Sunday 14 February 2010

my first draft


i've never drafted before. it's illegal in triathlon, so what's the point?

let's be honest, i haven't even understood what drafting really was. sure i knew it meant you stayed close to the cyclist ahead + saved energy, but that was about the extent of it.

yesterday i was out cycling with the group, and one of the guys suggested i draft off another two boys. we hit a hill, and they were off. just keeping up with them was hard work, but i was managing. i looked down and we were on 20 kph. a few minutes later, and we were on 22 kph. never in the history of my ass on that cycle seat have i gained speed going up a hill. nice.

on the way home, four of us took formation, me at the back. again, it was hard work keeping up with the boys, but once i was there it was a little easier. i looked down at one point and we were comfortably hitting 36 kph. sweet!

so, drafting, how did it feel? to be honest, i was expecting some sort of lovely magical pull dragging me forward with my legs barely moving. but it wasn't like that. i couldn't *feel* anything different, but then when i looked at my speed i was much faster than i usually would be with that level of exertion.

it took quite a bit of effort, being close enough to the person ahead without hitting their wheels. i was guilty of watching their wheel, but according to the folks at livestrong.com that isn't the right way

http://www.livestrong.com/video/3808-draft-cycling/

i'm not used to cycling close to other people, so this is something i think will definitely increase my cycling confidence. and also push my cycling, because keeping up with a faster group takes you outside your comfort zone.

and makes you go faster. and that, i like.



4 comments:

Jen said...

So cool.

teacherwoman said...

I remember my first ride out with a few guys that I barely knew... probably my second time out on the open road a couple years ago. One guy was teaching me how to draft and I was so scared to get so close to his bike... it was scary, but since we were riding into the wind, I noticed the difference as soon as I started doing it correctly!

Very fun!

Beth said...

Fast is fun! Good for you keeping up with the boys.

Anonymous said...

no updates recently??? I love your blog it has motivated me to give triathlon a go