compensate for a bit, try to change their weight behind to keep the rear wheel lifting off the ground.

The slippery pavement, reduce their speed and implement their rear brake slightly to avoid a skid. Where in the city from rain tires to wipe dry slightly applying the brakes in advance, long before you need to stop. Read more about the art of braking.

Darkness

Cycling in the dark requires special techniques. Choose the path that offers a reasonable amount of ambient light and activity. Keep your speed within the limits of its lights. By sharing the road with cars, see his shadow produced by cars coming from the rear. If the shadow moves to the right, the car is going to his left. Should only be contracted without displacing one side, then some redneck in a puppy-crusher is about to try to graze you, to get off the road quickly and let the car pass. Be sure to install a rear LED Blinker if mount after dusk, it also helps drivers to think of you as something different leaf debris.

Read all about riding at night, and see the current moon phase while they're at it.

Escaping traffic?

Take special care when riding in a bike lane or sidewalk. Sometimes a bike path can provide a pleasant alternative to a busy street or road, but are much more likely to send a rider to the hospital. Bicycle lanes are not designed for high-speed traffic on a bicycle, and they can get full of roller skaters, dog walkers, negligent and inexperienced cyclists, pedestrians and unpredictable. Never pass another trail user unless you have their attention. Signs with a bell, a horn, or shout a friendly greeting when approaching a pedestrian from behind, and the signal with his left hand to do other maneuvers. Keep your speed down so you can stop suddenly in any situation.

Developing Cadence on the Road

Cadence is the speed of your pedaling, with a high cadence uses a large number of revolutions per minute. Similarly, a low cadence high gear used to be spun slowly.

The development of a soft pedal fast movement is a main objective of the first season novice and training. Beginners tend to pedal slowly, about 60 revolutions per minute, and while minimizing the cyclist's oxygen consumption, is inefficient in terms of consumption of glycogen, which is the real bottleneck. This slow, inefficient pedaling style is what mock experienced riders as the hallmark of a "push-push" rider. The lungs of a reasonably fit person to deliver more oxygen to the doors of their cells that can take and use.

Roadies pedal experienced by about 90-95 RPM, and use their art to maintain this cadence. When Sprint, one of the pedals and gears cadences of up to 120 RPM. This is less efficient, like riding out of the saddle, but gives the driver access to much more power. The benchmark of a great sprinter is being smoothly up to 180 RPM.

Be gentle with high cadence is the key. The use of fixed gear, bicycles or roller track for early season training is a widely recognized as an excellent idea, especially because develops a soft cadence. An author recommends balancing a book on her head while spinning rapidly on a stationary bicycle. Try warming with high cadences of 100 or more to get the blood flowing to the muscles and to improve its softness and technique.

At 120 rpm you'll find that the journey is very bumpy and choppy. This corresponds to the natural resonance frequency of the human body, if the pedal faster and get up to 135 rpm, is soft out completely.

The use of proper cadence will help avoid depletion of the big climbs. To learn more about the escalation of escalation see our page on the road

Better Road Cycling Climbing Technique

Gearing

Choose a dress that let you turn a minimum of 90 RPM. In a sprinter of the hill where a maximum power is needed, up to 120 RPM is a better bet. Choose your own pace, then regardless of exerting force is needed to keep spinning at this rate, if indeed there is downshifting. Shift before you need, both to avoid changing gears when there are enormous burdens on the drivetrain, and to avoid being caught at too high to step up a gear.

If overgear and let your cadence fall even slightly, you will end up at the bottom of a spiral of inefficiency with that out of the chair, push-push the bike ride in a crawl.

Choose your own pace

In a climb that long, the most common mistake is to choose an unsustainable rate. If you run out of gas halfway, just downshift and continue in the same cadence, but 15% slower. If you're already at its lowest level, grit your teeth and bully its way, keep your cadence to the point. His motion is lower chosen so that you can do this successfully.

