posted
This is a portion of a message I've written for one of our execs. Hobbes, AJ, or anyone else conversant in cycling matters, did I get it right? Is there anything I'm way off on?
******* "Every year, many of the world’s best cyclists gather for one of the world’s premier competitions—the Tour de France. Each stage of this race is many miles long, sometimes climbing up steep mountain grades that test the riders to their limits. Although the riders compete for individual victories, their success depends very much on teamwork.
During a stage of the race, the majority of the riders ride in a large group called the peleton. In the peleton, riders form single file lines and ride in the slipstream of the rider ahead. This conserves energy, helping them stay more rested for the sprint to the finish. Periodically, the rider leading the line drops to the back, and the next rider takes the lead. In this manner, each rider is able to go much farther in less time than he could consistently manage on his own."
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Looks pretty good, the only statment I'd take issue to is this one.
quote: In the peleton, riders form single file lines and ride in the slipstream of the rider ahead.
In the peloton while sometimes that happens, its really more of a pack, the people in the middle have the least air resistance and the people on the outside buffer the air and they do rotate through, but it is only rarely in single file lines in a full peleton, it's just too messy.
I think I would say:
quote: In the peleton, riders form a pack with various teams rotating time at the front in order to minimize wind resistance for everyone.
Hobbes might phrase it better. The time at the front isn't equally shared by everyone either. If a team has to set the tempo, they spend the most hours out in front which takes a far greater toll on their bodies than everyone else who benefits from the tempo setting team's work.
Here's that paragraph again. Hopefully it's a little more accurate. I'm still being somewhat liberal with it (and vague about competing teams).
****
During a stage of the race, the majority of the riders ride in a large, wedge-shaped group called the peleton. Riders in the middle of the peleton encounter much less wind resistance, and can conserve energy for the sprint to the finish. Periodically, riders in the middle of the peleton rotate to the outside, where the wind resistance is much stronger, and other tired riders rotate to the middle. In this manner, more of the riders are able to go farther in less time than they could consistently manage on their own.
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posted
Awesome. The exec is signing his name to this brief message, so I wanted to make sure I got his facts straight.
I wonder if I'll ever get to the point where someone will be writing stuff and putting my name on it. It sure is a bizarre experience. But I think I've got this guy down pretty well. He doesn't have many of his own changes anymore.
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