One of the key skills in road riding is the pace line. A group of riders can go much faster than a single rider, by working together and sharing the work.
The key component in paceline riding is utilizing the draft. By following another rider 2 feet to optimally 6" behind the rear wheel, one will use 20 to 35% less energy. Drafting a bigger rider is like having a tailwind. A rider that can draft, can ride with much stronger riders.
Drafting behind one rider is the best way to start. Someone you have ridden with before is best, as you’ll already be familiar with his or her riding habits. Start by getting a steady speed going, just about as fast as you might ride once you’re warmed up and want to push a little. Get behind your leader, with a three to four foot gap between your front and his or her rear wheels. Try to look at the rider in front of you, not just the wheel. Look over his shoulder, move left a few inches to see past, watch the bike and rider ahead. Keep a high cadence, and maintaining the three feet will be easy. A three-foot gap will give you just a little drafting benefit. Use the rear brake to keep from getting too close, and ease up, but keep pedaling, as you brake gently.
Once you’re comfortable with three feet, close the gap to two feet. At this distance, you will get a real decrease in the effort needed to go at a certain speed. You can stick to a stronger rider
for quite some time if you can ride two feet off the wheel ahead.
When you get good at a two foot gap, work on closing the distance to as close as six inches. This takes a lot of attention and practice behind a very steady rider. You can stay with almost anybody if you can draft at six inches.
Most important, don’t ever overlap the wheel in front of you. You will hit the pavement real quickly if the rider in front moves to avoid a road hazard, and you get your front tire entangled with his/her rear tire. The front rider usually rides away, the rider in back doesn't. If you go down so does everybody behind you.
A pace line is a group of riders who draft each other in a single or double file line. The lead rider takes the brunt of the wind, allowing the riders behind to rest. After a short time, the lead rider moves to the side and the line of riders advances past with a new rider on the front. The more riders, the shorter the time the lead rider pulls.
The rider on the front is responsible for the safety of the other riders: keeping a steady pace, avoiding potholes, and looking far enough ahead to see how the road, traffic,
and stoplights will affect the immediate future of the line. The lead rider will gently drift to one side of small obstacles, and point down to the proper side to show a HOLE is coming up right away. Don't lead the pace line through potholes.
A rider stays on the front for a short time; the more riders, the shorter the pull. Before the leader gets tired, he checks traffic behind, slowly moves to the left, and
lets the next rider pull alongside. Then the former leader eases up and drifts toward the back. Never jerk to the left, and don't slow down and then move left. Don't stay on the front until you're tired, or you won't get on the back after your pull at the front. As the rider drifting back nears the last rider in line, he begins to speed up, maybe standing to stretch the legs, and as the last rider passes, the former leader moves right, onto the back of the line.
The second rider is now on the front, keeping the same speed. He rides straight, points out road hazards, and after a minute or so, moves left, eases up, and drifts back. Do not feel tempted to increase the speed. You have nothing to prove, so keep the speed the same. Get ready to move left before you get tired, then move left without slowing. With two or three riders, take one minute pulls, with more riders, pull less. In a six rider pace line, the leader moves over almost as soon as the previousleader drifts out of his sight.
When riding with stronger riders, take a shorter pull. Keep the rotation going, but don't feel the need to prove anything. If you're new to pacelines and drafting, stay at the back and let a gap open up as each former leader nears you, so he can pull into the line in front of you. When you feel comfortable with the pace, feel relaxed and steady, join the rotation, ride steady and find out how well you can go at this faster pace.
When you are on the front, you are driving and steering the riders behind. When you approach an intersection with a stop sign, you drop your left hand and signal a stop to the riders behind. Never run stop signs. If a stoplight is ahead, obey the light. If it is turning yellow, STOP! There might be enough time for you to get through the intersection, but if the last rider is forced to follow through a red light, then you’ve put him in danger. It’s always the last riders who get hit by cars at intersections. It’s not a race, and there is no reason to risk lives on a recreational ride.
When learning to ride a pace line, you may be hanging on the back for dear life, doing all you can to stay with the group. If you are spent, and can’t hang, ask for an easier speed. “ Slow Down !” will work.
TYPES OF PACELINES
SingleDoubleRotatingEchelon
Single Paceline
Which direction should the lead rider pull off? The single paceline picture above shows the rider pulling off to the left. But there are various reason to pull off either direction. If there is a cross wind the lead rider will pull off whichever direction the wind is coming from. This is because the riders in the single paceline will naturally line up as shown in the "echelon" picture to hide themselves from the wind. Some believe that the rider coming off the front and going backwards should not be in the lane of car traffic and should, as a general rule, pull off to the right. Basically, whichever direction the group is using, all riders should do the same thing.
Example of a Single Paceline
Double Paceline
The DOUBLE paceline is a minor modification of the single paceline. In this setting there are just two single pacelines side by side. The riders on the front of each paceline pull off in opposite directions. As a general rules, the pacelines are far smoother if the two front riders agree and pull off simultaneously. Otherwise, one of the lines has to surge to get the front riders side by side.
Example of a Double Paceline
Rotating Paceline
A ROTATING paceline requires more focus and greater skills but is very satisfying to be part of. In a rotating paceline there is an advancing (faster) line of riders and a retreating (slower) line of riders. The retreating line is on whichever side the wind is coming from. If it is a headwind a tailwind or no wind, usually the retreating line will be on the right side and the advancing line will be on the left. (The opposite of the picture above). The key to a rotating paceline is that when the rider at the front of the advancing line clears the rider who is on the front of the retreating line, the advancing rider moves into the retreating line and softens up his pace. The rider who was behind him continues the pace of the advancing line until that rider switches over. The rider in the advancing line should NEVER surge. The idea is that you ride to the front and float to the back in a constant rotation. You change your speed by "soft-pedaling" as you switch to the retreating line and increasing your pedal pressure as you switch from the retreating line to the advancing line. Smooth switches, and keeping the distance between the riders in the paceline as small as possible will keep the paceline smooth.
Example of a Rotating Paceline
Echelon
An ECHELON is a paceline ridden in a crosswind. The riders will naturally find cover at an angle as shown above. An Echelon can refer to either a single paceline or a rotating paceline. In either case, the lead rider will pull off INTO the wind.
