A few of us made our first attempt to bike 100 miles today. The terrain is now basically all flat, which made our venture a little more realistic (I had previously considered trying to ride a century when we were crossing the Rockies. The massive altitude gains got the better of me). With flat routes, we no longer have to gruel up long uphill segments. We now instead get to deal with massive headwinds.
Or perhaps I should say, I got to deal with massive headwinds. It seemed that my fellow bikers for the day were riding along with ease. While I would be furiously peddling through pounding gusts, I could hear the vzzzzzzzz of my teammates’ bikes behind me – the sound made by a gear-train when coasting. Initially, I figured either I was having an off-day or perhaps everyone else was feeling unusually sharp. Either way, we were on-track to completing our century.
Upon further inspection, however, I eventually realized the cause of our differential effort was aerodynamic in nature. Unknowingly, we had all bunched up together in a long chain. Each biker was only about half-a-foot away from the next biker. This is a technique known as drafting. By keeping so close, the brunt of the air-drag will be experienced by the lead rider (me, in this case) while everyone gets up to a 30% reduction in energy expenditure. In other words, one cyclist can help save everyone else’s energy by spearheading headwinds.
Although this was our first time drafting against wind, I don’t think it’s our first time drafting as a group. Throughout the whole trip, we’ve practiced plenty of psychological drafting – a phenomenon where one person’s ventures embolden others to follow suit. By striving for greater achievements, one inspires and makes way for others to do the same. When I announced I wanted to ride a century, I was alone in my declaration. Within a few days, half of the group had signed on to the challenge.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, biking demands mental strength. It requires one to believe in their capacity to ride further than they ever have before. To draft, one must also believe in others. We are putting our safety into one another’s’ hands. We are a completely connected graph, in more ways than one.
Ultimately, we did not complete our goal. A fierce late afternoon storm came down on us. Despite a subsequently heightened pace, overhead lightning drove us into shelter. Luckily, we’ll have plenty more opportunities to achieve our goal.
A friend discovered in the storm.