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  • Re: xkcd: Drafting

    From Joy Beeson@21:1/5 to lynnmcguire5@gmail.com on Tue May 27 20:28:51 2025
    XPost: rec.arts.sf.written

    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.

    --
    Joy Beeson
    joy beeson at centurylink dot net
    http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

    Hah! Only four days for a sending time to come up in my
    schedule.

    But only because I thought to check the drafts folder before
    reading.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Joy Beeson on Wed May 28 18:03:23 2025
    XPost: rec.arts.sf.written

    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Savard@21:1/5 to Lynn McGuire on Mon Aug 25 16:19:08 2025
    XPost: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Fri, 23 May 2025 15:07:00 -0500, Lynn McGuire 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

    This reminds me of old pictures I saw in science books as a child showing
    how future nuclear space rockets would work.

    Although the cables connecting the payload capsule to the booster were
    fairly long, having it right in the middle of the (radioactive!) exhaust
    of the booster just didn't seem optimal to me.

    John Savard

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)