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I think proper etiquette would be to ask permission to draft off someone. Also you should know that there's a speed limit on the trails of 15mph so really you shouldn't be drafting on those anyway.

Is that posted somewhere?

Yeah, ask. Some of us are just simple commuters trying to get our heads together before or after work. An uninvited stranger showing up on our rear wheels would be a little unsettling.

i draft people when i can. i'll usually say "i'm drafting you!" i can see how some people might be uncomfortable with riding so close to others.

on the other hand if i saw someone busting their britches to catch up to me, i'd probably try to drop em'...

dude, i'm a member.

People occasionally draft off me on the jail trail, and I've got to say, I don't like it. It's a personal space thing: how would you feel about someone following four inches behind you all around the grocery store? Would it change your mind to know that this was the most efficient way to shop, that this approach would get this stranger home about three minutes faster?

Does that speed limit apply to the jail trail? I'm not sure I've ever gone slower than fifteen mph on the jail trail unless I've had a flat or something. I mean, obviously you slow down if you see a 6-year old wobbling towards you, but the trails so wide, and the visibility is so good, it hardly seems necessary.

It's certainly proper etiquette to ask permission to draft, both because of personal space and because the person in front needs to move more subtly to keep the drafter safe.

If someone drafts me without saying anything, I'd probably just take that as encouragement to go faster.

I'd freak if someone followed me too closely w/o my conscious permission. I'd not be real comfortable even with granting permission.

It's a safety thing. You, the drafter, would not necessarily know what thing I am seeing in my immediate vision that might make me brake or swerve -- critter, glass, insect in my face, etc.

One of the main reasons I'm on my bike instead of behind the wheel is so that I can avoid traffic. Drafting runs counter to that. Please don't do that if you see me.

Perhaps Dave is just trolling?

No, Dave is not trolling. I was perplexed when the rider indicated but said nothing when asked that he did not want me to draft him.

Coming from a background of extensive touring and commuting with some racing, I always felt that someone faster than me decked out in spandex on a hot bike probably understood the concept of a pace line. I always thank those guys (almost always guys) when I draft to the end of the trail, and do not hesitate to take a lead pull if indicated or they slow. I have no problem with others riding behind or next to me, and have offered to lead for other riders struggling on especially windy days. It never occured to me to ask permission, and am thinking it's something to consider, depending on how hard I have to ride to catch up and stay there. I think the basic question is does a rider have a right to draft? As more and more people are riding the trails and streets, we will not be able to always avoid riding near each other.

Yes, Scott, I am aware of the speed limit, but do not have a cyclometer on my bike. I do agree that we should all ride safely, especially if there is other traffic- bike, pedestrian, or skates.

the 15 mph speed limit is posted on the jail trail at the entrance at the parking lot before the hot metal bridge...the 15 mph thing is a joke....i go 25-30 mph the whole way..im on the trail to expedite traveling...although 15mph is a decent traveling speed but i think too cautious...people can police themselves...and i dont see any radar guns out there and cops handing out tickets haha....but the way i see it is i would be going 25 mph on a regular road...i take the trail cause i like it better...but if the 15 mph was ever strictly enforced i wouldnt ride it anymore....maybe if we had hundreds of cyclists on there i could see a speed limit....just make sure to slow down while passing people, pedestrians skaters and other bikers but speed back up after that....as far as drafting...i would see a point in doing it if you were with a riding partner of course...but not with a stranger....i dont like when people ride too close while i drive and the same as in cycling...unless we were on a team or friends and knew each others ways and manuevers...im not insulting your intelligence but i think this would be proper etiquette...if you dont have a road bike get one...and use the drop bars....it is much more aerodynamic....and maybe you dont have to worry about drafting...the jail trail is mostly flat barely any grade at all....i go 30 mph easily....if you ever draft me i would love to see you try...thats a challenge...i would try to smoke you haha...i have a blue giant road bike...

Ask. I've thought about it myself and can't come up with an entirely reasonable explanation. There is definitely the risk that you will take me down with you, or at minimum shear my rear der off. Plus, I now have to account for you in any maneuvering I do.

Regardless, it's considered very rude by roadies. I've pulled off before and stepped on the accelerator to drop someone doing it.

It doesn't make you faster, you're saving a bunch of energy sitting back there.

why o why would you even consider drafting someone you didn't know on a public bike path? this is the dumbest conversation I've ever heard. If you pull up on my wheel while I'm enjoying a nice peaceful ride to and from work, there are going to be problems.

that's just ignorant.

I think it depends on the day and how well I think you can ride. I've had several people draft me and usually don't mind if the person at least let me know they are there. I think only one person has ever actually asked and I apperciated that he did.

If pass someone and see them gear up and try to ride my wheel I usually make a split decision as to whether I feel safe that they are going to be there. That decsion usually is based on how experienced I think you are. If every piece of gear you have looks brand new and you look uncomfortable in your saddle I'm not going to let you stay back there for my own safety.

Personally, I tend to avoid drafting others, unless I know them well; if I get close enough that it'll do me any good, I've got a decent chance of sawing through their rear tire with my chainring. NOT polite.

On the other hand, I've never felt offended if someone wants to latch onto my feeble slipstream.

On the other other hand, I didn't know we had any stretches of bike path long enough that drafting is all that advantageous.

I can't stand it when some squirrel decides to draft me unannounced and uninvited. It adds a whole dimension of riding to the rider up front, constantly worried that whoever is behind doesn't overlap wheels when I need to maneuver around something or doesn't slam into my rear end when I brake. Or the person behind decides to take a pull at the front and reaches for their bottle...or even both of their bottles. This actually happened to me with a group of folks and some hanger on that appeared from nowhere, rode like an idiot, and at one point was in front of the group swerving around with two bottles in his hands. We dropped him.

If someone pulls up behind and drafts, I will do everything in my power to drop them or slow down and let them pass if they don't get the hint. And it's not because I'm a hotdog or being a jerk - quite the opposite, the person behind is being a jerk and I'm politely avoiding them without calling them out on it verbally.

I find it irritating and in poor form if someone latches onto my wheel unnannounced.