Ride Report 8/1

Partnered 40 miles in 3:40 (including all breaks) on the Bianchi

Today's mission: practice drafting. Drafting consists of riding just behind another cyclist to benefit from their slipstream. It decreases the drafter's biking effort by up to 30%, but only when s/he is 4-12 inches behind another rider. I tried this for a short time last week, but it was on the way back from a 50-mile ride and my concentration was fairly nonexistent at that point.

As soon as we hit the bike trail from Sac State, I have to practice drafting. The first obstacle is the mental block on riding that closely to another cyclist. The next problem is what to watch. If I concentrate solely on T's rear tire, I get motion sick because I don't know what's coming on the trail ahead. If I concentrate on T/the bike trail, I'm afraid of overrunning his rear tire and sending myself into a somersault.

Frustrated that he can't watch me, T scouts the trail for other rider(s) going at a good clip that I can draft behind while he rides beside me. Our kindly drafting hosts for the trip east are a senior couple on a tandem that keep up a speed of around 17mph. They are very encouraging about my "metric century" (a compromise since I feel guilty saying "century" for a 100K ride). The woman tells us they ride out to La Bou on Folsom and back for a 40-mile round trip. Even though I feel more comfortable tailgating the tandem bike, I still spend only a small fraction of the ride at a close enough distance to be truly drafting. Sadly, my suggestion that we ride a tandem and just say I drafted is turned down.

On the ride back, we draft behind a trio of cyclists who keep a pace of 16-17mph (guaranteeing we get passed by just about every other road biker on the path). The time flies for me when I am so busy concentrating on the riders in front of me. Again, I only draft successfully for a tiny fraction of the time, but I don't freak out quite so much at riding so closely to another cyclist. We pass a large group of recumbent cyclists getting ready to ride and I can't help feeling jealous that they get to ride bikes you can nap on.

Today I rode with the wedges on my shoes and with cycling gloves (gel padded). My feet are still sore, but not screaming in the road shoes. The gloves are a mixed blessing. I give up sensitivity/responsiveness to the handlebars and they are not very comfortable when I ride with my hands draped on the shift levers, but I will reserve final judgment on the gloves until I ride my new bike that will be sized for me.