 | Ride at an even speed (constant effort). |
| Try not to use your brakes. Sit up or move out of the draft some to catch some air
to slow your speed. |
| If you must brake feather your rear brake to slow you smoothly. |
| Never brake when at the front of a paceline. |
| Do not coast or soft pedal at the front of a paceline. |
| Wiggle your arm to signal that you are moving off the front. The arm that you
wiggle indicates the side that you wish the following riders to pass you on. |
| Keep pedaling as you move off the front. Don't stop or slow your cadence until the
following rider has begun to pull through. |
| When assuming the front of a paceline, keep your speed constant. Do not accelerate
rapidly! |
| Don't open Gaps! Keep the paceline tight. |
| If someone accelerates to open a gap, do not jump to close the gap (except when
racing), close it slowly, the riders behind you will appreciate you. |
| Keep about a 1 to 2 foot gap between you and the leading rider. |
| Don't overlap wheels. If the rider you are following moves to hit your wheel, you
will crash, not the other rider. |
| If you contact wheels, turn your wheel towards the wheel of the rider in front. If
you turn away you will go down quickly. |
| If your handlebars or bodies touch a rider next to you, don't turn away; relax and
keep your bike straight. |
| Don't make any sudden moves. |
| Don't ride too close to the edge of the road, Leave a ~foot to the right side when
possible. |
| Look at the middle of the rider's back in front of you and toward the front of the
paceline. Do not stare at the wheel in front of you. If you stare at the wheel you can't
react to things around you. |
| When re-entering the paceline from the back, begin pedaling when about 2 or three
riders from the back to increase your speed and move smoothly into the line. Don't wait
until you're at the back. If you wait you'll have to jump to catch the group. |
| Don't pull too hard at the front when racing or riding fast. Save enough energy to
get back on the paceline. |
| When standing, don't throw your bike back. You may hit the rider behind you. |
| If you are too tired or weak to do your turn at the front of the paceline,
don’t pull at the front. Just rotate smoothly through without disrupting the group's
pace. Then sit at the back about 1 bike length and let others fill in the space. |
| Learn to trust the wheel in front of you and ride that track. Too often riders will
sit off to one side or another. This makes the pace line inefficient and look ragged. |
| Don’t use your aerobars in a paceline. Save them for a solo ride or time
trial.
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