The Bike
The bike is a recumbent. Recumbent means reclined. Some people say "laid back". I like this. I'm not sure if "laid back" is mental or physical. I don't think it matters.
The basic design was created about 100 years ago. In the 1930's a guy used one of these bikes in the French bicycle races. He broke several speed records, after which, the bike was declared to have "unfair technological advantages" and was banned from bike races.
Today, all speed records for human powered vehicles are set with a bike of this nature. The reclined position has less wind resistance than the upright position. At high speeds, air resistance is the most significant factor limiting speed. The current record is somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 miles per hour.
Why do I have such a bike? It is far more comfortable to ride. You sit in a chair with a back on it. A real seat, not a little saddle that makes you sore after ten minutes of riding. I can ride all day and not have a sore butt. The handlebars are below the seat on my bike. When my arms hang naturally, my hands rest on the handlebars. This sure beats leaning over the handlebars, supporting your upper body on the palms of you hands. No more numb hands after an hour or two of riding. And, instead of leaning over, looking down at the road, my head is upright, and I can look ahead of me without crinking my neck.
Why do I have such a bike? Because it's COOL! People notice you. It's a great conversation starter. It sets you apart from the crowd.
My bike is a Vision VR-42. It is made by Advanced
Transportation Products, Inc. of Seattle, Wa. It is shown above in the short wheel
base configuration, and below in the long wheel base configuration. I like this
model, because I can change it back and forth between these two configurations.
Click on Vision Logo to go to Vision Web Site.
All pictures and text (c) 1998 by Bill Peterson, Anchorage, Alaska.