Apologies in advance, I know there are posts about this but I couldn’t find the right search to uncover them and there’s something a lot less cathartic about just reading an old post. I think i need to vent a bit but also interested in hearing from “the dark side” of this issue; those who disagree with me.
Was out on the fire roads today and passed a mountain biker on a long climb. He immediately jumped on my wheel. I was pushing reasonably hard watts and not just spinning so it wasn’t as though we were barely moving, there was likely a good draft to be had. But I pulled aside and asked him to please not do that. I didn’t want to think about him back there. I have no idea what kind of a rider he is and I don’t want to worry about him smashing into my derailleur if I need or want to stop or slow down. He immediately became, shall we say, “animated”. “I’ll do whatever I want!!! This is a public trail!!!”. I asked him to calm down and please give me some space and he insisted it was his right to draft me. “Tell me one law against it!”. I said I wasn’t talking about laws I was asking him to consider exercising some courtesy. He then decided to come up beside me and crowd me from the left side while saying “You should be faster than me anyway you’re on a gravel bike”. From that point on I stopped responding to him but just kept focused on what I was doing and he eventually peeled off down a single track.
I am baffled by this attitude. Why the entitlement? Is this really a thing? Until I passed him he didn’t have a draft at all so why was he so pissed off I didn’t want him on my wheel? Is this an actual position that any kind of percentage of riders would find defensible? Or was that just a trail bully in the wild? I’d love to hear from anyone who is inclined to defend this notion; that if you’re out in public then you are entitled to people’s personal space. (We are talking within a wheel’s length. At times we were actually overlapping wheels.)
TLDR; do people really feel entitled to other rider’s personal space and draft off of them even when they request not to? If you were asked to back off would you? Or would you argue it’s your right?
I hate it when people ride me on singletrack and I just pull aside and let them pass. I don’t know you and I don’t feel safe with you on my wheel, so I just stop, let them pass, and give them an encouraging word.
I doubt there was much draft advantage if you were climbing on a trail, so I doubt it was that. They probably just wanted to use you as a carrot. Or maybe they were one of those people who likes to brag about being on a mtb going as fast as someone on a gravel bike. Or maybe they were being grumpy because you passed them. Or maybe a million other things.
Either way, you have the right to ride solo if you want. Just pull over and let them pass.
My silly suggestion is to ride faster and leave him in your dust
I suppose he wouldn’t have known how long you had been behind him, so maybe he thought you’d been drafting him, so the favour should be returned.
My only other suggestion would be to pretend you’d finished an interval, and call that out loud, the ride easy for a few minutes until the drafter is way past you. “Phew, glad to finish that, gonna ride easy to catch h my breath, see you at the top!”
This is an odd interaction for sure. Personally if someone rolls up on me I chat them up and try to make a new friend. If they aren’t friendly and on my wheel I ask if they want to pass and/or pull over. Worst case I would turn around and do a second rep up the hill. No need for confrontation.
Was the mountain biker wearing a road kit. Seems out of sorts for the MTB crowd
Really, you just encountered a crazy person. It’s just weird that someone give you attitude about insisting on drafting your wheel.
On the road when someone jumped on my wheel, I’d just pull off and slow way down and let them go up the road. Or, throw down the hammer if I was feeling up for it.
Consider what sort of bizarre and entitled behaviour we all encounter from some motorists, whether cycling or driving. Sounds like you ran into one of those people.
I think both parties could have handled this better. If someone hops on my wheel on the road, gravel, or trail, I just try to do my own thing until I get to the end of the section/interval. I’ll stop at that point and strike up a “friendly” conversation. If they are nasty about it at that point, just say “have a good day” in a nice and ride off and do your own thing again. Take the high road.
The trail is for everyone including the rider that wanted a draft.
thanks for responding jason, I’m interested in your take. You are saying there is something wrong with asking someone to please not deliberately ride with their wheel within inches of mine? When you suggest that I could’ve handled this better are you simply saying that I should have handled this how you would have handled this or that I really don’t have a right to personal space around my bike? Not trying to be snarky, really asking the question as that seems to be what you’re suggesting.
Some times it’s hard to understand people’s behaviour, thankfully the majority of people aren’t a**holes but the ones that are can drain us if we let them.
Not to be rude, but no you don’t actually have any actual right to space in a scenario like that. If he wants to draft you, he’s allowed. Yes, he was being a dick and didn’t need to act like that, but if you don’t like it what you really should do - drop him, or stop and let him go.
Me being a Boston Driver, I probably would have brake checked the hell out of him, then dropped him.
It’s hard to tell tone from a message board post but it sounds like you are getting defensive and approached the original situation with frustration right away. Personally, I would have stopped at some point after my interval and struck up a friendly conversation. Don’t start with a demand not to ride on your wheel. Start with the small talk, tell them good job to hang with you up that climb on the MTB versus your gravel bike then ask about their bike and what they have planned for the day. Then gently suggest that you are going to continue your workout and tell them to have a good rest of the day.
Basically, just be nice versus confrontational right away.
Not sure how I’m sounding defensive, I was careful to thank you for chiming in and made a point to indicate that I’m asking a legitimate question and not trying to be snarky. Thanks for your input though.
Interesting, thanks for commenting BCM. I’m actually really surprised by this take and couldn’t agree any less but its good to know people feel this way about it.
I find it frustrating though. Yes I could stop and let him go. Then resume my riding, pass him again, and he’s on my wheel again. I don’t have all day to wait around for him to get far enough ahead of me that I won’t pass him. Dropping him isn’t always possible because I need to do 30% more work to get away from him once he’s behind me. And in both scenarios I’m being forced to change my ride to accommodate someone who is shadowing me. I do get that there are no laws against it but it seems pretty disrespectful to me. I wouldn’t walk 3 inches behind someone on the sidewalk and I would argue for their right to personal space. And on bikes its more dangerous.
Look - I’m not saying it’s right. But it’s public property. There are no rules or laws against what he’s doing. He might be a dick about it, but by you confronting him about it you’re standing a chance of making it worse and you have no real “right” to that space.
You can try asking, but if it makes it worse and if you can’t drop him - stop or slow down and let him go.
Ya I get what you mean. I’m definitely not arguing that there are rules or laws against it, just that being courteous ought to be a thing. But it isn’t always!
