Slipstream
I’m a cyclist. A roadie more than a mountain biker. Smooth pavement and a tailwind are what I live for…
A problem keeps creeping up on me, however: Gravity combined with mass. Both conspire against me, causing extra effort as well as exhaustion. Downhill - or even the flats - with a breeze at my back is the most gratifying experience I know. But tilt the road upward 4, 5 or 7 percent and my personal mass resists my pedaling effort as if a large hand is pressed against my forehead.
Riding individually costs watts of energy while calorie consumption increases exponentially, causing lactic acid buildup while muscle effort drains the proverbial tank.
Solution? Drafting. Finding a partner you can follow closely behind allows you to tuck into the negative pressure vacuum created - thus saving energy. Two cyclists riding with about 8-10” between their wheels saves the person behind approximately 30%, resulting in effort reduction. If you periodically rotate positions, then two people on separate bicycles can travel further without tiring as quickly.
Our lives are like, too.
I found a partner, however, who excelled at drafting behind me…. on our tandem bicycle! Not quite the best illustration in cycling terms, but valid within our personal ‘word picture’. Combined, we were stronger as a team than as individuals. ‘Team Hartle’, we called ourselves.
One summer, while cycling the bike paths between ski resorts in Colorado, my stoker (as the position is known) decided she wanted to ride to Vail….FOR LUNCH! Well, she didn’t inform me until we were already 15 miles into our day and looking at a further 5 mile climb up from Copper Mountain to the top of Vail Pass, which sits at an elevation of 10,500 feet, before dropping down into the valley to eat. I sputtered and stammered (verbally from sucking in deep breaths of oxygen depleted air) as she patted me on the bottom saying, ‘I know we can do it!’
My reply, between gasps was, “It’s not YOU I’m worried about…It’s ME!”
You see, I rode at a different pace and strength, having 70,000 miles or so in my legs from decades of training, providing the majority of the necessary watts to achieve our cycling goals. This tandem is designed so that Evonne could coast while I pedaled, ‘drafting’ behind me in this part of our life. She saved energy as she relied upon my strengths, enjoying her view and pedaling as she was able, while encouraging me to “Go faster!” with an occassional smack on my rump. Always, however, with a smile or twinkle in her eye as she shouted the words, “I’m right behind you!” or “You couldn’t do this without me!” as she reminded me that she did, indeed, pedal. Just at her own ability and power output.
That day, we made it into Vail, sitting on the deck of a restaurant in Lionshead, enjoying the view of green grass and mountain vista as the gondola’s picked up and deposited their visitors moving to and from the top of the slope. Lunch was well deserved by us both as we relaxed and chatted, discussing the return challenge of 18 miles back UP to the top of Vail pass before we could even begin to consider our day successful on this epic mountain adventure, for that peak was only halfway back to the hot tub that awaited us.
This memory of 70 miles and 4,550 feet of total elevation gain all began with a confident pat on my shorts - the story of which, years later, Evonne would say with glee, “I’ve cycled up and over Vail Pass….TWICE in one day!”
Family. Community. Church. Work colleagues. Friends.
All these can provide opportunity to work together to push through the headwinds in our lives. Each unique in their capacity to perform so that others can draft when physically tired, emotionally exhausted or spiritually depleted.
It may be a simple pat on the backside or touch on the shoulder. Perhaps an encouraging word of, “We can do this!” as someone else surges ahead and motions for you to take their wheel and follow closely behind in their wake, allowing you to tuck into their slipstream and rest a bit..
Taking either position - drafter or draftee - with neither fanfare nor condemnation is simply teamates looking out for each other on the road of life. Which position are you riding in today? You may be someone else’s engine to keep them moving forward on their road of personal journey or you may be in need of a draft yourself. Either way, the road may become smoother, distance may be gained and knowing smiles shared as a team as each play their role on the road of life.
Better yet…..ride a tandem!