Re: xkcd: Drafting

On 2025-05-28 00:28:51 +0000, Joy Beeson said:

On Fri, 23 May 2025 15:07:00 -0500, Lynn McGuire
<lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
 

xkcd: Drafting
https://www.xkcd.com/3093/
 No, no, no, that will not work.  But it is cute.
 Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3093

 None of the discussions mention that the pulling vehicle
also gets a boost, because the second one fills in the
low-pressure volume he leaves behind.
 But not as big a boost as the wheel suckers, which is why
the front rider occasionally drifts off to the side, allows
the pace line to pass him, and tucks in at the back.
 I have seen a peloton of racers in which the guys in the
middle of the pack weren't pedalling.
 When the wind is from the side, the pace line becomes an
echelon, slanting across the road so that each rider is in
the wind shadow of the rider ahead.

That's also what ducks and geese often do when flying in the V formation. The lead bird also drops back when it gets tired and another takes over the place at the front.