Anti-RR Tactics

Keep Away

RRs love to chase riders in front of them. But when you're aware you're being chased, the hunter becomes the hunted. This is best done discretely with a mirror. RRs will often put all their energy into trying to catch a rider in front of them, leaving nothing for later. It may require a L5 or L6 effort to maintain the gap because, unlike someone intent on actually getting a good workout, they're willing to put all their energy into a brief effort which means you may have to lift the pace above L3 or L4.

Allow the RR to get close but not too close. Once the RR has closed to within several bike lengths, match his accelerations and frustrate him by not letting close the final distance and claim his victory. It's often quite obvious you're being deliberately chased. RRs will dig so deep trying to close the final gap to you. When they fail and are exhausted, they will drop their pace a great deal, allowing the gap to grow rapidly. If you sit up and let them slowly chip away at the gap until they get close once again, they'll often think they have another chance to finally catch you and will put forth a big effort. Of course, you match their acceleration and continue to frustrate them. This pattern of accelerations and decelerations indicates you are being chased.


RR Baiting

This was my favorite new tactic last season. Many of my rides were at a park with one large hill and a lot of wide open area. You could see riders approaching the hill from quite a distance (#1 and 2). That often encouraged riders to engage in long chases in an attempt to "pip" me at the top (#3) or "Kloden" me. This usually happened when I was doing an easy ride and minding my own business only to get sneak attacked.

I decided to take advantage of this behavior by riding slowly towards the climb. Because I could see behind me, chasers lost the element of surprise. I would adjust my speed so that they would catch me on the final part of the hill, baiting them like I was a wounded elk--an easy kill. Just when they got within striking range, I would go absolutely ballistic and rocket up the remainder of the hill. This would often make the RR/QRR so angry that he would chase me hard all the way down the descent and across the flats. I can only imagine how much more frustrated they were when their attempt to teach me a lesson also failed.

Of course, it wasn't fair for the chaser to chase hard for such a long time while I rode at a leisurely pace until the very end. I'd be sprinting with relatively fresh legs while they were tired from their Herculean effort. But it would be hypocritical for an RR bent on a surprise attack to complain about fairness. It is particularly ironic because RRs are largely dependent on the element of surprise and pitting their perpetually fresh legs against your tired legs. With this strategy, it is the RR who is surprised and the one with the tired legs.



A mind probe of the RR at the time would go something like this:

RR Slayer: "Ah, there's a victim. But he's so far behind it would be nearly impossible for him to catch me no matter how slow I rode."

RR: "That rider is so far ahead that it'd be almost impossible to catch him no matter how slow he rides and how fast I ride."

RR: "You know, I'm gaining on him. Maybe I can pull this off."

RR: "Wow, look at how much distance I've closed. I'm a gifted climber. I should pour it all on. This is the validation that I so badly need."

RR: "I'm so close but it hurts so much. I've almost got him."

RR Slayer: "Steady...steady...jump!"

[I rocket away from my pursuer who is way too tired from chasing to even have a chance at following the acceleration.]

RR: "What the...? I'm going to chase his punk ass down and teach him a lesson."

[The RR fails to catch me.]

RR: "I cheated and I still lost. This is bullshit."


Possum

This is is a new tactic that I hope to try this season. It's less exciting than the other tactics but is an energy efficient way to deal with RRs when you're not willing to work that hard. A race initiated by an RR has an arbitrary finish line. There is no chase group and no group up the road. If it was an actual race, would you happily tow someone to the finish line so he can come around you? Absolutely not. What would be appropriate would be to force the other rider in front even if you have to play dead on the side of the road. It would probably be enough to simply stop pedaling and coast. Once the RR has taken the lead, simply get on his wheel until you find a nice place to attack. Turnabout is fair play and maybe the RR will learn how annoying it is to have someone do this to them. Because my workouts this season are far less structured, I no longer have to choose between adhering to my training plan and towing an RR to "victory."