Sucked by a Truck

A couple of days ago I went for my once-or-twice-weekly afternoon
jaunt over 84 to the coast. It was colder than it's been for a while
and I was a little chilly and uncomfortable in my mesh jacket coming
back over the Dumbarton.

About halfway across the Dumbarton, at the top of the high-rise, I got
some crosswind gusts that almost blew me into the barrier (I was
already in the right-most lane). So I slowed way down to about 60. I
was leaning down over the tank to try to avoid the oncoming wind, and
I could hear big whooshing sounds as cars whipped around to pass me.

Then I saw this big shadow. The sun was behind me (late afternoon and
I was heading east on the bridge). This big squarish shadow of
something huge and square coming up from behind me. I thought 'Oh no,
I'm being passed by an 18-wheeler!) But it wasn't an 18-wheeler, it
was a big Caltrans truck, about the size of a small dump truck.

As the truck pulled up alongside me, everything suddenly changed. It
was like in movies when people die, and suddenly everything is quiet
and peaceful and serene. It was dark in the shadow of the truck,
which was actually very pleasant. The wind stopped, both the nasty
gusty crosswind and the cold rush of oncoming air, and I felt much
warmer, as if I was going about 35 mph. Even the engine sounded like
it wasn't working as hard.

I sat up straight and sped back up to 70 to keep up with the truck and
rode in its shadow over the rest of the bridge, all warm and
comfortable like riding on a shady country lane. At the end of the
bridge he put on his signal to get into the exit lane and I dropped
back.

In college I had a roommate who used to 'slipstream' trucks on the
freeway on his 125 Suzuki Stinger (and before that, he said, he did it
on a bicycle!) I thought he was crazy! Once when we were riding
together on the freeway I looked back and found him slipstreaming
-me-, his front wheel parallel to my back wheel, 6" away. Pissed me
off! But I was in the next lane, so it wasn't like I was looking for
trouble.

 

I used to use this method when 'touring' on my '67 Suzuki X6 Hustler...

watch out for the fumes....

Mendo

 

I love the quote! I'll use it myself!

 

I slipstreamed a truck one time going over the Tejon pass. I'd removed
the damaged fairing from my Water Buffalo so I could repair it, and
then took a ride out through Simi Valley, onto Hwy 150 into Ojai, then
took Hwy 33 to Lockwood Valley Road. I saw snowflakes falling in
Lockwood Valley, but thought nothing of it. I could have been snowed in
at Gorman
if the snow really started coming down, but I followed the truck down
the hill. But he didn't like me riding back there to keep the cold wind
off me.