h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you've got a good partner, slipstreaming doesn't have to be unfair, you just have to take it in turns.

My and my mate used to have a rule that if we were cycling into the wind we'd swap every so often. The person who was behind also carried the weight - lunch, water, change of clothes etc to give the person in front a slightly easier ride.

Worked well, and was the model of fairness we always thought

In the States we call it drafting, the same concept that geese have used for several millenniums. Where we cycle, the winds around the Atlantic Bay are often brisk and buffeting. We gear down(shifting into lower gears)and use the least amount of energy to crank. We call it linear hill work. The seagulls lolling in the winds look at us and laugh.

Yes, drafting is what I always called it - but it turns out to be an unfamiliar use of the word in UK. 'Linear hill work' - there's an excellent description.

The periodic swapping of lead position is certainly fair - just wish I could convince my wife.