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Biking @ 80 MPH
sadclown writes "Saturday marked the conclusion of the World Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain Nevada. Canadian Sam Wittingham now holds the world record for human powered speed on land, 80.55 mph, on the Varna Diablo, a fully enclosed 60 pound recumbent bicycle. Other competitors included Matt Weaver, with his video-camera-navigated bike (no windows)the Kyle Edge, World (conventional bike) Sprint Champion Jason Queally, with his bike the Blue Yonder Challenge, designed by the formula one race car designer Reynard, and the UC Berkeley team, The Bearacuda, in which two riders pedal back to back. Wittingham's new record is nearly 8 mph more than his record last year. Hopefully some of the aerodynamic technology can be applied to commercially available vehicles (cars, maybe?)."
These auto paced records aren't really human powered. The current world record holder is Fred Rompleberg with 166.94 mph. If you look at the photo at his site, you can see how the bike is partway covered by a fairing behind the dragster that's pacing him. The force of the air rushing in to fill the vacuum behind the fairing creates a suction effect that pulls the bike along. Almost all of the power is comming from the dragster's engine, not the rider. He might as well just use a rope.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I honestly don't think that there are tremendous gains in automobile aerodynamics on the horizon. Automobile manufacturers can already greatly increase the aerodynamics of their product, but only at a sacrifice to ergodynamics and practicality.
In the USA, the real problem is that SUVs, trucks and mini-vans don't lend themselves to aerodynamic styling. This is caused by cheap gas and the fact that cars are subsidized heavily by the corporate sponsored government - if you don't believe me, think about who pays for roads, stoplights, etc. We need to remove the road warrior mentality that biggest and fastest are best. Since gas is too cheap here, the public has no incentive to stop using gas guzzlers.
Aerodynamic technology has existed for a long time and is rarely used because aerodynamic vehicles require small cars which are nearly extinct on US roads.
Which makes me think a bit... Why not try and build the ultimate hamster-powered vehicle?
spork
I think a better way to say it would be "This bike is more aerodynamic and therefore lets you attain a higher speed with the same energy input from the rider."
In the slower (but lighter) bike, more of the rider's (driver's?) energy is consumed by drag.
The energy the rider supplies should be viewed as nearly constant, and then you can compare different bikes by looking at how much performance you can get for the energy the rider has to invest.
At speeds that these guys ride on even after taking due cautions What magnitute of injury can rider suffer in a crash? Also i rememember reading somewhere that in the Tour De France while riding downhill riders approach 100++kms and they have at that speed nothing but their skills to count on for brakes at that speeds tend to Jam.Can anybody enlighten.... PLEASE:Moderators dont sleep....The mods are downright stupid and idiotic!!!!!
Wanted : A Signature.
You just need to go.
My landlady is 81 years old and rides her bike every day - A single-speed upright bike, with a basket in the front for her groceries. She's healthier than me.
The Chinese restaurant near my old office has a man of at least that age who delivers lunches on a bike - 5 or 6 bowls on a tray balanced on his shoulder, held by just a corner.
Here, I see mothers with 2 or even 3 children on their bike, out running errands - Hard to imagine a mother of 3 in the US who doesn't feel she needs a minivan to take the kids somewhere.
You don't need some $2,500 custom mountain bike - Get yourself a solid used Raleigh 3 speed with a basket and USE the damn thing. I see business men riding to work on their bikes in a suit and dress shoes in traffic on a 90 degree morning, or riding along in torrential rain, carrying an umbrella. If you live within a few miles of your work and your supermarket, you will use your bike and stay in shape. If you live way out in the suburbs, yes, you will probably have a nice trophy bike decorating your garage, that you will occasionally load on the back of your car to drive to the bike trail.
Too many people think of exercise like it's some kind of pill you take occasionally to feel better - It's a lifestyle choice. A choice that is too easily dismissed for the sake of convenience. Convenience of living in the 'burbs and driving those two blocks to the mailbox. Sure, there are reasons that people do these things, but they really don't help you when you're feeling old at 40.
For me, 40 is less than 5 years away and I look and feel 25 - I bike every day. I'm no health nut either - I smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day and can drink obscene quantities of beer. I believe it is due to the excercise that has become part of how I live my life. Last week's health checkup confirmed that I am in great physical shape and I know that's not due to my diet...
You don't need to go fast - You just need to go.
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
-- My Weblog.
I've heard this over and over again.. and having travelled around the world a bit, I've come to two conclusions.
The first, is factual. There is no such continent as 'America'. Canada, the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica... are all in 'North America'. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc... are in 'South America'. So saying 'America' must mean something ELSE....
The second is observational. When anyone in the world says 'American', they mean someone from 'The United States of America'. I even hear my fellow Canadians refer to them as 'Americans' all the time, you probably do it too. How else do you refer to our neighbors? United Statsians? Get real.
'American' is a term, the world over, that refers to those citizens of the United States. Get used to it.
I do not consider myself part of 'America'. I am from 'Canada'.