Looks like you just started the discussion, LMAO!!!

BTW, RAGBRAI don’t care!!!

I am pretty sure you better shave your legs if you want to pace line.

Upon further review then, deal me out.

Me too, no razor shall touch my inner thighs.

RIDE RIGHT

Before you die from not riding in a paceline, rest for sure that your life will be saved before TJ calls off RAGBRAI and thousands of other RAIGRAI’ers not depending on paceline for their lives are saved in the case of headwind.

For defenders of persistent paceline riders in RAGBRAI, I have a baseball analog: sure you don’t pitch 100 mph fast ball like a pro, will you crash into your neighborhood T-ball game to pitch your usual 80 mile ones? RAGBRAI is NOT a race. It is a ride skewing to older or family riders although Lance Armstrong also has joined.

The only draft line I want to see on RAGBRAI would be an orderly queue at the beer keg…. and I’d prefer that it be a very short one!!

-“BB”-

If you have headwinds, you’ll have pace lines. I thought we had the fewest of the 10 years I’ve ridden last year. We’ll have the stereo out this year so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of people dragging behind us.

play Led Zep and I will follow you for thousands of miles

Headwinds or not, sometimes it is just plain fun to ride fast.

https://youtu.be/FvzpyIdqw18

In the morning the whole ride is basically a paceline, its that crowded. I think the whole paceline/no paceline thing is ridiculous. If you have the skills to do it, fine. If you don’t, don’t do it.

The real problem are the people who don’t ride right combined with pacelines that feel the need to crowd everyone so that they don’t break cadence. In the late afternoon there usually aren’t any issues.

Just don’t be that guy that never wants to take a turn up front!

The safety issue with groups of unknowns riding in a pace line is that their actual pace-line skill set is also an unknown. Frequently some with pace-line experience and no real training think they have skills but then circumstances they are not trained for and have no prior experience with can happen. It is not a great idea to pace-line with strangers. Even if you start out in a pace-line of riders who ride together normally, others will join.

Adding to the complexity on RAGBRAI is the pace-line interacting with thousands of other riders. That adds lots of unknowns like erratic moves by those outside the pace-line.

Also if you want a sense of accomplishment from completing RAGBRAI, getting paced by drafting others means you really didn’t put in the effort to ride it all on your own. You might has well motor-pace off a moped or have an electric assist bike.

I’ve ridden in a few over the years, only ever with my team. I’m not very comfortable in pace lines, so I’d rather just ride in space and get to the overnight a little later.

Pacelines are a bad idea on RAGBRAI, and like bandits, they’re not going away.
A perfect example of how dangerous pacelines can be on this ride is back on our day into Forest City in 1987 our group came across the remnants of a pace line as the paramedics were trying to save the life of a guy who was in one. Their group moved over the the right as a truck was approaching, and as the truck passed this guy moved back to the left, and didn’t see the truck was towing a trailer, was run over,and was killed.
The officials stopped traffic, and we had to get off our bikes and walk past this mess.
On a side note, if you want pace off someone at least have the courtesy of asking the person you want to draft if it’s okay or not. If it’s me, I’ll say no thank you, I’m 47 now, and not as fast I as think I am.
On another side note, it’s always enjoyable passing pacelines riding solo.

For some people riding in a paceline is also known as “riding your bike.”

If that doesn’t describe you, be very careful.