dailymile.com

I use a social website called dailymile.com It is a great way to keep track of your miles and creates a good sense of how you are doing compared to others around the world.

The other day a friend of mine a CAT 4 racer from New York posted this article: 

A Belgian woman and Riding a Straight Line
http://thewgnews.com/2010/06/how-i-learned-to-ride-a-straight-line/

also another great tip from the same guy:
http://spokepost.com/news/story/1216/

If you are interested in my progress and joining the dailymile, I usually post a small write up of every ride here:
http://www.dailymile.com/people/JeremyBowen

The site auto syncs with facebook too.

Jeremy Bowen

Good ole info

GROUP RIDING

Group Riding consists of two or more riders traveling in a loose group (i.e., spaced several feet apart) who are not drafting. See below for an explanation of drafting! Although group riders may be riding parallel to each other, they are four to six feet apart. On narrow roads with moderate to high vehicle densities, parallel riding is not safe. If there is six or more feet of clean shoulder or bike lane width in the same direction of travel, then parallel riding can be done safely. A shoulder or bike lane of eight feet is better.

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PACE LINE RIDING

Pace Line Riding consists of two or more riders traveling in a tight group in the draft of the rider(s) in front of you. If you are the leader of this pace line, than you are creating the draft for others. The draft envelope behind a single bicycle is about six feet long and behind a tandem is about eight feet. The closer your front wheel is to the rear wheel of the rider ahead of you, the stronger the draft. Riding in a pace line draft can save 20 to 30% of your energy output. This energy savings is what allows the pace line group to travel at higher speeds. Concentration on what you are doing in a pace line is essential. That is, there is no time for sight seeing.

* Never Allow Your Front Wheel To Overlap The Rear Wheel Of The Rider Ahead Of You!

* Never Weave or Drift In A Pace Line!

* Never Suddenly Slow Down or Attempt A Quit Stop!

Violation of these "NEVERS" accounts for most of the accidents associated with pace lines.

Note that group riding also requires concentration on what the other riders and traffic are doing. In pace lines, concentration is essential. Hand signals to your fellow riding partners keep everyone alert to what is ahead of your group. Sometimes, voice signals are better and faster. In either case, hand signals and voice signals must be echoed from the front to the back and from rider to rider. If you break the communication chain, you may be responsible for injury to one or more fellow riders. So pass that hand and voice signal down the line - Please!