Last week many people absolutely stoked to hear of Ben & Jeff's Australian record making effort at DISC for a new 12-hour distance record for recumbent cycling.
New Australian 12-hour record
http://www.trisled.com.au/news.html
But absolutely incredulous at the remarks made by the BV CEO tacked on the end of this local Leader newspapers article on the record efforts. Bizarre, totally unnecessary and somewhat nasty to say the least.
***
Realising a riding ambition
http://www.prestonleader.com.au/article/2008/06/02/36314_nlv_news.html
Jeff Nielsen after breaking the recumbent bike record. Picture: JOSIE HAYDEN
AFTER 12 hours cycling on his back, all Jeff Nielsen wanted was a burger.
Nielsen, 25, rode 491.25km at Darebin International Sports Centre's (DISC) velodrome between 8pm on Sunday, May 25, and 8am on Monday, setting the Australian 12-hour distance record for recumbent cycling.
The Gembrook nursery worker was zonked after the ride, but managed to string a few sentences together before hoeing into a McDonald's breakfast.
"Towards the end it was a relief. Counting down the last couple of minutes to go the last five minutes were the longest five minutes of my life."
Riding at an average speed of 45km/h he completed a lap roughly every 20 seconds in his spacepod-like three-wheeled fibreglass bike, named Overzealous.
His heart raced at an average 165bpm, and he drank about 10 litres of water during the ride, making pit-stops every two to three hours.
Nielsen is the first to attempt the 12-hour recumbent record in Australia. His goal is to break the 24-hour distance record of 1041km, set in Canada in 2006.
"Eventually I want to go for about 1200km."
Nielsen and his supporters say breaking the record is a step towards bringing recumbent bikes into mainstream commuter use.
"For a long time they've been boxed as the bike of choice for university professors, but that's changing," said Tri-Sled recumbent bike designer Ben Goodall, who builds Nielsen's bikes.
Thanks to superior aerodynamics, the top recumbent speed on a flat road is 136km/h, roughly twice the speed of an upright bike.
Goodall said recumbents were safer, more comfortable, and faster than upright bikes, and sales were growing.
But Bicycle Victoria chief executive Harry Barber said recumbents were too wide and too hard to pedal uphill for the typical commuter.
"I think that the 1880s safety bicycle, which we're still riding today, 125 years later, is a pretty tried and tested design," he said.
But recumbents were great for quiet country roads, and for people with back or balance problems, he said.
For Nielsen and Goodall the challenge has only just begun.
They expect to return to DISC velodrome next year, probably with a new bike design, to break the world 12-hour record of 607km on their way to the 24-hour mark.
"There's still a window of improvement needed to break the world mark," Goodall said.
"Jeff's definitely a contender. We're not wasting our time."
New Australian 12-hour record
http://www.trisled.com.au/news.html
But absolutely incredulous at the remarks made by the BV CEO tacked on the end of this local Leader newspapers article on the record efforts. Bizarre, totally unnecessary and somewhat nasty to say the least.
***
Realising a riding ambition
http://www.prestonleader.com.au/article/2008/06/02/36314_nlv_news.html
Jeff Nielsen after breaking the recumbent bike record. Picture: JOSIE HAYDEN
AFTER 12 hours cycling on his back, all Jeff Nielsen wanted was a burger.
Nielsen, 25, rode 491.25km at Darebin International Sports Centre's (DISC) velodrome between 8pm on Sunday, May 25, and 8am on Monday, setting the Australian 12-hour distance record for recumbent cycling.
The Gembrook nursery worker was zonked after the ride, but managed to string a few sentences together before hoeing into a McDonald's breakfast.
"Towards the end it was a relief. Counting down the last couple of minutes to go the last five minutes were the longest five minutes of my life."
Riding at an average speed of 45km/h he completed a lap roughly every 20 seconds in his spacepod-like three-wheeled fibreglass bike, named Overzealous.
His heart raced at an average 165bpm, and he drank about 10 litres of water during the ride, making pit-stops every two to three hours.
Nielsen is the first to attempt the 12-hour recumbent record in Australia. His goal is to break the 24-hour distance record of 1041km, set in Canada in 2006.
"Eventually I want to go for about 1200km."
Nielsen and his supporters say breaking the record is a step towards bringing recumbent bikes into mainstream commuter use.
"For a long time they've been boxed as the bike of choice for university professors, but that's changing," said Tri-Sled recumbent bike designer Ben Goodall, who builds Nielsen's bikes.
Thanks to superior aerodynamics, the top recumbent speed on a flat road is 136km/h, roughly twice the speed of an upright bike.
Goodall said recumbents were safer, more comfortable, and faster than upright bikes, and sales were growing.
But Bicycle Victoria chief executive Harry Barber said recumbents were too wide and too hard to pedal uphill for the typical commuter.
"I think that the 1880s safety bicycle, which we're still riding today, 125 years later, is a pretty tried and tested design," he said.
But recumbents were great for quiet country roads, and for people with back or balance problems, he said.
For Nielsen and Goodall the challenge has only just begun.
They expect to return to DISC velodrome next year, probably with a new bike design, to break the world 12-hour record of 607km on their way to the 24-hour mark.
"There's still a window of improvement needed to break the world mark," Goodall said.
"Jeff's definitely a contender. We're not wasting our time."
