Video: Cyclist filmed slipstreaming bus at 70kph

I'm more puzzled by the comment in the article that he's in a motorway tunnel, rather than the lunacy of being so close to a vehicle at that speed.

Are the laws for motorway traffic the same in Spain as the UK? If so, what the heck's he doing on there in the first place?

He also appears to be in the centre lane, not even on the inside. Truly a death wish about him.

LEGEND

I used to do it a lot more than I do now, my favourites were the 4 axle tippers, partly because if you look near the diff, you can see the brake mechanism working - the cable pulling rods etc. If anyone thinks there is ANY danger of a truck or bus out braking a bike, they don't know what they are talking about. I could never stay on for too long, always found it hard to keep the cadence high enough long enough

At 48, still a regular drafter of trucks here in NZ, though they have to be heavily laden otherwise they accelerate too quickly. On 53 x 11 65mph is do-able for fairly short stretches. We're 'lucky' that we have plenty of very sharp corners that require the lorries to slow down to about 25mph which makes catching them much easier. Still, winding it up to 60 is still damn hard work. And yeah, it does create a bad impression of cyclists....

I'm so awesome that the lorries slip stream me!

Oh sorry, thought this was the weekly cock waving thread

80kph is easy if you plan it right 

Slip road from Stamford on to the A1 is a good place to slip into a lorry's slipstream.

Also, in Devon, the slip road from Honiton heading west on to the A30 is a good place to jump on to the back of a lorry. 53x11 recommended.

Not quite as good is the road between Shoreham and Brighton A259, easy enough to get behind buses and lorries along this road especially if the wind is blowing in the same direction. Bit slower as traffic is only allowed to travel 30mph and you might find you can over take cars.

53x11 @ 130 cadence = 49 mph

53x11 @160 cadence = 60 mph

Make sure your brakes are working at their best. 

What you should remember is that this sort of cycling is very dangerous and you might DIE!

Probably best if you don't do this sort of slipstreaming as it's highly likely to upset car drivers and bring cycling into disrepute. 

Once again don't forget YOU MIGHT DIE doing this. 

Enjoy your slipstreaming, probably best you don't advertise the fact that you do this, like I just did. 

He has a helmet on so he's invincible, can't see what a motorist can complain about now 

Jest aside good skills but totally reckless.

I got a 3km tow off a hores box on one ride. Had to make a big effort to get on but once there it was great at 65-70kph. Unfortunaty it was on a popular local TT course so I made the ride private to avoid upsetting people...

Don't worry I'd flag his segment 'Riding in vehicle +70kph on the flat' - think you are Mark Cavendish do ya.

Another confessing to drafting buses or lorries. I used to regularly draft Park n Ride buses on their way out to the start of their journey, it was only a flat 3/4 mile sprint and as the bus was outbound it wasn't stopping at 07:00. Last time I drafted an HGV I could only hold the 35 mph for a short time and soon felt the turbulance and dust kicked up by the HGV. Must try it on my geared bike and not my SS.

I have chased lorries up to 45 mph or so - scary (and silly) fun but at least with a lorry rather than a bus you can see a long way underneath looking for pot holes and listen intently for engine note changes.  You freewheel for miles when they out kick you on the next gear change. 

My Dad and his mate used to travel from Cardiff to Newport tucked in behind lorries (they were slower then) and set up a bike with a Sturmey Archer 4 speed hub gear for a swift changing overdrive  (no DI shifting then).  The story goes they tucked in behind one lorry before realising it had a trailer and they needed to jump out of the gap in a hurry.  Lunacy is probably genetic... 

Those crazy Spanish!

Been known to indulge in a little light drafting, but never so close that I couldn't escape down one side or the other in a pinch, or if that isn't an option I'll be sacrificing aero gains for safety margin! (Even at ~20m behind there's an appreciable draft on a bus at 30mph)

I was once on a bus in Manchester, it would have been about 1964, and Jimmy Savile had no trouble drafting us at 30-35 mph.  It never occured to me to wonder where he going in such a hurry .....

Drafted a bin lorry once. 

Once. 

Takes me back to my student years, slipstream riding behind the buses along Dumbarton Road in Glasgow.  35mph on a good day.

This puts my drafting the occasional car in Richmond Park at 20mph in perspective (not that I can do it for long). 

I have a friend who does similar things behind London buses on a daily basis. He argues that running into the back of the bus isn't an issue because (a) their brakes aren't very good, and (b) there's always a warning as the engine note changes before the brakes go on.

I've had over 50mph behind trucks on a bypass that I used to commute down. Could pikc up the lorry coming off the docks as it climbed the hill then the bypass was a dead straight 3-mile run, ever such a slight downhill with no traffic lights and only one small roundabout but the road also had a 50mph limit which was (mostly) adhered to.

Problems came if the truck got up to 60 or so cos I simply couldn't spin a 53x12 quick enough for that and if you got dropped the turbulence that would hit you as you came out of the slipstream was horrific.

Ironically, that rider ^^ is probably safer right behind the bus at 40-45mph than he is riding on the hard shoulder at 20...

Crazily, but admirably, reckless.

Crazy. I did it once behind a UPS truck at 30-40 mph. Exhilarating but wth hindsight it was dumb and won't be doing it again. Just a shame I didnt have Strava running!

He was wearing high vis.  Perfectly safe.  

When I was a young reckless youth me and 2 friends covered 2 miles in double quick time drafting the school bus. I remember it was a buzz travelling significantly faster than I had done ever before and since stuck less than 5 feet off the back. Bloody idiot I was

chapeau

"a man on a hybrid bike"

That's clearly a drop bar bike being ridden on the hoods.

I'll better stick to my 40km/h and not be in a situation where I fall under a car at 70km/h when the bus suddenly hits the brakes

I used to do the same with JCBs which were very useful if there was a strong headwind.