Bike drafting the big rig...just stay in the bubble.

[William]

Scary and dangerous yes.......but what a rush. One dude is even bunny hopping at speed. It will make your heart jump a bit....:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7_Fq56g2c









William

[bikinchris]

I used to be dumb enough to do that. There was a grain dryer on my way home from work. They would always pull out in front of me and I would of course jump on and draft the now empty grain trucks. By the time I had to slow down for my home about a mile down the road, they were going 55mph. If I hit a pothole at that speed or even a large piece of road debris, I know my little helmet would have done no good, but I was young enough to do it.

[soulspinner]

Holy hell no helmet bunny hopping the center line at 70 plus??????:eek:

[tuscanyswe]

Id be surprised if hasent broken a few legs in his time. Thats pretty stupid tho it must feel pretty nice.

[shovelhd]

I used to draft milk haulers on my commute. I was riding a full commuter with bags and lights and everything. 38 was my limit.

[Tandem Rider]

I used to live where they mined coal, used to get a loaded coal truck in front of me once in a while...
Loaded was better, no sudden acceleration after each gear, nice and smooth.

You learn to watch the air brake baffles, kind of an early warning. This was all pre-computer so no idea how fast, 53x12 at 140rpmish if someone wants to do the math. I was only good for a couple minutes though, not like this dude.

[bobswire]

Scary and dangerous yes.......but what a rush. One dude is even bunny hopping at speed. It will make your heart jump a bit....:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7_Fq56g2c





William

I liked where the guy was signaling the bus coming up from behind to move over to the furthest lane. I know from experience how the draft from a passing big rig or bus affects the draft of a motorcycle much less a bicycle.

[dsimon]

I think that was stupid but thats my ass being Old and safe now. but if thats Hawaii its doable coming down the H3 and drafting I have hit 45 coming down the KoliKoli Pass so I know its doable but just doesnt pass the common sense test

[pbarry]

The truck driver must have been in on this--doubtful they would attach their Go Pro to a strangers rig. As a Junior, I would draft tractor trailers that pulled out of Coors brewery. The only way to do this with barely any safety, (if you know the road well), is to be in the drops, fingers poised to brake, eyes on the road and brake lights. It's too much fun!

OTOH, I ruined a set of Croce hubs/Pave rimmed wheels drafting a UPS truck up Third Ave. in NYC. He straddled a VW bug sized pothole, and I fell into it. No crash luckily, but a pair of unrideable wheels was the price of adventure. :eek:

[William]

The truck driver must have been in on this--doubtful they would attach their Go Pro to a strangers rig. As a Junior, I would draft tractor trailers that pulled out of Coors brewery. The only way to do this with barely any safety, (if you know the road well), is to be in the drops, fingers poised to brake, eyes on the road and brake lights. It's too much fun!

OTOH, I ruined a set of Croce hubs/Pave rimmed wheels drafting a UPS truck up Third Ave. in NYC. He straddled a VW bug sized pothole, and I fell into it. No crash luckily, but a pair of unrideable wheels was the price of adventure. :eek:

I would sit right on the right corner of the trailer so I could watch the brake light as well as be able to peek up the road...and bail to the right if needed. Peoria Rd. (amid all the grass farms in the Willamette Valley) outside of Corvallis OR. had a wide shoulder, and many semis loaded with hay bales during certain times of the year. Yes, it was a blast!

Our team used to do a lot of motor pacing behind a Jeep Cherokee on the Banana Belt course outside of champoeg state park. My favorite part was having the Jeep slowly increase the speed and see who could stay on the longest. Real fun when you have five or six guys fighting to stay in the bubble.:) Making the jump from that to drafting a semi was no big deal. I don't recommend anyone try it. It's dangerous, but I don't regret doing it one bit.







William

[Climb01742]

the quality of the road must be key in doing this. potholes and cracks coming out of nowhere from under the truck would be unwelcome i'd assume.:rolleyes:

[Black Dog]

I am sure that for most of us that started riding when we were young and more stupid than we are now have done this. I did. Lots of fun but not smart. I have no regrets probably because no harm came of it.

[William]

the quality of the road must be key in doing this. potholes and cracks coming out of nowhere from under the truck would be unwelcome i'd assume.:rolleyes:

I can only compare parts of Oregon to out here....and yes, much much better. They don't get the temp extremes we get in the NE.






William

[gregblow]

Looked like a lot of downhill

[regularguy412]

Yep. Done that before -- drafting semis at ~55 mph.

We have an overpass with a stop light on each end. The highway headed east from the stoplight on that side is 5 lanes (2 each way plus center turn and no stoplights -- it's headed outta town). Back in the day it was pretty smooth. We'd catch the semis stopped at the light and get a good roll out coming down the overpass. You shoulda seen the looks on some drivers' faces when they are on your wheel at that speed. 55 mph in the 53/12 is turning some cadence. About 3 miles of that is all we could take at one time. We'd pull off on the wide shoulder , turn around and ride slowly back to the overpass and do it again.

I'd NEVER do that today. But it was good training.

Mike in AR:beer:

[oldpotatoe]

Yeh, I know it was staged for a movie but great music!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1jzs6dk4bs