A Salute to the Draft

Today's Ride:

26.2 miles

Bryce-Pima loop

1 hour 31 minutes

65 perfect degrees

Flag Day 2010. Patriotism. Need to defend the country. Register for the draft. Yes, I'll write about drafting today.

Drafting is when rider B follows so closely behind rider A that rider B is able to exert far less energy because rider A is breaking wind... that is, breaking THE wind.

NASCAR drivers know all about drafting. So do serious cyclists. And geese.

If you have even casually followed the Tour de France you have likely heard the term "peloton." It means the main field or group of cyclists in a bike race. Through long road races, as opposed to shorter sprints or time trials, cyclists like to stay grouped together in the peloton. There is efficiency in the group because of the ability to draft off riders in the front. At some point in the race, two or three or a small handful of riders may attempt a "breakaway" and try to put some distance between themselves and the main peloton.

Often the peloton is able to overtake the breakaway before the end of the race because of the greater efficiency of riding in a large group. There is energy in numbers.

Geese use the same concept when flying a "V" formation. The lead goose does most of the work with the trailing geese drafting just off a wing of the goose in front.

Studies show the lead rider in a group expends up to 30 percent more energy than riders in a drafting position. That's significant.

That's why a basic rule of riding in a group -- even a group of two -- is to trade off the lead position. Geese do that. So do cyclists, most of the time.

I often ride with a friend, Russ, who is a stronger rider than me. I'm tempted to draft behind him for much of the ride, thereby equalizing our abilities (or neutralizing his strength, depending on how you want to look at it). But my conscience usually gets the best of me and I try to take my turns in the lead position.

Like so many other areas of our lives, working together in groups often produces better results than a solo effort.

Let's hear it for the draft.

Keep on riding.