I meant to mention the whole drafting etiquette thing but again, it seems to have slipped my mind.
Firstly, I have never been a roadie and probably never will be. I find riding on the road mind-alteringly tedious unless I'm in traffic and having to think a bit. This means that I haven't ridden in bunches (apart from that one time with the gingham dress, but that's another story...) and I'm not terribly familiar with riding people's wheels and what-have-you.
BUT...
I do know that it's rather rude to pull in behind someone at the lights or wherever and draft them without making the offer of sharing the work. To me it's analogous to hitching your car to the car in front without asking, or jumping on someone's back for an uninvited piggyback. It's just not on. I don't mind being in front and doing the work as long as the person behind does their share, or at least has a chat but I can't abide the sneak who slips in trying to go unnoticed and doesn't have the manners to even start a conversation. This also might stem from the fact that I find it very hard to sit on someone's wheel without at least trying to blast past them quite early on...
My favourite way to deal with these people is to sloooooow dooowwwwwn until they get impatient. Or brake suddenly (which can be a bit hazardous to one's own health). Or, if I'm feeling particularly strong, to stamp on the gas and drop them, but that tends to only work on slight gradients or steep hills due to the frantic leg-spinning that I start doing about about 33kph.
There you have it: just another cross I have to bear. :-)
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