Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I fully agree with the concept, but I think 10 to 12 feet is much better. Too close and you can't see small debris in the road (broken glass, wire bits, other bits of metal that fell off cars, etc.) until you hit it. A few more feet gives you time to try to steer around it.
We usually ride close enough to properly draft when I have toured with others, so real close. Sometimes it would be inches rather than feet, but seldom more that a few feet on the flat roads. On hills we might string out a bit. Riding close does had the disadvantage you mention though. The lead rider usually points out the worst of the debris and pot holes though.
We were always a small group and generally close enough that a motor vehicle could treat us like one vehicle.