Originally Posted by
unterhausen
If you are riding at a steady pace, no matter how slow, you will have wheelsuckers. I couldn't tolerate that a couple of times in 2011, this time it was better.
Excuse the short digression from the subject of the thread, but I have never understood what problem people have with others drafting them. OK, I get the part that you don't want some guy to crash into the back of your bike when you suddenly slow down or stop because they're too close and careless, but "wheelsucker" makes it sounds like they're making you work harder to make their ride easier, which is not true. It's NOT a zero sum game: Their gain is not your loss, you both gain from drafting.
Anyone drafting you at a reasonably close distance reduces your air resistance because their frontal air pressure buildup counteracts the low pressure area behind you that tries to suck you back when no one is following you. So whether you appreciate it or not, they are in effect pushing you, even though that it effect is smaller than the benefit they gain from drafting behind you. Having a "wheelsucker" behind you makes it easier to maintain your given speed, not more difficult.