Trusting the Wheel in Front of You

Mid-ride stretch break overlooking Skyline. Clearly I am over my cold.

Today was my second ride with M, and I was able to sit behind his wheel for a bit and learn his riding style.  One of the basic skills of cycling is learning how to ride in a pace line and how to draft.  Stay close.  Don't overlap wheels.  When a hill is coming, allow extra room when the rider in front stands. Point out potholes.  Don't slam on your brakes.  Steady, Freddy.

Yellow Jacket and his bike...it stings when he drops me on the hills.

Early on as I started road cycling, I was lucky to be mentored by a competitive cyclist.  I trusted his wheel; I could relax an inch behind his wheel, tucked in, knowing he would keep a steady pace and not do anything abrupt.  His understanding of the road was similar to mine; I never found myself looking beyond his shoulder to anticipate changes in the road up ahead.  We rode hundreds of miles together, each taking our separate pulls, but feeling like a single unit. 

Moving up north allowed me to ride with different cycling groups, and it is always a challenge to figure out which wheels I can trust and which wheels to avoid. I've almost crashed riding behind riders who slammed on their brakes, and there are those who nonsensically  pointed out every little piece of debris in the road.  Their wheels are ones who I give myself a lot of space between, and honestly it is exhausting and stressful to follow behind them because I'm in a constant state of hyperawareness and anticipation.

Life has its parallels.

Drafting off someone's wheel requires an immense amount of trust from you.  You will learn who you can work with and who you can't.  It takes time to build trust and rapport; to develop compatibility.  Unfortunately, sometimes a wheel you trusted will do something out of the ordinary, resultantly causing you to crash.

Is it better to ride into the headwind alone?  Or take the chance and develop a sense of trust with the rider in front of you?

Solo base-building winter miles.  a.k.a. Riding into the headwind alone.

The choice is always yours.  But choose your wheels carefully.