If the hill is short, is a perfect opportunity to make up some time; hammer your way. Their effort has the maximum opportunity to reduce their time, instead of feeding drag if made the same effort on the other side of the hill. The moderately long hills are what oxygen deficit became! Does weight training to beef up the muscles in his leg, and the way hammer, changing groups of muscles as they expire. Continue the sprint on the crest of the hill with a few solid blows to enter into the rectum or descent at high speed.

If the hill is very steep but short, a good strategy is storing up energy by pedaling hard in the approach. Let your momentum momentum up the hill as you downshift and continue to pedal as you slide.

Concentrate on breathing.

Balance

Climbing should be a balancing act. Keep adjusting the distribution of weight between you wheels; if your rear wheel lost traction, slide back, and if your front wheel up the lifts or needs traction leadership, efficiency in their arms or slide forward. Especially when the escalation of the chair, is all too easy to lean forward and take the weight of the rear wheel just when you need it, resulting in spinout and bogging down - to bend his waist when standing to prevent it. Maintaining traction constant contact with the ground and with the two wheels.

Technical pedaling

Steve Bauer, a pro athlete and a Canadian silver medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games said on the subject of climbing technique: "You can stay at first to relax the muscles you were using on the floor," says Bauer . "The last thing you want to do is get in trouble early in a long climb."

Bauer suggests making the most of his work in the saddle, because they are not suspending the waste of energy and Bady you have a long cycle power available. "At the bottom of the coup, to withdraw his hamstrings," he explains. "Then use your hip flexors to lift across the top of the spill." Leisure different muscle groups of alternating between pedaling styles, such as sitting and standing, is only effective if his deputy sound techniques. Many underweight its rear wheel spin, put their whole bodies in the wind, and either not to bend their hips, or crack your chest when pedaling out of the saddle.

Bauer believes that his bicycle helps her rocking chair rhythm, besides the fact that maintains their pedals to the right when the distance from the saddle. He is quick to point out, however, that "the amount the rock is a very personal thing."

Pacing Yourself on Climbs

Keep the Effort Constant

A common mistake is too novices to sprint at the top of the hill, and fly halfway. However, the typical advice - from the hill slowly and accelerate at the top if he can - is terrible in terms of speed and keep the momentum. My advice is still sprint up the hills, but to collect a certain level of effort you can sustain that cree half-again to twice the length of the hill - you'll need, as we shall see later.

Maintaining the effort (rather than speed) constant, and downshift as soon as you feel you're not spinning freely, as the hill come in their approach speed. If your pedaling seems slog, resist the temptation of a great battle gear and accelerate until the cadence is right, even if they could maintain a certain speed, accelerating back to him on a hill will be even more difficult. Instead, downshift. If you want to regain your speed, then downshift, pedal hard, and even change again once they get their legs turns.

When the hill begins to diminish, push backwards and forwards in the pedals, until his ankle and legs are whirling. Then, once upshift and turn and continue to accelerate slowly.

Objective Goals

That said, maintaining a target range of speeds account for a given pending promotion. Unless the hill is steep, learn what they are capable of defending and its speed when it hits a specific value, say 20 mph on a moderate hill. Watch your speed, and know their limits. In a moderately steep hill early in the season, will not let me myself exceeding 33 mph, although I still have some momentum left. I just ease off the pedal and continue in an effort that is sustainable. Although you may feel your breathing and burning of an accumulation of lactic acid, sometimes speed or human resources management is the only indication that in its unsustainable pace, because I know that in many cases never have felt until it was too evening.

Do not hold back

Do not hold back when riding in the hills. This does not mean hammer 'till you Honk, but the walk faster than you're capable of doing. While the pace is sustainable, not gain anything by holding back, but you get when you go much more slowly. As your effort is diluted by at least wind resistance, the hills are very best time to pour in power (which always leave enough energy to accelerate to cruising speed on the way back down).