Varna Diablo III
Fastest man on a Bike.Sam Whittingham is the fastest cyclist on the planet, having pedaled his sleek recumbent bicycle to a stunning 82.3 mph to claim the world record for a human-powered vehicle.
The bike-builder from British Columbia bested his previous record of 81.02 mph during a picture-perfect run through the desert during the World Human Powered Speed Challenge outside Battle Mountain, Nevada.
"On the one hand, it's terrifying, but also completely exhilarating, Whittingham, who's won the competition every year since its inception six years ago, told the Vancouver Sun after taking home the $26,748 deciMach Prize for Human-Powered Speed. "It's like going down the steepest hill you can find on your bike, but you get to do that all the time."
Except Whittingham's bike is nothing like your bike.
Whittingham, who runs Naked Bicycle and Design, set the record on (in?) the Varna Diablo III, a sleek teardrop-shaped recumbent designed and built by bike designer Georgi Georgiev. It features carbon fiber wheels and a carbon frame wrapped with Kevlar bodywork.
Whittingham and Georgiev are old hands when it comes to human-powered speed records, having worked together to set the previous record of 81.02 mph in 2002. Whittingham, a former member of Canada's national racing team, was determined to best that mark and says "I really stepped up my training" ahead of this year's event.
He made his record-setting run down Highway 305 just outside Battle Mountain last Thursday during what could only be called perfect conditions. There was no wind, it was 80 degrees -- warm air is thinner, and so creates less resistance -- and veterans of the race, sponsored by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association, said they were the best conditions they'd ever seen. The course has a five mile run-up and a 200 meter trap.
Whittingham made his first run in the morning, going a little more than 80 mph. Then he took the unprecedented step of trying a second run that evening -- competitors usually make one run per day in order to allow their bodies to recover from the exertion. Crew member Steve Nash pumped another 5 psi of air into the Varna Diablo's tires to decrease rolling resistance and Whittingham reeled off the record-setting run.
Author: ArchitectPage
